It was mentioned in post 7 thought at least it would be fun

 

So, hypothetically, if your rear main did not leak and the dip stick tube didn't "blow out" could you live with the way your engine runs? You have good oil pressure, compression numbers seem good, yes #5 isn't perfect but? If you tear it down you'll have two options, bore it the next step, different pistons or sleeve #5 and possibly one new piston. All this is jmo. What if you tried putting exhaust evacuation system on it. Maybe it'll cure the oil leak and dip stick problem or maybe not. It seemed you were happy with the engine till those 2 problems. I know this is just a "bandage" but just a thought.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/s...SABEgKYyvD_BwE

https://www.jegs.com/i/Allstar+Perfo...CABEgIvY_D_BwE

 

I would absolutely be happy if i could stop the oil leaks! i would run it for the summer and see what happens the motor has gobs of power and is fun to drive. My brother in law suggested the exhaust vac system said he used to run one on his pontiac when he raced and it worked good .i may look into it .

 

Mine are all done on a Dyno. I get the engine fired, check for leaks, get the oil to 100* or so then put about a 40-50ftlb load on it for 15 minutes or so, varying the throttle a little here and there.
i wouldn’t do full throttle blasts on a new build, more like half throttle.

 

"Full Throttle" for 5 minutes, it's an Oldsmobile, WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG! (:•》 Seriously, I can't believe all the problems I read about "engines builds gone bad." Some I blame on Chinese parts especially the early Chinese parts, many that may have been sitting on shelves for near 20 years before use. I remember the .921" lifter problems. One needs a good machinist and you can't trust a part without verifying it.
I think the evaluation system will help you. Good luck.

 

One thing I don’t understand here is a fresh clean crankshaft a properly installed ford 460 Seal should give me years of leak free rear main seal.im the unluckiest guy in the world when it comes to leaks . If and when I ever have another motor built it better come with a hell of a guarantee or I just won’t do it .i just find it hard to believe that this motor is creating that much internal pressure based on my tests .i may try the evacuation system to get me through the summer , then take a hard look at which direction to go .thank you guys For your help I’ll keep you updated .

 

Back around 2000, I bought one of Joe Mondello's "$ecret $pecial $eal". After engine was together and in the car, I called Mondello to buy another trinket. I casually mentioned his $eal.
I'd installed it backwards, opps. Joe said "it'll leak like a
fu$king sieve!" Hmm, I figured I run it and see what happens. It never leaked a drop. In all reality those rope seals worked well if installed properly.

 

Hi,

I had heard newer rope seals don't contain asbestos hence one reason why people have issues getting them to work, not sure if this is true, but could be a reason?

Years ago I installed a lip seal 2-piece like a 460 seal one side correct the other 180 degrees and it acted like a pump squinting oil with every revolution.

Regards,

 

Question: This crank was turned .010 and polished would that have an effect on the sealing ability of the 460 seal?

 

The seal area isn't cut when the journals are ground undersize.

However, the seal area probably had the "hash marks" embossed into the metal. This works great with rope seals, but can tear up the lips of the neoprene seals. Did they polish the seal area? The embossing doesn't have to be "gone", just smoothed-out some.

The usual cause of lip seals not sealing is improper installation; doubly-so when the seal isn't made for the application. Some Pontiac blocks are known to have the seal groove non-concentric with the bearing saddles; only a rope seal will work in those blocks.

 

The area where the seal makes contact looked nice and smooth, so I’ll assume they at least polished it . I’ll know 100 per cent how it was installed when I take it apart . I won’t bash my machine shop until then.

 

I haven't used a neoprene seal to replace a rope seal but assume they need to be offset so that the ends of the seal halves contact inside the block and main cap. Yes, no...Anybody?

How critical is removing the hash marks from the seal riding area? Can they just be polished well or is complete removal necessary?

Check the rear main bearing clearance with plastigage, A LOT of excessive clearance could cause too much oil in that area but as you haven't mentioned low oil pressure it is quite likely to be fine.

Good luck!

 

To clarify something Mark/cutlassefi brought to light...the old school seating of rings and short full throttle bursts was done after about 200 miles of breaking in and seating bearings etc.

​​​​​​I completely agree that full throttle bursts should not be done right out of the gate.

Thanks Mark for pointing that out.

 

X 2 Thats the way I recall it.

 

To clarify ,full throttle blasts are not the way I broke in this engine.in hindsight I guess I should have done my leak down shortly after the engine was installed I would have had something to compare it to .im not sure how many builders do that and would be curious what the leak down numbers on a professionally built just broke in engine are .

 

I don't, and never have. Fel-Pro instructions list it as a "hot tip" but it never made sense to me. The various factories put them in square to the block/cap in millions of engines and they worked fine. The parting line of the seal should have some "crush", it's going to get a light coating of sealer; and if it's going to leak square to the block/cap, why wouldn't it leak offset from the block/cap?

Other forums discuss this, the general consensus is that you begin loading the engine as soon as the oil temp comes up on the dyno, or as soon as the vehicle warms up including oil temp--which is generally long enough for the engine coolant, trans, rear axle, etc. to come up to temp. None of this "200 mile" stuff, because the cross-hatch is already starting to wear away. The fear is that delaying the heavy load "glazes" the cylinders. Wears away enough of the cross-hatch that the rings won't "seat". I'm not sure that's entirely true any more; although I'm sure it once was--cylinder finish has improved.

I use as much power as the engine will take without triggering a trans kickdown; and if possible I disable the kickdown system. HIGH gear, stab the throttle, full-throttle if possible. High LOAD, not high RPM. Back off the throttle by 4000--4500 rpm (most engines; I wouldn't spin a 500 Caddy that high, but a motorcycle might go higher) and coast to a reasonable speed before repeating. Heavy load/high cylinder pressure, alternating with high vacuum to bring oil up and wash away the wear particles.

Generally, I do this on a highway I expect to be deserted, and I do it on the first test-drive of the vehicle unless there's some problem I notice right away that prevents me from continuing. Drive 20 miles out of town, which warms-up the engine, trans, rear axle, etc. Turn around, disable the kickdown, start hammering the throttle in bursts on the drive back home. So the engine maybe has ~30 minutes of cam break-in, set timing, do minor adjustments, top off fluids, check for leaks; followed by a "normal" 20-mile drive, and then the throttle gets punched. Not more than one hour of run-time if I can help it; less if possible (roller cam doesn't need 30-minute break-in) before "setting the rings".

As always, leakdown numbers are as dependent on the leakdown tester as they are on the actual cylinder leakage. Give me time to dick with a leakdown tester, and I'll get you any number you want on the gauge. There's no "industry standard" or governmental regulation of automotive leakdown testers. They vary.

 

Pulled the motor today to try and get to the bottom of the leaking . Took me 5 hours to get it from inside the car to the engine stand .feel like someone beat the hell out me 😳

 

Tore things down today to replace the rear main seal. it was installed with lip facing forward but had excessive rtv between the seal and crank surface .there shouldn't be any rtv in that area.There were also parts of the oil pan gasket that we suspect.Got a pretty good look at the cylinder bores and they look good with good cross hatch. Found one of the main bearings wore down to expose some shiny copper in it so that will have to be taken care of.Getting the block side of the seal out and the channel cleaned out was a real challenge because there was plenty of rtv in that channel as well.Got my new oil pan,pick up screen and gasket set today .

 

Glad to hear you found something definitive.

Good luck!!!