Early Slant 6 Rebuild
Hey y’all, it’s getting to be about time to rebuild my slant 6.
I’ve recently developed a leak at the rear main seal, and my mechanic doesn’t think it’s worth having replaced until the engine is rebuilt. A little history on the engine, I know the previous owner who knows the owner before him. Neither of them ever had it rebuilt, and the guy who had it before me (an idiot) probably only ever did one oil change in the 5+ years he had the car. It was in bad shape when I got it, so I’ve known this was coming.
Is this something I could fairly easily do myself or is it something that would be best done by someone with experience?
I live in Georgia, near Atlanta, so if anyone knows someone who does quality work on a /6 around here please let me know.
To get to the rear main seal on a slant you will need to drop the oil pan.
To get the oil pan out if you are working on an A body you will need to at least remove the motor mounts and tilt and lift the engine up.
After doing all of that, trying to get the top half of the seal changed, trying to get the oil pan re sealed, while working on an engine in chassis,,, is a lot of effort without a great chance of success.
I would pull the engine to change the rear seal, or wait and change it when the engine is rebuilt.
It would be worth the time to do a quick investigation as to why it is leaking oil,,,
Did some of the oil pan bolts get loose?
Is there excess / non vented pressure in the crankcase from a plugged PCV system or road draft tube?
Has piston ring blow by got so bad that the crankcase vent system can’t keep up?
Is there thrust bearing worn and the crank end play is out of specification?
