got the oil pans cleaned and ready to install but where does the o ring go?

jrenda

i went back thru my posts and someone mentioned its at the rear of the block in an indented area - but after 20 min i cant find anything.  also no old one was present after pulling the pans.  By the way the cam an insides of this engine look super clean.  ill post some pics after.  i was soooo close to having it buttoned up and realized that o ring was still sitting in its package lol.  dumped out 2 quarts of oil onto the floor and ruined another shirt and pair of pants - but its worth it!

jrenda

i rerad Kens post "There is also a rubber O-ring in that gasket set. Be SURE to put it on the oil pickup tube on the pan after the pan gasket, dipper tray, and dipper tray gaskets are all installed. "

but the gasket i have is much larger than the area that i THINK Ken is mentioning?

jrenda

sucess !!  nevermind i found it - the previous one had been flattened to a pancake.  jut found it and popped it out.  !

jrenda

well i quit for the day.  impossible to do this by myself.  very frustrated.  feeling like i should have just left well enoug alone as there was no sludge in the tray.  ugh.  wasted a day and 3 pints of oil.  will see if i can find someone to help.  done for today. 

Jon B

Sorry!  I know the feeling.  But, what if you hadn't checked it and there WAS sludge?  How could you have known. 

You did the right thing.  Sit back, take a deep breath, open a beer (or tea, if you're a teetotaler).

Your problem is in raising the dipper tray alone, when it's full of oil, AND screwing it in place?  If you have a floor jack you might put a 2x4 or 2x6 on it, then place the tray and pan on that, and gradually lift both in position.  It will hold them in place as you apply the gasket cement (or whatever) and then get your bolts started.

By the way, if you haven't done so already, you might lay your tray and pan, upside down, on a nice flat surface and check the flanges for straightness.  Especially around the holes.  Have they been bent by successive bolt tightenings?  You could hammer them down flat so you'll have a nice mating surface when you do get ready to bolt.

jrenda

thanks Jon - thats exactly what I had done.  used my motorcycle lift to lift both pans up at once with oil in the dipper tray.  with some 2x4s.  im quitting for today - too irritated and if i force it ill break something.  going to get a bunch of 3-6 in length 5/16 bolts so i can get the corners etc held in place so i can remove the jack and reposition it to get the pans up and into place.  

i do still have a question tho - for that o ring.  it is much larger than the tube it sits around.  there was a sort of plug in the engine case just above where the pipe protrudes but it looks like it was designed to set inside the hole.  the oring does seem to be the right size for the OUTsiDE of the plug.  is this correct or does the new oring replace that plug entirely.  (I say plug but whatever it is has a hole in it to let the oil pass through).  i took the plug out and the oring is much larger than the hole.

Jon B

Wo!  It's been awhile...I'll stand back and let someone else answer that.  I would assume that the O ring that came with your gaskets, is correct. As long as it fits into the relief on the underside of the engine block, I'd think that would suffice.  I just looked at the factory shop manual, and the cross-section of the engine was not helpful on this count.  Sorry to be so useless.

Have another beer.

Frankvintagefullflowcom

J,

The O-ring on the oil pipe where it passes into the block was used from '39 on. If your engine is a '37, it has no countersunk hole in the block (unless, of course, someone added that feature later). The gaskets are identical otherwise, so the gasket makers include the O-ring to cover both applications.

Frank

Frankvintagefullflowcom

Hmmmmm. it appears that I may have.......probably have confused your engine with that of someone else's. If it's a '48 then it does have the O-ring. Where did I go wrong??
F