I just got a call from the machine shop which is trying to fix an oil leak from the rear main oil seal from my freshly re - built engine. They have discovered that the housing containing the seal appears to be too large - there is no pressure being applied to the seal and the seal just falls into place when installed. The crankshaft appears to be within spec, and several different seals have been tried(from GM and several aftermarket sources. This is a late 1965 six cylinder (230) - the car was assembled in April 1965. I believe that there are some differences in the oil system and seals which are unique to late model 1965 six cylinders. My main questions:

1) Is there a unique part number for the rear main seal for the late 1965 230 six ? If so, could someone let me know ?

2) What is the measurement for the housing in which the rear main fits (I don't know what it is called - someone could enlighten me about that too)

3) If this hole is too big due to some machining error, are there oversize seals that would fit?

4) If the answer above is no, the machinist wants to build up the crankshaft to better fit the seal; any thoughts on this ?

I would be grateful for any assistance that you could deliver. Thanks.

By the way - if you are EMAILING me - mail to smwild@ibm.net which is my personal EMAIL.

[This message has been edited by swild (edited 03-16-99).]

Forget building up the crank. Use a pair of sharp scissors and cut a couple of thin strips of your favorite beverage can. cut the strips about the same width as the land on the block where the seal sits. Put a thin wipe of silicone sealer on the block, then the strip, then another thin wipe of silicone, then the seal. Same drill on the cap. Wanna get fancy, offset the strips and seals so that none of the ends line up with each other or the parting line where the cap sits on the block. Works and is nearly free. Used to have to do this all the time on alignbored and honed 400's. We had to use something thicker, tho'. I recently had to do this on a 383 with a cast SCAT crank, The crank was the right size, the block was the right size, the seal barely touched the crank. Tried all kinds of different seals including a NAPA seal designed for this problem, nothing worked. Pepsi can worked fine.

Tom