Veteran
Posts: 168
 
Location: SD | I'm doing a stock rebuild of the 230 out of my '57 Plymouth.
The problem is that the crank becomes difficult to turn when the rear main cap is torqued down. After eliminating the bearings and seal, I removed the side seals (even though I was sure they couldn't cause the problem) and torqued the cap. Problem eliminated! What?!?
With no side seals installed, the crank takes about 5-10 ft-lb to get it moving. With the side seals (from a Felpro set) in place, it took approx. 40 ft-lb! I remembered that side seals also came with my Best Gasket rear main seal, so I dug those out to compare. They are shaped pretty much the same, but shorter overall than the Felpros. I put them in and the breakaway torque was 25-30 ft-lb. A definite improvement, but still too high, I believe.
I have tried repositioning them, but that doesn't change much. I can move them out (away from the crank) a tiny bit, but not much, or they won't seat properly in the recess where the rear edge of the cap fits down into the block. Besides, I'm still not exactly sure why they are even causing an issue.
Has anyone run into this, and how did you solve it? Thanks for any help with this! |
flathead 6 rear main side seals
