Rear main seal

[jwag]

When I was working on my 292 lately, I decided to pull the oil pan and attack the rear main seal leak that I have.  I am chickening out though,  as I really have no desire to attack the top half of a rope seal while the engine is in the car. My question however,  is this. I was reading a repair manual from the 60's (Chiltons 1954 to 1963) and it said that it was quite common to fix the problem by just changing the lower half. It said that if you left 1/16 of an inch extra where you cut it, it would tighten up the top seal a little and stop the leak. Have any of you tried this?

[Hoosier Hurricane]

There used to be kits that would drive a flat shim behind the top seal.  I have made tools to drive a 1/16 gas welding rod behind the top half of the seal and install a new lower half with some success.  Problem is, the old rope seals had asbestos in them, I guess that's why my Y cars got cancer.  Anyway, the new seals are made of some safe material which acts more like a wick than a seal.  I have taken them out of a running engine and actually squeezed oil out of the seal.  My advice would be to go ahead and remove the old seal and install the modern neoprene lip seal.   John

[jwag]

Thanks for the advice John. I am going to go ahead and take it. I had read some horror stories about getting the old rope seal out. Mine slid out by just barely tugging on it. I bought this engine about 10 years ago and always had assumed that it was a 292. It had more power than the 292 in my wagon but I had always assumed that was because of the different horsepower some years had over others. I figured I had better verify if I was going to get the rubber seal. It is a 312 Mercury engine.

[Hoosier Hurricane]

Just be sure you get a 312 seal, the 292 seal readily available at your local parts store won't fit.  The shaft diameter is 1/8 inch bigger on a 312.  Best Gaskets makes the 312 seal, any Best dealer should be able to help you.   John