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any other rear main bearing seal fit 324 olds? split seal?


Guest imported_pete324rock

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Guest imported_pete324rock

I have removed the rope type rear seal from 324 olds engine('56)without removing the crank(though removing the lower bellhousing was a chore)and discovered many reasons why it leaked.

I have seen the replacement rubber rear seal offered lately but the price seems quite high to me (50 bucks).Does anyone know if there is another engine that will cross reference to the 324 using a rubber seal and 2). can the rubber two piece seal be installed with the crank in.

I need some experience in this matter-seems to me that if a chev journal was off by a couple of thousands and the seal fit the bore that it would work ok-chev stuff is priced reasonable! I have a rope seal but can't convince myself its the right thing to do to put it in-even with some wire rods inserted in the backing to help pack the upper half. Thanks in advance pete

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Hi Pete. I put a neopreme rear main seal in my '51 Olds and wrote about the procedure in detail in an earlier forum. Do a search and you will find it. I used a Best Gasket seal. As I remember it cost about $35.00. It doesn't matter what the cost is, go for it..! It's worth every penny to keep those ugly drips off of your driveway.

The neopreme seal can be installed with the crank in place. You don't need to loosen the other main caps.

Look for my earlier post. If you can't find it, let me know and i'll go through it again. Good luck

Gary

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Guest imported_pete324rock

thanks Gary...good to know someone is listening-I'll look it up and get back to you-I did a general search"rear main seal" in heading but didn't see it-I'll try again using your handle.later pete

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Just to clarify something I mentioned in the ealier post before you take off for the parts store with your checkbook in hand. I said something about using a 460" Ford rear main seal in the engines when I was working at a dealership. I didn't mean to imply that a 460 seal will fit your engine, it works on the later Olds 350/455 type blocks. I just mentioned it to make a point that sometimes you get lucky and can find another breed of engine that will work.

I wouldn't be doing any experimenting with trying to find another seal that would work for yours. Spend the money and get one you know will work. It's way to far in to go back if your experiment fails and you have a leak.

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Guest imported_pete324rock

Sorry I took up so much valuable space on that topic.And as you can see,it took me a looong time to get to that rear seal deal.Just wondering;you never mentioned anything about taking the lower bellhousing off to get the rear bearing cap off.I looked in the service manual and it said that I had to do it.I got looking at it and wondered if it wouldn't jimmy out under the housing but decided not to chance it-ended up taking all rear supports out-finding one rear engine mount separated-and don't have a spare.But on the positive,all of it is real greasy and will clean up nicely.(I've been itching for a frame off clean-up but not this year I'm afraid)

But back to the seal-it seems quite plausible that the seal fits something else and has been re-labelled to fit the olds.I see two piece seals that fit the old fifties chevs offered by Danechuk(sp?) for under 20 bucks.Don't have the journal specs in front of me but how far off could they be-hence the spacer shoved in the back of the seal.Do you remember where you bought yours? Seems Best gasket co. is the only source.By the way-got heads with hard seats and new valves and guides and I did some porting work-top end should be great. pete

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  • 5 weeks later...
Guest imported_pete324rock

I have bought the proper seal from best gasket thru an ebay seller-$53 bucks canadian to the mailbox.What a nice fit,slipped in there so perfect and the shim ,as thin as it is makes all the difference-no way that will leak.Putting a rope seal in there would have been dumb.And during the time waiting for the seal,I did some restoration on some undercarriage and replacing drivers floor.

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My computer was down for a month, and I just got back to read your success story..!!

I'm glad to see you has success with your rear main seal. Changing to neoprene scares some folks, but as you now know, it's a slam dunk.

It will be the best $53.00 you ever spent.

My '51 should be back from the body shop in a week, so I will have a few weeks of summer left to enjoy it. Between rebuilding the running gear and the body work, it hasn't moved for a year and a half..! That is a mear drop in the bucket considering it was parked for 30 years before I got it.

As soon as I replace the brand new, 35 year old tires, I will be ready to rumble....

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