I just read a rebuild thread by flying brass, I think was the user name. I was in a lot of pain over how much trouble he encountered because of the ends of his cranks being grooved and how much oil leakage he had, and all the different seals he tried and all the difficulty. I am here to say that I HATE OIL LEAKS, and will go to just about anything to stop them.

I have read mixed results about the sleeve and seal kits available to stop crank area leaks. Some quote Marlin saying te steel is too hard for them to properly lap in and seat the seal. Ted and Engnbldr seems to think they work just fine. Since as I said I will go to just about anything to stop oil leaks, I'd like to ask the following:
1. Are non-grooved cranks available in any form? 1.aftermarket
2.OEM
3.weld/machine service
4.salvage

A member here said I'd spend $200 on a new crank if mine was out of spec. I don't know where he was coming up with the price from or where I might spend that $200, or what grooves I might or might not find if I did.

Besides all the oil leaking, much of it seeming to be from the rear seal, and the lower end knocking I'm hearing, I'd otherwise be ok to drive my truck as-is for however long it lasts. The power it has is a lot better than my '83 2wd with umpteen thousand miles on it (odo stopped working at 165k 10 years ago before the owner before me even got it..)
But it has no oil leaks after I changed the timing kit and did the oil pan with RTV...

I am wanting to rebuild my newer to me '82 engine and make DAMN SURE I don't get oil leaks afterwards.

With the lower end noise I'm suspecting after it's 132,000 (HARD) miles, I'm expecting some grooves in the crank if not having to find another crank altogether. Supposing I do need another crank, I am open to all suggestions on the MOST EFFECTIVE IN STOPPING CRANK SEAL, front and back, remedy to grooves/ oil leaks. Gaskets can be changed, but it is the round seals replacement that I dread. I do not want to see drops of oil front or rear after having to r/r and entire engine...especially not in the rear. I can't stress this enough. I want to go through the laborof this engine swap ONCE, PERIOD.

 

The front is easy because the front damper can be replaced. I've seen a few methods for the rear seal.


I have seen a crank shop run a weld bead on the groove and grind it to spec. I have seen another shop turn it down and press a sleeve to original size on. This is USUALLY for antique or rare, hard to find cranks.


The speedy sleeves sometimes work for a long time and sometimes leak again in short time. I don't care for them.


I "hear" some replacement seals move the seal lip to another location to avoid the same groove. Not sure how to verify that but sounds like a good idea.


When I worked at a Caterpillar Dealership I often put the new seal in a slightly different spot in the seal retainer and often two seals "IF" I had the room to do so. This was not on crank seals though because Cat crank seals were assemblies that included a sleeve and a special tool to press the assembly on. I usually did this on hydraulic, powertrain or fuel systems.


Another thing some people miss is the ability for the oil behind the seal to drain. Most rear seals really should not have pressure on them and often have a deflector of some sort to keep even spray or splash to a minimum and a drain hole or channel to let it return to the pan instead of pooling at the seal.


Plugged crank case vents or inop PCV valves that allow the crankcase to pressurize will cause leaks at every gasket if it's bad enough.


Just some stuff to think about.

 

If your worried get a new crank I was looking for something and they came up in the search.

New Crank with bearing for like $225.00 I only glanced so I could be off on the price.

 

Now I'm thinking of getting a reman longblock to do the rebuild as I may sell my old 2wd to finance the 4x4 project. I would hope the guarantee of the remanufacturer to include oil leaks. Buying reman would save time in the rebuild/swap, allowing me to sell the fine running truck and just bicycle to work or limp the new beater in need of rehaul to work in the mean time. My other thread about the rear main seal will be where I ask for a reputable remanufacturer, but suggestions here are warmly welcomed. I know everyone's got their experiences, I just have to note that a lot of people may have complained about head gaskets going bad because they might not have re-torqued them after 500 miles.

 

While most all rebuilt engines would be warrantied for oil leaks it is the labor of pulling the engine and reinstalling that is either time consuming or expensive.

Then if you have to ship it back even more expensive.

 

Has anyone used a jasper reman engine? I'm not finding prices on their site and may call them. I'm shopping around for good remanufacturers. It seems that Oregon engine builders in sandy have the best warranty.

 

Just redid my timing chain and the front seal from the OSK kit sits father back, away from the pre-existing groove made by the stock one. I got the kit from 22RE Performance.com