FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

G'day everybody,
Is there anybody in Brisbane who can lend/rent to me the rear main seal compressor tool?
It's listed as special tool 6A6 in the manual.
I'm getting my engine back from the machine shop this week and would be most appreciative for any help with acquiring this.
I'm taking a guess here but could i chop up an old crank shaft and make one of these? Not that I have a spare crank but....
Thanks for your time people,
Ben.

soak your new seal in oil , few hours and work it in to it ..you want a new seal nice and slippery on start up ,its one of the trickiest bits of engine to assemble..not too tight not too loose ...Vern

I turned up a steel slug 0.003" smaller the the seal journal on the crank & used this to fit the rope seal.
Cheers
John

Ben,

Is the machine shop going to assemble the engine, or are you?

You can do without Tool 6A6 if you have a beer can, a piece of soft wood, and some heavy-duty silicone sealant like "Blue Max".  As Vern says, soak the seal halves in oil for a few hours.

Assemble the main bearing shells into the block and the main bearing caps.  Put a thin bead of the silicone into the groove in the rear main bearing cap, wipe the seal dry (ish), and push the seal into place with your thumbs.  Cut a couple of strips off the beer can, about the width of the oil seal.  Now for the tricky bit: get a G-clamp and a piece of soft wood.  Put the rear main bearing cap into place on the crank, slide the strips between the crank and seal, about a quarter-inch down.  Tighten the rear main bearing cap onto the crank, using the piece of wood between the clamp and the journal.  Don't damage the journal.  With the sharpest knife you can find, trim the seal back flush with the face of the cap.  It's fiddly.  The seal is fibrous and won't cut easily; and you have the step to contend with.  The strips of beer can are to protect the crank.  When the seal's trimmed, remove the rear main bearing cap from the crankshaft and put it aside.

Lay a thin bead of silicone into the seal groove in the block.  Install the seal with your thumbs.  Cut the seal off about 2 mm above the face of the block.  Lube the bearings, lay the crank in place, ease the beer can strips in between the crank and seal, install the front three main bearing caps only, and tighten the bolts.  Cut the seal off flush (don't worry about the step yet).  Remove the main bearing caps, lift the crank out, chuck the beer can strips, and trim the seal flush with the steps in the block.

Put a thin smear of silicone on the rearward quarter-inch mating face of the block.  Lay the crank in place again.  Install all four main bearing caps and torque the bolts down.  You should see sealant ooze out between the rear main bearing cap and the block.  The crank won't want to turn with the newly-installed seal in place - this is normal.  Squirt some oil down the drain hole in the rear main bearing cap to lubricate the seal.

Expect to take an hour or more to get the rear main bearing seal installed.

I cement the rear main bearing oil seal in place.  Other people centre-punch the seal groove.  This is to stop the seal from spinning in the groove and disintegrating.  As you can guess, it is the most frustrating thing imaginable to remove and strip down a freshly rebuilt motor because the rear main seal spun in its groove.

Rob