Ford 302 oil leak

[rebars1]

My 1971 Mercruiser 888, Ford 302, 188hp, has developed an oil drip at the front. Oil is not flinging aroung, so I think it is the front oil seal that needs replacing. Can you direct me to a diagragm or procedure to do this? It looks like it can be done without pulling the engine.

 

[qaztwo]

Re: Ford 302 oil leak

I changed mine on a 351, its all the same though. You need to pull the crank pulley, and balancer. Disconnect any brackets attached to the timming cover, on mine my alt. bolts to it, and drive out the old one. Since I did not remove my oil pan, and the seal is ment to be changed with the pan off. I placed the timming cover back on with all of the gaskets except the oil seal. then using a little downard force on the timming cover I got all of the bolts to go in. Once tight slide on the oil seal and using a piece of wood with the center drilled out drive the new one on. I will say this it is a pain in the butt to change with out dropping the pan. For a diagram any car or truck manual will have diagrams and torque specs.<br />Good luck.

 

[rebars1]

Re: Ford 302 oil leak

Thanks qaztwo. So you have to remove the timing cover to remove the old oil seal, but you can install the new one from the outside, after the timing cover is back on? Do you need to drain the oil first?

 

[qaztwo]

Re: Ford 302 oil leak

Thats a good question about removing the timming cover. I removed it to work on the engine, and see how the engine looked inside. If your seal has an outer flange which I'm sure it does, mine did, you could try to slide a flat head screw driver or a chisel between the flang and the cover. Being extermly carefull not to nick the crankshaft and try to pry it out. On mine which was a 76' 351w I destroyed the old one geting it out. I had drained some of the oil out prior to removing the cover, If I remember correctly the oil does not come all the up to the seal. Actually I'm positive it does not If your still worried about oil coming out just raise the front of the boat up. About the replacement seal, I first bought a felpro timming cover gasket kit. the seal that came with that kit did not have an outer flange. I ended up using a napa one.<br />Good luck

 

[qaztwo]

Re: Ford 302 oil leak

By the way I have a link over in the Boat Restoration and Building forum under the heading it has began that show some pics of the engine with the timming cover off.

 

[rebars1]

Re: Ford 302 oil leak

Thanks qaztwo, the pictures help a lot. I'll give it a go.

 

[steve n carol]

Re: Ford 302 oil leak

Yes, you can r&r the front crank seal w/o removing the timing cover. However, if you have never done this before you will risk bending the sheet metal cover, food for thought...sl

 

[qaztwo]

Re: Ford 302 oil leak

sheet metal, mine is a half inch thick cast iron. You're not going to bend it. <br />By the way did you get it out.

 

[rebars1]

Re: Ford 302 oil leak

qaztwo: I haven't tried it yet as I've picked up the gasket/seal set, etc. Also, studying the engine to meditate on what needs to be done. I'm hoping to do it on Friday or Sat. The seal in the gasket set (FEL_PRO) is metal with a rubber ring inside. Also, is there a sustitute for Perfect Seal? A steel sleeve repair sleeve is in the set but I don't know if I need it.<br /><br />steve & carol: any tips on removing the seal? Dig into it and work it out?

 

[steve n carol]

Re: Ford 302 oil leak

rod buster, dig into it and work it out...check the condition of the harmonic balancer where the seal rides. If there is an existing groove and if the new seal is going to ride in the same place, you may need to install a 'speedy sleeve'. There are numerous posts here regarding these sleeves and where they may be found. Great invention! Or depending on the depth of any possible groove, you may be able to work it out with some emory cloth. Best to ya!...sl<br />PS install some gasket sealer on the outside of the seal housing and into the timing chain cover where the seal seats, lubricate the 'lips' of the seal and try not to displace the key on the crankshaft when you re-install the harmonic balancer.

 

[rebars1]

Re: Ford 302 oil leak

I pulled the harmonic balancer today. It looks fine, no grooves. The oil seal sure looks like it could be pulled from the outside if only I could get a hold of it somehow with something like an inside puller....?

