Installation of IHOnly Supplied Gaskets & Others

[Grasor]

Mike thanks for the kind words! I'll admit this is the furthest I've ever been into an engine before; if you couldn't tell the furthest I've been beforehand was just yanking a valve cover to "see what's in there." that was years ago. Somehow I've accumulated all the tools I need to do this kind of thing, and when I found a free hd engine stand and an engine hoist on Craig's list for $75 I just went to town. Keep in mind, this whole project was just to do some engine bay repairs in the firewall and then paint. There was nothing I thought mechanically wrong w/ the engine, but as I had to disassemble to paint the sucker properly...well...here we are. I am learning a lot and it's been fun keeping busy on it.

Before I button up the bottom end, I just wanted to inquire about this donut gasket I found in the kit. It suspiciously matches the diameter of the rear main seal but I did not find one like it when I pulled the old one out. I'd imagine in this kit there are some parts for different year engines or maybe different size engines or even variations of gaskets requiring me to mach up to what I pull out.

So my question is, do I need this if I didn't find it in there before?

Thanks, hope you are enjoying your Sunday!

-Tom

 

[Michael Mayben]

No better way to learn this stuff than what you are doing! And with the resources such as this forum ya can't scruu up too bad, we won't let ya if ya keep asking questions!

You are right about these gasket sets having many extra pieces that are applicable to all versions of the I-4 and sv engines. It's an economy of scale thing for the manufacturer/supplier and they know that there is no way that after nearly 50 years the typical end users has any way of knowing exactly what version of whatever they are working with. But same all the extra pieces, if you keep playing with junkiron, eventually you will find a use for some of that stuff (or you can help someone else with junk from your stash)!

That circular gasket is for the very early "canister"-style oil filter that used a throwaway element inside a steel housing. Each replacement filter element also had a new gasket included in the package, no matter what the brand name it was sourced under. So-called "spin-on" filter elements started appearing in the marketplace on oem stuff around 1959>60 timeframe.

There should be two different rear cam cover plate gaskets in that kit also. That is because a design change was made in the block casting around '64 or so involving the feed holes/slots for the lifter galleries. If ya change that out, simply match the correct gasket with the casting passage shape. If you go back to the "sonja motor" thread, you will see how someone in the past used only rtv on that plate, which resulted in blocking oil flow to the lifter galleries and was a contributor to root cause failure of that engine.

Rtv should be banned from the planet, I won't even use the shit for caulk in the kitchen or bathroom plumbing, only acrylic latex for me (or sometimes polyurethane)!

The kits also usually contain multiple variations of the spin-on oil filter adapter (if used) and also a gasket for an "adapter" plate sometimes used with some of the engines for the spin-on oil filter setup. And...multiple gaskets (both bolt pattern and thickness) for the oil pump housing that allow for the pump rotor clearance to be adjusted. Multiple gaskets will also be found in an oil pump rebuild kit, those serve as "shims" for adjusting clearance...some of those gaskets are a paper material, some are a mylar material.

I've done nothing constructive today other than deliver a carburetor to one of our members here and walk every aisle at the local wallyworld for restocking essential supplies (such as carb cleaner!). The air conditioner in the t'all sure is nice on 100f days like this, we don't have a/c in our house so I just go shopping!

 

[Michael Mayben]

Do not forget to slather the threads on the flex plate bolt threads with hylomar or permatex #2 before sticking 'em into the holes on the flex plate spacer and into the crankshaft hub. If ya don't do that, oil will pour out the rear of the engine and you will think ya scruud up the seal install.

The flex plate and spacer can only go on in one position...that will maintain the original balance of the engine assembly (assuming jasper did that correctly!) as it matches the flex plate now. The torque converter for these engines is neutral balanced, but as you know, it will only mount in one single position also due to one of the mounting pads being offset.