[lrosen]

What do some of you more experienced engine builders recommend for the various common leak points on a 326?

Such as: valley pan, oil pan, main seals (front & rear)

I am pretty sure my valley pan is leaking and I know that is a long time trouble spot in Ponti engines. Ideas?

For my valve covers, years ago I used something called Permatex Hylomar blue, a non-hardening, tacky sticky substance. It did not leak a drop for 8-9 years, I think it's time to redo, but I cannot find Permatex Hylomar anymore and there is very little left in my old tube.

I read an old article in HPP describing a method of replacing the rear main rope seal. The main point of the article was that the rope seal was installed but not trimmed perfectly flush with the block/cap surfaces, it said to let it protrude a little and then torque the main cap down. It then says to remove the cap and just trim the threads of rope that were "squeezed out" or caught and compressed between the cap & block. This method supposedly helps compress the rope ends together when tightened.

Has anyone tried this method?

[mgarblik]

Is the engine in the car right now? If it is installed and you are going after oil pan and rear main leaks, that can be rather difficult but not impossible to deal with. Let us know if you plan to re-seal with the engine in or out and I can provide some hints. With the engine out, you have better options and a higher success rate. I have replaced pan gaskets and rear main seals with the engine in a first gen Firebird. It's no picnic.

[lrosen]

Yeah it's in the car right now and I don't have plans to pull the motor soon (Want to drive this summer). My wife passed on Christmas Day and I am currently unemployed, so maybe this winter I'd pull it and do it right if I have the money and motivation.

It wreaked havoc on my old clutch and I installed the metal dirt shield that goes behind the flywheel and covers the bottom of the bellhousing. That has helped keep the oil off my clutch, but it still looks ugly coming out of the bottom of the engine. I know some of it comes from the distributor area of the valley pan but I'm pretty sure most is coming from rear main rather than oil pan.

My garage ceiling is just 4" (9' 6") shy of being able to install a lift, so I am looking at getting the Quickjack system http://www.quickjack.com/quickjack-p...-car-jack.html and I have an engine stand, but will have to rent an engine hoist.