Rear crank rope seal

R

Richard Thorley

Member
Has anyone replaced this with the engine in situ? Mine leaks and I read in the original workshop manual that this can be replaced without a complete strip down but I think back in the day they used a special tool. Just wondered if it was do'able and any tips for the job.
 
It's doable with a Chinese finger tool. The one time we tried it on my P5B though, it still leaked.
Sump off, crank dropped slightly to do the job but it's still a struggle to get the top seal round with the tool.
Cured eventually with an engine rebuild, using TK Bedford pre-formed seals round the crank.
 
Chinese fingers are made by Lisle and available on the net. They aren't a true chines finger though, they use a grab rather than the woven net.
 
When I strip my nada engine during my resto ( It was quite oil tight ) am going to get block machined to take the later lip seal.
The rope seals are a bit hit and miss on success even when replaced correctly.
If you have got early engine make sure that the crankcase breather circuit is not blocked ( including the connection through carbs ) or it will leak more.
Clive.
 
Richard Thorley said:
Has anyone replaced this with the engine in situ? Mine leaks and I read in the original workshop manual that this can be replaced without a complete strip down but I think back in the day they used a special tool. Just wondered if it was do'able and any tips for the job.
Click to expand...

The can be done but with varying degrees of success, and you can't use the standard rope seal in the top half, you have to find a suitable, longer substitute. With the breather system perfectly clear, and main bearings that aren't worn, you can run them with the seals in pieces and most of the time they won't leak.
 
I have recently been fitting old Jaguar XK six cylinder engines with positive crankcase ventilation systems ( PCV ). This means using a PCV valve in a rocker cover and piping it to the intake manifold.
The engine then draws crankcase blow by gasses in through the intake and creates a slight vacuum in the engine, this helps massively with keeping the oil in.
I fitted up the Rover engine in my Cobra replica with a PCV system as well and again a lot of the annoying weeps stopped. The idle mixture needs to be re set after the install, and care must be taken not to use a single intake runner, but to go into a plenum area
 
This might seem a bit silke but if I'm checking the breather system is all clear what items in the engine should I be checking and looking at sorry I'm not familiar with this engine at all so be gentle
 
Sure there is a reason you can't do this but can you not undo the bearing caps and lower the crank slightly to allow you to fit another seal in place?
 
You rely on the friction between the crank and the seal because you turn the engine over while pulling the seal round with the tool. Drop the crank and you'll lose that, and the seal won't be forced into it's groove. The proper way to do the job is to remove the engine and the crank, the chinese finger is a tool to allow you to cheat.
 
Richard Thorley said:
This might seem a bit silke but if I'm checking the breather system is all clear what items in the engine should I be checking and looking at sorry I'm not familiar with this engine at all so be gentle
Click to expand...

The flame traps being clear, and the ports on the carbs where the pipes attach needs to be clear. There's also a filter for the inlet at the back of the engine, on the drivers side and a t-piece which also needs to be clear. If the engine is healthy the rear port such suck air in. If your flame traps are blocked or the piston rings are worn it may blow.

Hope that's some help....
 
the flame traps are the little grey blue plastic things that are in the middle of the pipes between the tops of the rockers and the carbs.
 
i'm not sure to be honest :) The gauze in the middle is metal but you're probably right about what it's made of. Just me assuming
 
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