Restarting My '70 Nova Project

[lsgreg]

 

[dodge man]

Are you sure it’s oil? I zoomed in on your picture and it looks awfully black. It’s probably just the picture.

 

[Rockbadchild]

Are you sure it’s oil? I zoomed in on your picture and it looks awfully black. It’s probably just the picture.

oil over concrete makes it look black ... on the one splash you can tell its actually brand new oil

 

[dodge man]

Wishful thinking on my part.

 

[BravoXray]

Are you sure it’s oil? I zoomed in on your picture and it looks awfully black. It’s probably just the picture.

Yeah, it was definitely oil under the center of the engine. Water was dripping off the starter on the right side.

 

[BravoXray]

Okay, so I have it out, on the engine stand and the pan removed. Pulled the oil pan, oil pump and rear main cap. The sealant I applied at the rear of the cap was definitely sealing that area, and was adhering very well. The bottom half of the seal stayed on the crank as one end was clocked into the bore of the block about half an inch, but came out easily. Used a pocket screw driver to push out the upper half and took them to the bench to examine them. They looked okay, but there was no gray sealant on the ends of the upper seal, but there was on the lower half, which is where I applied it when I assembled it. So, as I surmised, the seal's O.D. was too small, and when assembled, the ends weren't in contact, leaving a gap for oil to leak out of. Makes perfect sense now.
Just to prove it to myself and you guys, The pictures show the seal halves installed in the cap and block with one end flush with the mating surface, and the other ends up about 1/16" recessed in the cap or block. There's the problem, clear as can be.
I was able to get the left header out without removing the steering box, it's close, but by removing the plugs on that side it comes out, barely.
Once I get the parts and get the seal installed, I'm going to roll it over and check the head bolt torques. If they're up to spec, I'm going to pull the right head and change the head gasket. I'm interested in what surprise I find there. I know I used the recommended Fel-Pro head gaskets called out in the head installation instructions. The heads were brand new and he block was decked, so it should have good mating surfaces. Curious.....

Stay tuned guys!

 

[dodge man]

At least you figured out the oil leak. So to be clear you have a water leak too?

 

[BravoXray]

At least you figured out the oil leak. So to be clear you have a water leak too?

Yes, when I was under the car looking at the oil leak, there was water running off the rear of the block, down onto the starter and dripping off a starter bolt. I don't think it was coming out at the rear of the intake, but could have been, I couldn't see that area as the firewall is in the way. I checked the intake bolts, and they are tight. I might try to fill the block with coolant and pressurize it to try to find the actual location of the leak. Intake gasket leaks commonly leak into the interior of the engine, but there was no coolant in the oil.
When I pulled the plugs, there was no signs of coolant in the cylinders, so it's a mystery at this point what's going on.

 

[Alan46]

Yes, when I was under the car looking at the oil leak, there was water running off the rear of the block, down onto the starter and dripping off a starter bolt. I don't think it was coming out at the rear of the intake, but could have been, I couldn't see that area as the firewall is in the way. I checked the intake bolts, and they are tight. I might try to fill the block with coolant and pressurize it to try to find the actual location of the leak. Intake gasket leaks commonly leak into the interior of the engine, but there was no coolant in the oil.
When I pulled the plugs, there was no signs of coolant in the cylinders, so it's a mystery at this point what's going on.

Good luck!

 

[BravoXray]

Got the new seal and gaskets today, and as the picture shows, the new seal will have overlap and won't have a gap at the ends. I thoroughly cleaned the seal bore, coated the journal with some oil and rolled the top half into place, then applied the anaerobic sealer to the block mating surface as recommended, put the other half of the seal in place, installed the bearing cap,seated it, set the end play, and torqued the studs to 70 ft lbs. So, that should end that problem for good.
I pulled the valve covers and checked the torque on the head studs, and with the torque wrench set at 70 ft lbs, all but one nut took about 15° to 20° to bring them up to torque. One a few nuts, I backed the torque off to 60 ft lbs and was still able to turn 4 or 5 of them slightly before they reached that torque.
I checked my build notes and they were all torqued to 70 ft lbs with the same wrench when I assembled the engine, so the gasket has compressed slightly since then.
So my quandary is, did the reduced clamping force cause the leak, and will bringing them up to proper torque seal the leak, or should I just go ahead and pull the head and replace the gasket? I'm mulling that over, but I'll probably go ahead and pull the head just to be sure. Better safe than sorry.