Re: RearMainSealFunkyGasketBits

[jlandry@domain.elided (John A. Landry)]

On Fri, 7 Nov 1997 18:09:17 +0000, gehl@domain.elided wrote:

>Enjoy your recent comments on rear main seal replacement.  I 
>considered this on my 196 (believe same as 392) a while back, but 
>stopped for 2 reasons:  funky rod shaped gasket bits(2) had me 
>confused (are they tapped in?) and lack of good future gasket source 
>made me keep these bits for a later thorough rebuild.  

The rear main seal is a large one piece affair... a metal doughnut with the
viton rubber lip seal pressed inside.  The old seal is pried out (making
sure you don't mar or deface the crankshaft) and the new one is tapped into
place.  As I understand it, the seal lip will normally want to fold back as
the new seal is tapped in, so care must be taken to make sure the lip is
positioned correctly when fully installed.

>BTW, where do you get the best quality engine gasket kits?  Are they 
>factory or better quality?  What brands to seek?  What to avoid?

Personally I'm partial to Felpro gaskets.  Nothing special with them, but
they always have fit good for me and the quality is very consistent.  I can
always count on a good gasket from them.  Whenever I call my local auto
parts stores for price and availability on a specific gasket, I
specifically ask if it's from Felpro, and if not, I pass on 'em.  Felpro
offers all the various gaskets needed for IH engines, either individually
or in sets.

In the past on occasion I've used gaskets from NAPA and have had good luck
with them also.  I'm not sure who makes theirs.

Regards,

John

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