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#65183 09/01/2006 4:49 AM | Joined: Jun 2006 Posts: 96 Member | | Member Joined: Jun 2006 Posts: 96 | I have this '57 235 engine upside down on a stand with a painted pan ready to put back on so I can drop it into my '49 3/4 ton. It came from a running '57 Bel Air. I already drilled the front mounting plate. Now I need help on how to seal this puppy. I understand this is somewhat of an art on these old Chevy's. I know about sealing the front 2 bolts on the timing cover and dabbing a little sealer on the corners of the pan gasket. What else should I be looking for? I will be installing a new rear main. Should I pull the timing cover and replace the seal? | | |
#65184 09/01/2006 5:20 AM | Joined: Jul 2004 Posts: 5,708 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Jul 2004 Posts: 5,708 | leon2982,
If you have the engine in that position, by all means take advantage of it.
I wouldn't hesitate to pull the timing cover and replace the gasket and seal
Hammer the flange on the pan and timing cover true and flat, paying special attention to any dimpled bolt holes.
I use hi-tack aerosol, but any good sealer will do. The cork gasket over the front and rear main caps needs to be sealed well, both to the cap, and later to the pan.
More goop isn't better, be conservative, as the main sealing method is still a mechanical fit between the gasket and the sealing surface.
Make sure your drain plug isn't funked up or stripped out...now would be the time to repair it.
When you bolt the pan back on, don't use a 20" cheater bar. If you mash the cork pan gasket out around the bolts, you are TOO tight.
While you are at it, you could scratch around at your soft plugs and see if there is a surprise waiting for you.
The whole gist of this novella is that when the engine is out and on a stand, do whatever you can and check whatever you can...beats crawling around under it with oil dripping in your face!
Stuart | | |
#65185 09/01/2006 6:02 AM | Joined: May 2001 Posts: 7,438 Extreme Gabster | | Extreme Gabster Joined: May 2001 Posts: 7,438 | While you have the timing cover off you should perform The old timing cover trick | | |
#65186 09/01/2006 2:18 PM | Joined: Jun 2006 Posts: 96 Member | | Member Joined: Jun 2006 Posts: 96 | Thanks for the tips. I must be getting older. Now I would rather take longer to do it right than crawl around underneath later. I remember when crawling around under old vehicles was fun. Especially if it was parked on muddy dirt in a junk yard. | | |
#65187 09/01/2006 2:29 PM | Joined: Oct 2002 Posts: 4,066 Bolter | | Bolter Joined: Oct 2002 Posts: 4,066 | sounds like a winner to me 
Redryder pixMy HotrodA veteran - whether active duty, retired, national guard, or reserve - is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to The 'United States of America', for an amount of "up to and including my life."I am fighting cancer and I am winning the fight | Pain is part of life; misery is an option. | | |
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