[Blue '66]

Originally Posted by lust4speed

Engine is out, and have some pictures to post. The most unnerving one was the discoloration of the crank from the heat generated by the seal. Note that the serrations didn't have anything to do with the failure. All together there was only half the seal still in place, other half was in the pan and on the ground. I'll repeat that the previous rope seal lasted 24 years and wasn't leaking when the engine came out for freshening up and a cam upgrade. Also the pickup screen was clean, but that doesn't mean that the pieces weren't drawn up against it when the engine was running. Mains are clean with no pollution found. Pictures of the seal on the crank was just after lifting the cap off - there was that much seal missing. The intact piece of seal looks to be the correct size.

Ran out of time and haven't cut the filters open yet.

This thread is scaring me Mick.Thanks for the pics of the damage

[74SDformula]

Here are a couple of photos of a seal failure on a Buick 400 engine.

[Shiny]

What is the base material for these seals? just curious, as they must be a graphite-impregnated fiber... the fragments almost look extruded... like plastic.. I can't believe the fiber would be synthetic, but why else would it look that way when it failed? If you light a match under it, does it actually melt? really weird...

As always, these horror stories are painful to watch, but really teach my newbie self a lot