440 Rear Main Crank Seal Install

Posted By: CYACOP

440 Rear Main Crank Seal Install - 10/31/09 01:43 AM

After a 2 week long venture I finally got my hands on a rope type rear seal. It's a Victor JV551 kit.

The ropes are oval shaped. Which way are they to be installed, with the thinner edge toward the retainer and block or the wider edge pushed into the retainer and block?

What are small odd shaped peices for? I assume they make up the side seals but where are they installed and oriented before the RTV is forced into the sides?

The second pic shows parts from a neoprene seal kit. It contains fiber side seals, odd shaped L type pieces and some short peices of tubing I assume go between the block and the retainer with the bolts through them?

Im thinking of combining the 2 kits and using the fiber side seals with the rope. Im not too crazy about the idea of a formed RTV side seal.

Please help me out.

Attached picture 5577259-IMG_0796(Small).jpg

Attached picture 5577259-IMG_0796(Small).jpg

Posted By: CYACOP

Re: 440 Rear Main Crank Seal Install - 10/31/09 01:44 AM

Parts from rubber seal kit:

Attached picture 5577262-IMG_0798(Small).jpg

Posted By: rowin4

Re: 440 Rear Main Crank Seal Install - 10/31/09 02:01 AM

The rope seal is old school, but I used them way back, just push the rope into the cap with one end just a little above flush, cut off the other with a razor blade ,do the block the same. before installing crank put some oil on it. To install the cap, lube the rope seal,dab some sealant on each mating surface, dip the 2 fiber stick in oil [do not soak as they swell fast} slip the cap into place, insert the fiber sticks with out sealant all the way down, tighten the bolts. The other pieces are for the slant 6

Posted By: TJP

Re: 440 Rear Main Crank Seal Install - 10/31/09 03:22 AM

If it's an old rope seal kit you might be OK. The newer ones will shrink after 6 months or so and will create a massive leak.

Posted By: CYACOP

Re: 440 Rear Main Crank Seal Install - 10/31/09 07:13 AM

Quote:

If it's an old rope seal kit you might be OK. The newer ones will shrink after 6 months or so and will create a massive leak.

It seems like the rope is impregnated with graphite or something.

Posted By: rbstroker

Re: 440 Rear Main Crank Seal Install - 10/31/09 01:00 PM

I installed mine yesterday. The rope seals are cut with a razorblade after packing into the grooves. The ends are siliconed with the same silver silicone as in the package. after installing the retainer cap, I filled the side seal areas with silicone per instructions. I did keep packing it down with a long wooden matchstick however. You can see it ooze out as it works its way down. If they had a long nozzle, you could fill from bottom up and not have any doubts about 100% coverage. Hope I got it right.

Posted By: RapidRobert

Re: 440 Rear Main Crank Seal Install - 10/31/09 02:13 PM

Quote:

If they had a long nozzle, you could fill from bottom up and not have any doubts about 100% coverage. Hope I got it right.

Why couldn't a person fill the grooves ahead of time w a generous amt & some on the block walls then install the retainer cap? Sounds easy & I would think it'd be very effective so I must be missing something

Posted By: sg66mopar

Re: 440 Rear Main Crank Seal Install - 10/31/09 04:35 PM

Quote:

Quote:

If they had a long nozzle, you could fill from bottom up and not have any doubts about 100% coverage. Hope I got it right.

Why couldn't a person fill the grooves ahead of time w a generous amt & some on the block walls then install the retainer cap? Sounds easy & I would think it'd be very effective so I must be missing something

That's how I do mine when the motor is in the car. I try to get the groove as full as possible, then put RTV on the sides of the block as well. You need to be careful to not wiggle the retainer around after its bottomed on the block. Also make sure you have some RTV on the retainer/block parting line. I believe that's where most of the leaks originate, then the oil runs down the grooves or back of the retainer, making it hard to track down the origin.

The new Felpro kits come with two little pipe cleaners. You soak them in water, then stuff them in the slot, right through the RTV. The water reacts with the RTV to make it set up. I bought a package of pipe cleaners and now I make my own. Sounds hokey but it seams to work.

Posted By: RapidRobert

Re: 440 Rear Main Crank Seal Install - 10/31/09 05:24 PM

alright well my neighbor smokes a pipe so I'll see if I can bum some cleaners from him. and should I use any sealer under the seal itself (between the seal & the retainer)