MTFCA Forum

I believe I have a considerable oil leak at the front end of the crankshaft and was reading in the service manual "Stopping oil leak at front end of crankshaft" and it talks about "If the oil leak occurs around the front wall, it will be necessary to solder the wall" what are they talking about, is the solder used instead of a gasket? Just trying to get a handle on this before I attempt any repairs of the crankshaft seal.
I'm thinking they are talking about the timing cover and today I would just use a gasket but I'm not sure, please educate me.

The front wall in the pan is riveted in place and soldered to seal it to the pan. Over time, the solder can crack producing what can be a considerable leak. It should be re-soldered, but that means taking the pan off. Others may have an on-situ temporary fix that may hold up until you have to pull the motor.
Allan from down under.

Bruce,

Look up some photos of the oil pan. The pan is not sealed completely around it's perimeter. There is a dam/wall in the nose section that stops the oil but allows the pan to go on to support the crank. You can look down and under the crank/fan belt pulley and see the front of the pan where your crank bushing is attached to the nose of the pan. There should be no or very little oil there.

Good Luck,
Terry

That can all be taken care of when you are rebuilding the transmission and the pan is off

I use Babbitt to solder the front dam. Then seal the back side with RTV. Dan

If your planning to pull the engine and really clean everything up don’t be surprised when you see all the brazed areas on the pan arms and the soldered area in the front wall looking bad at first glance. THATS THE WAY IT WAS DONE AT THE FACTORY!
The brass and solder was pretty much flowed and slopped on by the line workers.

I get it now, thanks.

Clean the area around the front wall and timing cover. I would try running the engine at a high idle, so oil is flowing in the in pipe, without the pulley and fan to better see what is going on. It could be around the soldered joint, where the block is bolted down to the crankcase, or could be the crankshaft seal. Could even be the timing gear cover or missing camshaft seal. If it is the soldered joint, might try sealing with something like JB weld after cleaning down to bare metal along the joint and washing it out good.

bmklawt wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:54 am

I believe I have a considerable oil leak at the front end of the crankshaft and was reading in the service manual "Stopping oil leak at front end of crankshaft" and it talks about "If the oil leak occurs around the front wall, it will be necessary to solder the wall" what are they talking about, is the solder used instead of a gasket? Just trying to get a handle on this before I attempt any repairs of the crankshaft seal.
I'm thinking they are talking about the timing cover and today I would just use a gasket but I'm not sure, please educate me.

Have you determined the dam is actually leaking? ???
I didnt think that was a common condition. Have sen a lot of pans, on & off motors. A few had cracks in the top corners. Front seal commonly leaks.
Judging the # of replys, it must be common.
I do know that lead has a life expectancy of 50-60 years. When I have a pan off or selected to use, I look for signs of the lead breaking down, remove it & re-solder.
If its leaking badly. A theoretical, in car fix. When the pan is removed fix it right. (have done this with silicone else ware.) Going to want room to work. Pull radiator, fan & crank pulley. Plug motor holes with rags. (valve cover & between block) Trans cover on. Put shop vac nozzle into oil filler. turn on. Spray around dam with brake cleaner. Notice where it gets sucked in. Mix up some jb weld or use ultra black silicone. Turn on shop vac. Force sealer & let vac suck it in. Shut off vac & let sit over night.

Steve answered his question precisely without saying a word!

JohnM wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 23, 2021 11:57 am

Steve answered his question precisely without saying a word!

That's a bad habit of his.
Brevity is the soul of wit.

Many times a picture is worth at least

The dam on my ‘26 leaked badly - found it had been JB welded in the past - oil leaked behind old JB Weld. I removed the old JB Weld - cleaned and sealed the seams - especially the upper corners - with Ultra Black. Dam has not leaked since.

Well it looks like I may be wrong about this leak, I will have to investigate further. It leaks a tiny amount if I'm sitting still with the engine running, but judging from the oil streaks on the driveway it leaks a lot more when I'm moving