[Healeys] Rear seal kit

Sun Nov 5 08:43:40 MST 2023

PCV kit here.

https://precisionsportscar.com/austin-healey-100-engine-oil-leak-solution/

On Sun., Nov. 5, 2023, 9:45 a.m. Michael Oritt, <michael.oritt at gmail.com>
wrote:

> *Q--Michael I would be interested to know why you are thinking that a
> rebuild is necessary at this stage. The drop in oil pressure alone would
> IMHO not be reason enough. Is the engine making odd noises or burning
> excessive amounts of oil? Perhaps a "ring and bearing" job would be the
> best way to go.*
>
> *A--There are no odd noises and oil consumption isn't bad, though it is
> more than when the engine was fresh.  I have not done a recent compression
> check either static or dynamic but as said oil pressure has dropped
> considerably from when the engine was fresh perhap 15-20 psi across the
> board with hot idle pressure of 10-15 psi.  I did replace the oil pump last
> year which resulted in perhaps a 5 psi increase in pressure and as a
> further experiment I also replaced the bearing shells that were accessible
> by dropping the sump (lower shells to cylinders 3 and 4) but neither of the
> last two resulted in a substantial increase in pressure.  Naturally if the
> teardown shows a lot of wear in rings and bores I'd be happy to keep things
> to that. *
>
> Q2--My car has an early aftermarket valve cover and looks like the ones
> sold by Ray Juncal minus one fin and with a flat versus a slightly convex
> top surface.  There is no vent nipple and it has a spring-loaded filler cap
> that probably does not make a tight seal though there is no oil blow-by.
> Is there a real advantage to installing a PCV valve and if so where should
> the hose terminate?  I removed the original LeMans kit CAB some time back
> and would prefer not to refit it.
> *The PCV system that I've developed doesn't involve the rocker cover at
> all and, by the sounds of it, your engine would be an ideal candidate.
> Check the web site that I showed  ... the system is virtually invisible but
> does require the replacement of the manifold balance pipe.*
>
> *A--Can you please give me the website address?*
>
> On Sat, Nov 4, 2023 at 11:17 PM Michael Salter <michaelsalter at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Q1--As said earlier my car does not have a great amount of leakage
>> through the cotter pin in the bell housing, though I do seem to remember
>> that it leaked more after the engine was freshly rebuilt about 70K miles
>> ago.  My oil pressure has also dropped about 10-15 psi from where it was
>> after the rebuild.  Assuming that a fresh engine will have higher oil
>> pressure will that result in higher crankcase pressures which would tend to
>> increase leakage past the scroll seal?
>> *Michael I would be interested to know why you are thinking that a
>> rebuild is necessary at this stage. The drop in oil pressure alone would
>> IMHO not be reason enough. Is the engine making odd noises or burning
>> excessive amounts of oil? Perhaps a "ring and bearing" job would be the
>> best way to go.*
>>
>> Q2--My car has an early aftermarket valve cover and looks like the ones
>> sold by Ray Juncal minus one fin and with a flat versus a slightly convex
>> top surface.  There is no vent nipple and it has a spring-loaded filler cap
>> that probably does not make a tight seal though there is no oil blow-by.
>> Is there a real advantage to installing a PCV valve and if so where should
>> the hose terminate?  I removed the original LeMans kit CAB some time back
>> and would prefer not to refit it.
>> *The PCV system that I've developed doesn't involve the rocker cover at
>> all and, by the sounds of it, your engine would be an ideal candidate.
>> Check the web site that I showed  ... the system is virtually invisible but
>> does require the replacement of the manifold balance pipe.*
>>
>> M
>>
>> On Sat., Nov. 4, 2023, 6:06 p.m. Michael Oritt, <michael.oritt at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Michael--
>>>
>>> Thanks for your input and I am certainly willing to forgo the expense
>>> and trouble of having a rear seal fit if there is a strong chance of it not
>>> being successful.
>>> Besides (being an aging male) I should probably have the grace to allow
>>> my car to have an occasional drip or two.
>>>
>>> A couple of questions....
>>>
>>> Q1--As said earlier my car does not have a great amount of leakage
>>> through the cotter pin in the bell housing, though I do seem to remember
>>> that it leaked more after the engine was freshly rebuilt about 70K miles
>>> ago.  My oil pressure has also dropped about 10-15 psi from where it was
>>> after the rebuild.  Assuming that a fresh engine will have higher oil
>>> pressure will that result in higher crankcase pressures which would tend to
>>> increase leakage past the scroll seal?
>>>
>>> Q2--My car has an early aftermarket valve cover and looks like the ones
>>> sold by Ray Juncal minus one fin and with a flat versus a slightly convex
>>> top surface.  There is no vent nipple and it has a spring-loaded filler cap
>>> that probably does not make a tight seal though there is no oil blow-by.
>>> Is there a real advantage to installing a PCV valve and if so where should
>>> the hose terminate?  I removed the original LeMans kit CAB some time back
>>> and would prefer not to refit it.
>>>
>>> Thanks--Michael Oritt
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sat, Nov 4, 2023 at 4:04 PM Michael Salter <michaelsalter at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I've fitted a couple of those kits and have been somewhat underwhelmed.
>>>> Firstly you have to be VERY careful with the rear cap machining
>>>> alignment,  definitely a case of measure twice, cut once. I would strongly
>>>> recommend that the cap is in place on the block for this operation.
>>>> Secondly I was very disappointed to find that the designers decided
>>>> that it was just too much effort to utilize the 3 tapped holes already in
>>>> the block to secure the upper half of the seal holder and instead required
>>>> that one drill and tap 2 more holes for that purpose.
>>>> Thirdly, and I appreciate that there is possibly no way around this
>>>> but, the scroll on the crankshaft has to be machined off which is something
>>>> that you should have your crank grinder do when the crank is being
>>>> machined. I did mine in my 8" lathe and it's pretty scary having that huge
>>>> hunk of steel spinning between centers (don't forget to disable the chuck
>>>> brake ... rather frightening to notice the chuck winding off the spindle as
>>>> you power it down😳😳).
>>>> Finally, after all that effort, there was still a small leak from the
>>>> rear main which I finally resolved by installing my PCV.
>>>>  kit.
>>>> https://precisionsportscar.com/austin-healey-100-engine-oil-leak-solution/
>>>>
>>>> In future I'm not going to bother with the seal kit and just fot the
>>>> PCV.
>>>>
>>>> M
>>>>
>>>> On Fri., Nov. 3, 2023, 11:19 p.m. Michael Oritt, <
>>>> michael.oritt at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I'm having my 100's engine done this winter and though it's not a
>>>>> terrible leaker I''d like to install a rear seal kit to tighten things up
>>>>> as much as possible.
>>>>> I know there are several different kits available and would appreciate
>>>>> any input on which one to select along with installation tips.
>>>>>
>>>>> Best--Michael Oritt
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