[DeTomaso] oil leak questions

[Christopher Kimball]

Here's another idea:
 
The difficulty there would be the removal of the old gasket and the cleaning of the surfaces with the pan only being able to be lowered by a small amount.  Once I lower the pan I'll see how feasible that is, because it seems as if that would be a good idea.


Only use the rubber/neoprene end seals for the pan.  Use black RTV instead
of the cork.  It does a better job than the cork.  The cork is a specific
size.  If you don't torque the pan enough, you get leaks.  If you torque it
too much, you get leaks.
 
Also - don't overfill the pan.
 
One more:  Make sure you have a working PCV.
 
-----Original Message-----
From: detomaso-bounces at realbig.com [mailto:detomaso-bounces at realbig.com] On
Behalf Of John Taphorn
Sent: Sunday, May 02, 2010 7:40 AM
To: Christopher Kimball; michael at michaelshortt.com
Cc: teampantera at yahoo.com; jderyke at aol.com; Pantera List Serve
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] oil leak questions
 
Chris
 
I have disassembled a couple 351C engines this past month that were 
assembled by professionals.  In both, the split rear seal was installed 
incorrectly.  The seal should be rotated or staggered slightly so as the 
split does not line up with the mating of the block to the cap. If it does 
line up, the opportunity for as leak is higher. In both engines the seal 
lined up with the mating surface.
 
When you read Tom Monroe's book he points out several unique sealing 
practices with the Cleveland to reduce the likelihood of leaks.  I am pretty
 
sure most generic shops don't bother researching individual engines' 
idiosyncrasies and simply follow their own learned experiences.