costpenn

Duh can't believe I forgot it.

It going to be a trailer queen- is it a big deal if I leave it off? Already installed the timing cover and water pump.

oldcutlass

Possibly, it keeps most of the oil off the seal.

don71

I think that will be a problem sooner or later.

RetroRanger

if something is worth doing .....you know the rest

oldcutlass

You do know that the consensus is going to be to put it in there.

tru-blue 442

Tear it back off...

Macadoo

Pulled my share of goofs during my build. Leave it off and it will haunt you. Give it a couple days and it won't seem like as big a deal to tear back into it.

BLUE72RAGTOP

Well, things happen. The reason you do it yourself is so you know the guy doing the job will do whatever necessary to make sure it's right. Yeah, it will leak. A lot more oil will be thrown against the seal without it.

BlackGold

Meh. Who cares if it leaks. It's not like this is going to be a show car or anything.

costpenn

Correct - you just knew I wasn't going to be able to leave it like this. Pulled the timing cover and oil pan off this morning, and am going to put it together correctly tonight. Will be cold tomorrow, so no painting, but will do so this weekend since highs are supposed to be in the low 60's. A test patch I sprayed yesterday with the Supercars Blue looked pretty awesome - it's a lacquer paint with just enough metallic in it.

costpenn

Show car ? I'm planning on running it at E-Town, Norwalk, Pomona, ZZZZ...

Sorry, I just woke up....

Macadoo

*I did my brakes like three times before I got them right. First time I put them back together exactly like they came apart. Unfortunately they weren't right to begin with.
*Water pump; three times.
*Thought I put the slinger on backwards and was ready to tear it apart..again. Thankfully I take LOTS of pictures and found one that showed I did it right.

jensenracing77

Don't feel bad, I had to pull my valve covers and intake manifold after it was done. Cover gaskets both leaked and had to make a baffle for the PCV in the intake.

I did pull a 350 engine apart one time that I drove for 3 years. The last person that was in there forgot to put it in. I never had a leak. At the same time, If i were you I would have taken it apart also because it is much easier to fix now than later.

oldcutlass

It would have just kept eating at you and the end result would have been the same. Glad you realized it sooner than later.

joe_padavano

When you do pull the front cover to install the slinger, keep in mind that you don't have to remove the water pump from the front cover. Remove the four large bolts in the water pump but leave the 1/4-20 self-tapping bolts in place. That saves the water pump gasket at least.

frankr442

Years ago a friend had rebuilt a tranny. Cleaning up after installation, he found a snap ring on the bench. Couldn't believe he left it out. Ate at him all night, next day pulled it back out and opened it up again. Couldn't find anything wrong or missing. Come to find out his girlfriend had found it on the floor, and thinking it looked important, put it on the bench.

costpenn

Thanks Joe. I did just that, however, I wound up having to pull the oil pan. I tried just loosening the front pan to block bolts, but it would not come down enough to allow the timing cover to pop in place without destroying the rail gaskets.

Ozzie

It appears that the oil slingers have the duties of keeping the front seal from being flooded with oil and redistributing a portion of it to the timing chain. While reading one of the Ford forums, I found that some were purposely omitting the slinger to avoid conflict with the timing chain when changing to some double rollers due to closer clearances between the slinger and the chain. They claim that the seal will not leak due to the newer seals being made better than the originals. I have chosen to retain the slingers in all the engines (Olds & Ford) after assuring that sufficient clearance existed between the chains and the slingers. Thus far, there are no leaks and no conflicts with the chains.

rcdynamic88

Dang It! I did this just now and I was hoping to find out it was nothing to worry about. Oh well, at least everything is still clean as I tear it apart AGAIN. First I don't get the cam in right. So I take my time and double check it before putting the timing cover and oil pan on. When I go to pick up the balancer and put it on, that darn oil slinger is sitting right there!

oldcutlass

Better to find it now and correct it.

RandyS

At least you realized it before you torqued the balancer bolt to 180lbs..........

Macadoo

See, now I just assume I'll have to do something three times. That way when it only takes two, I'm really happy