belvedere Posted September 26, 2017 Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 This engine is fighting me every step of the way! Yes, it's my first flathead build, so that's probably part of the problem. I thank you guys for all your advice. The latest problem is that the crank becomes difficult to turn when the rear main cap is torqued down. After eliminating the bearings and seal, I removed the side seals (even though I was sure they couldn't cause the problem) and torqued the cap. Problem eliminated! What?!? With no side seals installed, the crank takes about 5-10 ft-lb to get it moving. With the side seals (from a Felpro set) in place, it took approx. 40 ft-lb! I remembered that side seals also came with my Best Gasket rear main seal, so I dug those out to compare. They are shaped pretty much the same, but shorter overall than the Felpros. I put them in and the breakaway torque was 25-30 ft-lb. A definite improvement, but still too high, I believe. I have tried repositioning them, but that doesn't change much. I can move them out (away from the crank) a tiny bit, but not much, or they won't seat properly in the recess where the rear edge of the cap fits down into the block. Besides, I'm still not exactly sure why they are even causing an issue. Has anyone run into this, and how did you solve it? Thanks for all the help on my build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonaldSmith Posted September 26, 2017 Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 So that's why I can't turn my engine by pulling on the fan blades, even with the plugs out! To move the engine to top dead center, I had to remove the screen from the bell housing and put a pry bar to the flywheel teeth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knuckleharley Posted September 26, 2017 Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 (edited) 3 hours ago, DonaldSmith said: So that's why I can't turn my engine by pulling on the fan blades, even with the plugs out! To move the engine to top dead center, I had to remove the screen from the bell housing and put a pry bar to the flywheel teeth. Something is wrong if you can't turn one of these low-compression engines over by hand using the fan and a tight fan belt, with the spark plugs out. Edited September 26, 2017 by knuckleharley 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belvedere Posted September 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2017 Has anyone ever tried using RTV in place of the side seals? I hate to do that, but ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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