[gtospieg]

If you look at your second pic in your latest post you will see that the front seal(for the harmonic balancer) is not fully seated(it is crooked and probably not creating a good seal)...this could be the source of your leak.

[grivera]

Originally Posted by gtospieg

If you look at your second pic in your latest post you will see that the front seal(for the harmonic balancer) is not fully seated(it is crooked and probably not creating a good seal)...this could be the source of your leak.

Not sure about the seal on Joe's engine but the one I installed on my #'s matching engine looks the same as it bottomed out in the timing cover before the edge reached the surface. Mine is a reproduction timing cover so not sure if the dimensions are off or the seal is too "deep." It did not affect the seal's performance.

[chiphead]

Ditto on the front seal. Usually it bottoms before the lip perfectly hits the timing cover. Never had a problem with a major leak there. It's common to have some oil residue or a slow drip, because the timing chain throws a lot of oil against the pan lip and the front seal. The galley plug mod (if done) adds oil being thrown off the chain as it runs.

Not exactly on topic, but: Is the Romac that good of a balancer? Why not use a SFI-rated balancer that doesn't require so many modifications?

[Va68goat]

Holeshot71,
Anything but the exhaust theory again! Hahaha

Cardo,
Yeah...That was pretty good. I was surprised that he held the rhythm that well for that long. He had it almost sounding like my engine...Hahaha.

[MarkS57]

Originally Posted by Va68goat

Holeshot71,
Anything but the exhaust theory again! Hahaha

Years ago I saw a V6 Fiero for sale on Craigslist. These things are notorious for the front exhaust manifold cracking. When I called the guy about the car, I asked if it had any exhaust leaks (because replacing that d*mn manifold was a gigantic pain). He said it had an..."exhaust tap".....

[Va68goat]

68 461 Bird,
I hope to have the engine pulled this weekend. Looks like Paul is flying in on Wednesday to break down the motor and look for the problem. Hopefully this will be ending soon.

[68 461 Bird]

Originally Posted by Va68goat

68 461 Bird,
I hope to have the engine pulled this weekend. Looks like Paul is flying in on Wednesday to break down the motor and look for the problem. Hopefully this will be ending soon.

Great news! I think everyone here is on the edge of their seat waiting to hear what the problem is and gets resolved quickly.

[TedRamAirII]

Hard to imagine that piston issue being missed, twice. Once after the Dyno mishap, then again when returned and the Distributor Bushing issue repaired. 2 Dyno runs after repairs and no noises heard. Happy its all together and ready to peel your eyelids over your forehead!

[Va68goat]

Formulas,
We did run the engine with a stock balancer and the knocking noise was still present. I don't think we are going to run this engine without a balancer though.

I spoke to Paul last night and I think we are back on track. Frustration may have gotten the best of both of us but I think we are headed in the right direction now. I'm hopeful this will get resolved soon.

[Va68goat]

ponjohn,
Yeah..we've had the pan off a couple of times over the last 2 years. Right now the engine is in the car but I don't think it will be for long. I'm still waiting to hear from Jeff but if I don't hear anything soon, the motor will be out within a week.

[Va68goat]

Addtional photos