oil level

[Licensed to kill]

Originally Posted by chrs1961815

if the drain tube for the rear main was missing I would not be surprised if other things weren't correct (though it could have fallen out). On my old engine the "rebuilder" decided not to use a gasket between the flywheel and block so I always had a puzzling drip coming from there. That amount of oil missing is not right - check the unserside of the car if you have not already.

Inspecting the bottom of the car, there is evidence of oil coming from the pan gasket, oil return tube ends, and out the hole in the bottom of the bell housing with the Cotter pin in it (No idea what that cotter pin is there for but....). There does not appear to be any coming down between the rear of the engine oil pan and bell housing from the rear seal. I retorqued the pan and return tube bolts but I don;'t believe that a significant amount was coming from either location. The drain back tube on the rare main cap was not just missing, the boss that it screwed into had a piece bro=ken out of the side so I screwed the new tube into what was left of the threads and spot welded it in place.

[Bob C]

The cotter pin is to keep the hole from becoming plugged with dirt and grease.

[1crosscut]

Originally Posted by Licensed to kill

I used plastigauge. I would get about 2.5 thou with the plastigauge, then remove one shim and it would lock up the crank. Since I'm new to "adjustable" bearings, I have since been wondering if perhaps it was "pinching" on the sides where the cap meets the rod causing it to bind a bit when there was still a bit of clearance on the top/bottom???. I don't know if they wear that way or not, just trying to find a reason for what I experienced. I did remove at least one shim from every journal (rod and main) IIRC so it MUST be better than it was.Yes that oil issues is puzzling but there IS a logical reason, just have to find it.

Hmmm... Did you remove the whole shim pack? Shim packs are made up of very thin layers of shim material. Sometimes you need to use a very sharp knife or razor to separate just one layer from the shim pack.
Only remove one layer at a time from one side of a shim pack. If more needs to be removed then remove the next layer from the opposite side.

[Licensed to kill]

Originally Posted by 1crosscut

Hmmm... Did you remove the whole shim pack? Shim packs are made up of very thin layers of shim material. Sometimes you need to use a very sharp knife or razor to separate just one layer from the shim pack.
Only remove one layer at a time from one side of a shim pack. If more needs to be removed then remove the next layer from the opposite side.

Just took out one shim at a time. They are very thin and yes, I did need an exact knife to separate them. I'l, probably just go back and check them again.