Replacing Rear main seal and Bearings

[Bz Kn33z]

I havn't heard much on it but what is involved with replaceing the rear main seal, Main bearings and Con rod bearings, (Note its a rope seal).
my VN V6 s1 engine is on the engine stand atm, and sump is off i'm going to pull the Harmonic balancer off and timing cover and start pulling the crank out and to get it linished is about $60 is it worth it, any tips and easy ways to replace the bearings and seals? any info on the subject would be great thanx.

[Pub247]

$60 bucks for a linish a job that takes 5mins??
Anyways dont get another rope seal buy a rubber one to replace it with. The rubber sill should sit halfway in the rear groove you'll see what i mean when you pull it out. Also there's 2 rubber bungs that go down the side of the end cap that need replace i put silicon down the grooves of these aswell. Also you'll need to use loctite flange sealer (reddish purple one not sure on number) on the bottom of the end cap where it meets the block.
I suggest you also buy some acl plastiguage and check your clearances. No point using new bearing if the clearance is to big. Dont forget to check your end float aswell. Doing the bearings is a peice of **** with the motor on a engine stnad and upside down.
Remember your toque settings 90lbs for mains and 45lbs for the big ends if i remember correctly been a while since i did my last v6.
Use some moly lubs or assembley lube as its also known when you put the bearings in they are numbered so you cant really put them in the wrong position. If you get the rubber rear main put it on the crank before you drop it in and check that its square after you torque down the end cap. Might also be handy the put the top bearing shell in the rod before you drop the crank in

[Bz Kn33z]

$60 bucks for a linish a job that takes 5mins??
Anyways dont get another rope seal buy a rubber one to replace it with. The rubber sill should sit halfway in the rear groove you'll see what i mean when you pull it out. Also there's 2 rubber bungs that go down the side of the end cap that need replace i put silicon down the grooves of these aswell. Also you'll need to use loctite flange sealer (reddish purple one not sure on number) on the bottom of the end cap where it meets the block.
I suggest you also buy some acl plastiguage and check your clearances. No point using new bearing if the clearance is to big. Dont forget to check your end float aswell. Doing the bearings is a peice of **** with the motor on a engine stnad and upside down.
Remember your toque settings 90lbs for mains and 45lbs for the big ends if i remember correctly been a while since i did my last v6.
Use some moly lubs or assembley lube as its also known when you put the bearings in they are numbered so you cant really put them in the wrong position. If you get the rubber rear main put it on the crank before you drop it in and check that its square after you torque down the end cap. Might also be handy the put the top bearing shell in the rod before you drop the crank in

I wish i had some1 up here that knows what there doing :P so they can help haha, i didnt think they made a rubber seal i will look into it there is only the s2 rubber ones,

acl plastiguage where would i get one from? and do i really need it?

[Pub247]

I havent done a series one motor so i'm not sure if the rear main design is any different i could find out tomorrow. Plastigauge you can get from repco or those sort of places and you will need it if you want to check your clearances you can do end float without it. I suppose if you got time and pateince you can use a micrometer, bore gauge, feeler gauges and dial indicators to check your clearnace. I'm not sure how much plastigauge is from retail outlets it only cost $15 from my work. Considering loctite flange sealant is $50 for a tiny bottle its pretty cheap and you get heaps of it more than you'll

[Cheap6]

Yep, the rear main seal on S1 is different. They are a two piece rope type seal.

As with everything involving engines, cleanliness is paramount. I like to use thinners and old white 'T' shirts to make sure everything is clean, including the rear main seal groove.

The trick with rope rear main seals is to ensure they are pushed in to the correct depth. If you place the new seal in the groove on the block with the bearing in place, then drop the crank in, that will push the seal in to the correct depth. You can push the ends of the seal in a little to ensure that it is tight in the groove. If you tighten a couple of the other main bearing caps up, you can be sure that the crank is fully seated (fit the bearings first).

A drop (not enough to squeeze out of the groove with the seal in place) of superglue in two or three spots in the groove before you put the seal in will stop the seal from spinning with the crank. The seal in the cap is done the same way (make sure the cap is square to the crank and the bearing is in place).

The seal will be longer than needed and have to be trimmed to length. Cut it flush to the block surface with a sharp razor blade. Put something between the crank and seal to cut against so you don't damage the seal running surface on the crank.

The seal shouldn't have anything applied to it nor should the back of the bearings.

The ends of the seals where they mate together need to have some of the sealant that is applied between the main bearing cap and block. Again not so much as to squeeze out onto the crank. The sealant that Holden recommends is Loctite 515.

The film of sealant between the main cap and the block should be very thin to avoid lifting the cap away from the block and reducing the bearing crush.

Bearing crush is the difference between the OD of the bearings and the ID of the bearing tunnels. Ideally, you should also check this for each of the bearings. The method is to tighten each of the caps down in turn to correct tension, then back one side off and measure the gap between the cap and either the rod or block (whichever is appropriate) with feeler gauges. I don't know specs.

The grooves betwen the main cap and the block were originally filled with a silicon based sealant. Holden recommends Silastic 732 but Permatex Ultrablue is good too. The rubber knock in seals were implemented for repairs, so if a S1 engine has those, it's been out and repaired before.

I prefer to use the sealant method again rather than the knock in seals but either can work. The reason the knock in seals were used is because there is some skill required to use the silicon and dealership mechanics weren't always capable of producing consistently successful repairs.

The sealant needs to be squeezed into the grooves without air gaps, under pressure and you need to see the sealant just extrude from between the cap and block along the joints. A cartridge and gun works best but a tube with the end rolled over a screw driver, rotated to squeeze the tube, also works. Do not let the pressure up until the tip of the tube/cartridge is clear of the grooves in the block.

Excess sealant can be wiped from the block sump sealing surface with a razor blade.

The bottom of the front cover gasket will need to be trimmed off flush with the block/front cover and a thin smear of silicon sealant applied across the joint.

The sump bolts shouldn't be over tightened as the little dimples will be squashed and the gasket squeezed out. There is a spec on the heights of those dimples too.

[Pub247]

Good post cheap6 i had a look at work and ask some questions you can get rubber 2 peice rear mains for series 1 we use these ones at work

[Cheap6]

Good post cheap6 i had a look at work and ask some questions you can get rubber 2 peice rear mains for series 1 we use these ones at work

Cool. Using those would be easier and more likely to avoid an oil leak.

(Unlike the rope type, oil should be applied to the sealing surface of the crank).