OK, so my mechanic is traveling in Europe (purportedly on funds derived from
servicing vehicles such as my own 8^) He's back in a couple weeks, at which
time I'll have him drop the trans and replace the rear seal (per my earlier
post, below). But then I'm thinking: I should probably clean up the sludge
on the passenger side, the way I did on the driver's side, in case any globs
migrate to the crankcase after I clean -- he'll have the pan off, and will
clean the pickup while he's at it. And then I'm thinking: Since I wasn't
overly impressed with the flow of oil coming from the rocker arms, maybe I
should pull them and clean them up too. So here's my question(s):
1) Are there any risks in pulling the rocker assemblies? Obviously, the
valves will have to be adjusted; but, apart from that?
2) If I need any springs (the ones that separate the intake and exhaust
rockers), does anyone have a good source?
adTHANKSvance,
Dan
'59 Sport Fury
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Forward Look Mopar Discussion List
>[mailto:L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Dan Morton
>Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2003 9:30 PM
>To: L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: [FWDLK] As goes Main (seal), so goes Faulkner
>
>
>I was aware of a slight leak from the rear main, but it wasn't until I took
>Faulkner for a spin on the highway that I became aware of just how big a
>problem I had. I ended up with a small pool of oil on the garage floor
>after my drive.
>
>I had posted previously to this group about the problem, and what I needed
>to do to replace the main seal. However, a mechanic friend of mine
>suggested I should first check under the valve covers before I did
>anything. He claimed that sludge buildup can prevent the release of
>crankcase pressure from blowby, and you can lose oil out the rear main.
>Today I put that theory to the test.
>
>I remove the driver's side cover, and fershur there was sludge. Not as bad
>as I had feared, but both oil ports at opposite sides of the head were
>completely blocked. I cleaned out as much sludge as I could, and then
>worked a 14 gauge copper wire down each port, twisting and pulling a little
>bit more sludge out each time. I used the same trick on each of the rocker
>ports...
>
>Pleased with myself, I started the engine and waited for it to warm up, so
I
>could adjust the valves. As I watched the dance of the push rods, a glint
>from a growing pool of oil on the ground caught my eye. I killed the
>engine, but watched as the pool grew and grew. Eventually, it drained the
>crankcase, at least to the level of the bottom of the seal.
>
>It's apparent that, despite my wishful thinking, I indeed need to replace
>the rear seal. It's gone. My question is: Could there possibly be a
>relation between clearing the oil ports, and the sudden surge of oil? My
>inclination is to say it was coincidental, and the condition was just
>worsening... What do you think?
>
>At any rate, if I can get the 318 to stop leaking, I'll drive it for a
while
>before a rebuild. But there's a replacement rear seal in Faulkner's
future...
>
> Dan
> '59 Sport Fury
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