Wanted: 261 Chevrolet engine

[rob love]

Hmmmm, imagine that. Chevy owners complaining about oil leaks en-mass. Seems to me you might as well complain about the sun going down at night, the price of fuel going up, or any other inevitable occurrence.

[Bob Carriere]

Laying on your back....... under the truck which is slowly dripping from it's innards onto your young face.....having removed the pan and loosened all the main bearing caps of the engine....... using a metal screw into the rope...grunting and pulling..... or using a chinese finger device to pull the new rope seal in place...... and the fear of cutting off the excess seal material too short

You really have two choices....
one.... buy more and thicker viscosity oil... add as required
two... live with the natural Casual Metal Preservation oil spray

and as Rob said....enjoy the Sun set in the Western sky.

[Bob Phillips]

WELL.. I think the poor Chevy is getting a hard knock here..after all I can't think of an English automobile that I ever saw that didn't drip on the driveway!!
My engine overhauler told me that current rope seal is inferior to the old stuff- so someone out there must have NOS rope seals( probably have asbestos in them??) Was also told that on beefy motors some people line bore and cut a spot for a conventional seal in the rear main but the six cylinders are not really heavy in that region.
About water pumps, I stopped to see an amazing collection of restored trucks last weekend and the current project is also a 15cwt with 261. I was assured the standard water pump with a FOUR bladed fan should work fine, but the rad was not yet in so its conjecture at this point. Another option might be an electric fan.
Hope to start assembling my 15cwt in the next few weeks, might be able to drill the front motormounts on the 261 so I can use the existing front mount but in worse case scenerio could fabricate side mounts. By the way this truck had a 455 (454?) Pontiac motor in it when I got it- and had already been modified to heavy duty side mounts. Apparently it could spin its wheels at a fast idle and go nowhere with all that extra power.
BP

[motto]

A few years ago I was helping a friend in another city build up a 216 from a bare block. For some reason the gasket set he had did not contain the rear main seal halves so we went to an old parts supplier he knew of to buy them.
We told the elderly gentleman behind the counter we needed the rear main seal for a 216 Chev and away he went.
When he returned he had a single stick of rope seal instead of the two we required. When we told him we needed two of them he was completely flummoxed and said that he had only ever sold them one at a time for that was all anyone ever wanted.
It would seem that it had been common practice for a long time to only replace the lower section.
Maybe that is sufficient to reduce the leakage to an acceptable amount?

David

[chris vickery]

Using a chinese finger trap to pull this seal into place is a @$#*% of a job.
I can understand why someone would want to cheat and only do the bottom half. Either do it right or not at all.
From my understanding, the newer type modern seal is a bteer option but that is a case of doing it while it on the stand, otherwise you are dropping the crank right out.

[Phil Waterman]

Hi All

Sorry for going off topic on Chris's search for a 261, but now as the discussion is here. Bob Carriere asked about putting speedi-sleeve on the rear crank seal area. Below are two photos from the rebuild on the 235 engine. Think they sort of explain the problem, even after having the crank journals and seal areas ground to the rebuild specks the rear seal area front and rear still had pits visible. The front crank seal speedi-sleeve is a standard repair part carried by NAPA the rear is an issue of measuring the seal diameter and ordering a speed-sleeve and driving it on.



It can be done with the engine in place by loosening the main to allow a little clearance same procedure as given for replacing the seal rope. But I recommend doing it with the engine out and upside down. Remove the flywheel and then drive the sleeve on using the drive cup that comes with it. The sleeve has a grove in it so that once in place you clip the driving flange and it can be carefully pealed off.

Cheers Phil

PS-Wondering should we create a new thread with all the tech-tips to keep them together and let this thread be more pure about finding a 261 for Chris?


PPS- I've started inquiries down here looking for a 261 or 235 from somebody who might have one stashed away.

[Bob Carriere]

...important issues here should be save on its own for easier search in the future.

Bob