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Ford 302 oil leak

Use a blunt flat blade screwdriver to lever it out - easy does it, work it slowly while moving the driver to different points (12 o'clock then 6 then 9 then 3 ..........). It'll come.<br /><br />Aldo

 

[rebars1]

Re: Ford 302 oil leak

Good tips Dunaruna and you others. Got the old seal out and new one in. <br /><br />Earlier, I had gone to the Ford dealer to pick the special lubricant listed in Seloc (Lubriplate)to coat the rubber before installing the harmonic balancer. They handed me Permatex 66B silicon RTV adhesive sealant to use for both the outside of the oil seal and the inside rubber rubbing surface. They also said I could use use grease on the rubbing surface instead if I wanted to. <br /><br />Any input on what to use?

 

[qaztwo]

Re: Ford 302 oil leak

Glad to hear you got it out, On my seal I used the copper rtv between the seal and cover, only because I had it laying around. Also I just lubed the seal up with oil and poored some on the crankshaft as I put the seal on. <br /><br />Was a screw driver all you needed to pry the seal out. On mine which was a little newer then yours, a 76', I had to take a socket and drive the seal out from the backside of the cover, and even then it did not want to come out. Anyway at least you got it out without taking the cover off.

 

[rebars1]

Re: Ford 302 oil leak

qaztwo: my seal did not have a lip on the outside, like the one you saw in the felpro set. I carefully worked/pried the screw driver against the side of the seal (bent in the top edge of the seal)in a couple of places. To put in the new one I made a driver from a 3"piece of 2"dia pvc pipe with 3/4" plywood pieces epoxied top & bottom. The bottom piece had a 1-1/2"dia. hole drilled to pass over the crankshaft. Kind of funky, but it did the job.<br /><br />steve n carol<br />The harmonic balancer, upon closer inspection looks like it has two small grooves where the seal rubbed. Also, between the grooves the steel looks a little corroded, or at least not shiney. Should I smooth it out with emory cloth or use the repair sleeve & glue that came with the gasket set?

 

[steve n carol]

Re: Ford 302 oil leak

rebars1, <br />Yes smooth it out, if you can.<br />Otherwise use the sleeve.<br /><br />I trust that you found this seal replacement a fairly straight forward task!! Whats next?<br />Any ideas why this seal failed in the first place? hummmmm...sl<br /><br />I aee that you are a structural engineer. Cool, I deal with structural engineers alot as a DSA inspector. Lots of work in Ca. for us isn't there!

 

[steve n carol]

Re: Ford 302 oil leak

Rebars1, <br /><br />What was your fix for your cracked exhaust manifold?..sl

 

[rebars1]

Re: Ford 302 oil leak

steve n carol:<br /><br />A DSA inspector? You guys are tough. That's why I like you guys on the job! Most of my work is high-end residential but I occasionally do some school work. <br /><br />You are right. Once I finally just did it, the proceedure was pretty straight forward. The input from this forum gave me the confidence to tackle it. Next I need to pull the engine to replace the Y-pipe because it has a small leak. The guy I bought it from said he would just run the bilge pump periodically, but I don't like the dripping sound I hear when I stop the boat or relying on the pump. My mechanic estimated $1500.00 to do it.<br /><br />The small crack was in a riser I was looking at on EBAY. I got them as an extra set, but haven't done anything with them. New ones are probably best anyway.

 

[steve n carol]

Re: Ford 302 oil leak

rebar1, I had to replace the risers on mine. They are not cheap! Before you pull the engine, take some digital pics to help you put it back in. You may want to replace the oil pan gasket and rear main oil seal. "and while you're at it", (famous words), you can "plasti-gauge" the main bearing.<br />That will give you a great idea of what has gone on inside the engine. have you figured out how to align the engine to the outdrive? ...sl

 

[rebars1]

Re: Ford 302 oil leak

steve n carol: I'm not sure how/why the oil seal leaked. I noticed the edges of the rubber ring had a few small notches like it got dried or something. Also, the stain on the harmonic balancer looks like the engine sat for a long time? <br /><br />It does not leak now!