[Wade Congdon]

Craig,

I know you did a good job installing this seal because we spokeabout it seveal time while you were doing it. I have to refer yo back to my earlier post.

"Everyone keep in mind that for the lip seal the "tip" test is not the final say in leakage. We have seen many engines drip on the tip test and not leak under use. This is because oil can migrate through the serrations in a static situation. The oil slinger and angle of the serrations fling oil away from the seal while running. In addition, the lip seal has smaller helical lips on the primary lip that actually "screw" the oil back into the engine while it is running. In the 2009 seal revision we made these less prominent to help the seal in a static situation, but bottom line is an engine can leak in tip test conditions and be leak free in real life conditions."

The "tip" test is not a valid test for a lip seal unless the crank is smooth. You will not find an engine builder that will take the care that you did when you installed this seal. I would bet that this engine will be leak free under running conditions.

[craigs69]

Wade,

Thank you for reminding me of your earlier post. Taking that into consideration as well as goat2789's post about his engine leaking while installing it but not while it is running, I went ahead and put the engine and transmission back in. The leak on mine was uniformly seeping around the entire diameter of the crankshaft, further reinforcing the theory about the serrations on the crank. If it had been a bad installation job, I would have expected to see the leak more confined to the parting line. I am hoping to fire this thing up sometime in the next week or two, so I will definitely report back when that happens.

[craigs69]

After many setbacks with aftermarket parts not fitting properly and "direct fit" radiators that didn't fit, I was finally able to start the car today. I ran it for about 10 minutes and didn't notice any dripping. I shut the car off for a bit to tighten a leaking radiator hose and started it again, bringing the RPM's up a little higher this time. I shut the car off and looked underneath to find a quarter sized oil puddle right under the torque converter. I crawled under the car to see if I could identify the source of the leak and sure enough....... it was coming from the rear seal.

I have decided that at this point, I am going to finish putting the car back together and drive it with the leaky seal for the summer. If I pull the engine again, I am certain that I will not have it back together soon enough to drive before it's time to put it away for winter. That is not an option for me as I am going through withdrawls already. All I have left to do is hang the front end sheet metal and put in the interior, so I am hoping to be driving it by the end of July.

[lust4speed]

Originally Posted by craigs69

...I have decided that at this point, I am going to finish putting the car back together and drive it with the leaky seal for the summer...

Excellent plan. I would too.