two issues in my rebuild

[1badsho]

Im rebuilding my 90 SHO motor with all new seals .... when i got to the back of the motor .... and took off the oil crank shield and the water jackets that connect the two heads together found some issues

First .... the seal that I got for the rear carrier seal that fits over the crank wasnt a perfect fit

The very bottom of the seal that is a half circle that goes up from the left side to the right side over the crank was too high .... rest of the seal fit perfectly .... so i took a hole punch and made some room so i could slide the whole seal down just barely .... I used copper gold gasket sealer on everything .... but am not comfortable with the way it looked ... it prob will be fine .. but im **** ... any thoughts from anyone ??

Second issue which i am more comfortable with is the water jackets that connect both heads together. I took them off and found some decay on the right head on one of the circular openings that lets water into the head from the jacket.

The decay is pretty significant and goes almost to the outer edge of the seal. I didnt feel comfortable with a new seal and copper gold .... so i got some JB weld .... filled in the bad areas .... let it sit for a while than took a razor blade to take excess off .... and tomorrow when its hardened i will take my dremel and smooth it down with the rest of the surface ... that i think will be ok

Thoughts anyone ??

dond

 

[1badsho]

note to self

Came back this evening ..... I ordered a new rear main and carrier seal ... fully expect it not to fit in the same location .. if it does ... WHOPPIE .... my plan is to re seal it and use silicone in the one area that the seal doesnt fit .... this should still give me a perfect seal.

Secondly .... the JB weld worked fine... i lightly grinded it down and smoothed it out .... took a razor blade and its pretty flush ... maybe not perfect but much much better than before .

 

[Bob Gervais]

What brand of rear main/carrier are you using?

On corroded areas like the water jackets you mentioned, I've had good luck with Permatex #2 gasket maker as a sealer. Stinks to holy **** until the smell burns off, but works well. I've used this on a lot of Vulcan timing chain cover gaskets, which are known for corrosion on both the cast aluminum timing cover, and the iron block.

 

[1badsho]

Auozone aka felpro for the carrier gasket

 

[Bob Gervais]

Good to know. Seems that Felpro has a hard time providing well sealing products for the SHO motor. Weird thing is, I've never had an issue using their parts on any other vehicle.

Hopefully it's just a one time occurance and your new gasket will fit better.

 

[1badsho]

bob .... no it didnt .... got another gasket and the rear main seal ... same issue ... this time however I used silicone where the seal didnt match up and i think it will be fine.

Since i last posted ..... the block is painted ..... front and rear main seal is in .... took off the water jackets connecting each head and WOW ... corrision on the head where the gasket goes almost to the outer edge. Used JB Weld in those areas ..... scraped excess off with a razer blade and sanded the rough areas 24 hours later with a dremel. Should be fine
My cam seals are in ..... first look at the cam lobes ..... I have always been concerned if this 90 is a legit 76000 mile car. In looking at the top of cam lobes ..... no wear at all .... to me thats real indicative of a 76000 mile car. Most cars in the 100,000 k or more u start to see some wear on the lobes .... so that made me happy.
Tomorrow will be spent in the garage to get alot of what i have cleaned and painted back on the block ... ie ... motor mount brackets ..... a/c compessor .... alt ... etc etc ... etc
Its coming along real well just taking me for ever since i work as a business manager at a KIA store ..... dont have a lot of spare time

 

[Bob Gervais]

Pics!

 

[1badsho]

some new pictures of the motor ..... not done yet but getting close

 

[chrism3784]

Mine was the same way, just used silicone sealant. Engines all built and installed. oil leaks from between the transmission and engine. Could be that or real main. Its not that bad, maybe a quart every 500 miles. Don't feel like seeing what the real problem is just yet. But where that seal doesn't match didn't appear to be outside the engine.

 

[1badsho]

The JB weld worked weld .... i used cooper gasket spray and the OEM seal ... just dont have time to work on it but the motor should be back in the car and running within a few mths

 

[1badsho]

Now working on my tranny.

Engine is pretty much all done .... all thats left is to bolt the flywheel and bolt the pressure plate to it and bolt the tranny back on.

I plan to open up the tranny in a few days but may take it to a machine shop where they can clean the housing. Its pretty nasty. I had a heck of time getting the 10mm bolts off that bolt the half cases together. One bolt sheared and a few bolts took some of the alum threads of the alum housing with it. This concerns me. So I plan to clean all the bolts up ... and make sure i can torque them all back to 13 ft pds ( think thats the right torque specs) and if i have no issue with this I will continue cleaning the tranny. Not sure I want it sand blasted due to getting that in the housing. I will think of something. However in inspecting the tranny .... the input shaft that you put the sleeve on the quill ... think i said that right .... well the input shaft has no sleeve on it .... This further reinstates that this is an original mileage SHO at 76000 ...Which means the internals should be pretty pristine.

Will keep everyone updated as I proceed