{"id":37324,"date":"2014-09-28T12:03:37","date_gmt":"2014-09-28T12:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/owegopennysaver.com\/?p=37324"},"modified":"2014-09-28T12:03:37","modified_gmt":"2014-09-28T12:03:37","slug":"collector-car-corner-leaking-292-ford-v8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2014\/09\/28\/collector-car-corner-leaking-292-ford-v8\/","title":{"rendered":"Collector Car Corner – Leaking 292 Ford V8"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Collector<\/a>

Jim Gardner and his grandson, Tristin, enjoy a ride in Jim\u2019s absolutely beautiful 1957 Ford Thunderbird. Gardner needs advice on what to do with a constant rear main seal oil leak coming from his 292 V8. A respected machine shop owner has some sound advice for Jim in this week\u2019s column. (Jim Gardner family photo).<\/p><\/div>\n

Q: Hello Greg. I enjoy your articles very much and I see them in the Easton Express in Easton, Pa.<\/p>\n

I own a 1957 Ford T- Bird, photo attached, with a 292 V8. The rear main seal leaks oil, and the former owner said he had the seal replaced two times. He told me to live with the leak because the Ford 292 Y blocks always had this issue.<\/p>\n

Do you know of any full-proof solution to this issue and what would be the expense to the fix? Thanks for the info. The engine was rebuilt about 10,000 miles ago and runs great. Jim Gardner, email from Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

A: Jim, sadly, you\u2019re friend is correct that the 292-V8 has been cursed with this rear seal problem. I also have a 292 Y-block V8 in my ’59 Edsel Ranger, and until now, the rear seal is holding its own.<\/p>\n

Since my engine has never been rebuilt, that ole\u2019 292 still has the original Ford-Edsel-Mercury \u201crope type main seal\u201d that, not surprisingly, contains asbestos. The new 292 main seals that are used in re-builds today I don’t believe contain asbestos, which may be why this \u201ccurse\u201d hits the 292 more so than other V8 engines. IE: When the original 292 seal leaks or the engine is re-built, use of a \u201cnew\u201d rear main seal just doesn\u2019t get the job done, as proven by it being replaced twice already since the re-build.<\/p>\n

Although you could pour a can of a name brand \u201crear main sealer\u201d into your crankcase (with hopes of a miracle), the reality of the situation is that even if these products do offer a temporary fix,\u00a0both you and I \u00a0know these \u201csealers\u201d won\u2019t cure bad leakers for any length of time.<\/p>\n

Thus, to assist in answering your questions, I contacted Harry Nikulich of Harry\u2019s Machine, in Sayre, Pa. Harry is a well-known and respected machine shop owner and former drag racer. Harry recommends a complete engine removal that will allow a machine shop to get to the problem area, check the crankshaft, rear main seal cap and mic everything for roundness before installing a brand new rear main seal. Surprisingly, Harry said he would charge in the neighborhood of about $125 to make sure everything is machined to perfection, including the crank, rear main and cap. Nikulich said he charges $40 to $50 for crank polishing, and to mic, turn and true up the areas of the rear main seal might run another $75 or so.<\/p>\n

Remember, this is the labor charge only. If you can\u2019t pull the engine with some friends, you\u2019ll be looking at a bill over $1,000 if you have a garage\/machine shop do the entire job.<\/p>\n

In ending, and even though your 292 was rebuilt 10,000 miles ago, I would not just replace another rear main seal by jacking up the engine and removing the oil pan to get at the rear main. Your previous owner has already done this twice, which means it will start to leak again.<\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t live with the leak, Harry and I highly recommend a complete recheck in a disassembled state, which means the crankshaft is out of the engine. You\u2019 be glad you had the crank polished and turned (if necessary) to perfection and have that cursed rear seal area machined to absolute roundness. Good luck, let me know what happens and thanks for your letter!<\/p>\n

(Greg Zyla is a syndicated auto writer who welcomes reader questions on auto nostalgia, collector cars or old-time racing at 116 Main St., Towanda, Pa.18848 or email at greg@gregzyla.com).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Q: Hello Greg. I enjoy your articles very much and I see them in the Easton Express in Easton, Pa. I own a 1957 Ford…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":37327,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nCollector Car Corner - Leaking 292 Ford V8 - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2014\/09\/28\/collector-car-corner-leaking-292-ford-v8\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Collector Car Corner - Leaking 292 Ford V8 - Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Q: Hello Greg. 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