Thread: Series III 2.6L 6-pot massive oil leak from wading plug hole

Hi again Matt,

The seals are the same on the 2.25 and 2.6 L engines. I have done 3 now including a 2.6, and haven’t found they have got any easier with experience. From my experience, the main problem points are:
1. The t-seals down the side of the rear bearing cap. I fabricated the seal guides as per tool 270304, but the last one I just filled with RTV and deleted the t-seals altogether
2. Fitting the upper seal retainer - as the seal is such a tight fit in the seal retainer it’s really important to ensure the seal split does not open up when you are fitting this, you really need to hold the seal tightly on its centre axis when fitting
3. Quality of the seal - you don’t want to bury a made-in-China/India seal this deep in the engine. Turner engineering in the UK are the sole stockists now of a Pioneer-Weston seal kit for these engines; they have these made up especially (Pioneer-Weston used to supply the rear main seals to Land Rover back when they were making these engines). It’s 5-10x the price of the aftermarket versions but still only around GBP10 plus shipping, and pretty much eliminates the risk of installing a failure prone seal. If not, at least get one “made in UK”

Anyway, that’s my two bobs worth.

Cheers,

Matt

Originally Posted by matthamilton

The seal on the 2.6l is a split seal. I followed the workshop manual's instructions, but do you have any experience and recommendations that aren't found in the manual? I'll gladly take them!!!

I have purchased a smoke machine that can deliver smoke under pressure allowing me to test the seals after I make the repair. And I can use this for A/C, Coolant, oil, EVAP systems so I'll get good use out of.

If they are same as 2.25L wonder if the spring has come unhooked or broken, I remember doing the seal on the 2.25 I fitted in one of my S1's fitting the spring was very fiddley with my big hands.

this is great information. Will order that seal from. Turner now. And thank you for your input!!!

Originally Posted by drfish

Hi again Matt,

The seals are the same on the 2.25 and 2.6 L engines. I have done 3 now including a 2.6, and haven’t found they have got any easier with experience. From my experience, the main problem points are:
1. The t-seals down the side of the rear bearing cap. I fabricated the seal guides as per tool 270304, but the last one I just filled with RTV and deleted the t-seals altogether
2. Fitting the upper seal retainer - as the seal is such a tight fit in the seal retainer it’s really important to ensure the seal split does not open up when you are fitting this, you really need to hold the seal tightly on its centre axis when fitting
3. Quality of the seal - you don’t want to bury a made-in-China/India seal this deep in the engine. Turner engineering in the UK are the sole stockists now of a Pioneer-Weston seal kit for these engines; they have these made up especially (Pioneer-Weston used to supply the rear main seals to Land Rover back when they were making these engines). It’s 5-10x the price of the aftermarket versions but still only around GBP10 plus shipping, and pretty much eliminates the risk of installing a failure prone seal. If not, at least get one “made in UK”

Anyway, that’s my two bobs worth.

Cheers,

Matt

Originally Posted by matthamilton

Pulled the truck forward to drive it back in the garage. Got out to make sure it was aligned (small garage) and noticed a drip from the bell housing area. Then pulled it in and noticed the oil pressure was dropping quickly. Immediately shut the engine down. Looked underneath the truck and there was a pond of oil about 18 inches across.

Could be wrong, or memory may be dimmer than I think, but these do not sound like the symptoms of a rear main seal to me. The rear main seal does not contain oil pressure on any engine I'm aware of. And a "pond of oil" of that size forming in that timeframe suggests an oil gallery is open somewhere.

Been 40 years since I did a rear main on a Series, but I remember those verdammt T seals very well. But unless the rear main bearing cap itself is damaged or improperly installed where's the oil pressure going?

I agree with everything you stated. I removed the seal and retaining halves and didn't see anything unusual other than the oil seal did seem to be larger in circumference that would be preferred. The t-seals, which I will use RTV this time, were in place and didn't show any signs of being "pushed" out to moved. The garter spring was still in place and oriented 180 degrees from the split in the seal. It all looked fine, but clearly a lot of oil had been allowed to leak and all signs show it coming from the seal area.

I have since ordered OEM retaining halves and a couple of new OEM seals.

I will also blow out the oil galleries to ensure nothing is plugged. I ran the oil through a paint filter and didn't pick up any metal so I don't think I have any other issues.

As always, open to suggestions. And thanks for the input.

Originally Posted by Tins

Could be wrong, or memory may be dimmer than I think, but these do not sound like the symptoms of a rear main seal to me. The rear main seal does not contain oil pressure on any engine I'm aware of. And a "pond of oil" of that size forming in that timeframe suggests an oil gallery is open somewhere.

Been 40 years since I did a rear main on a Series, but I remember those verdammt T seals very well. But unless the rear main bearing cap itself is damaged or improperly installed where's the oil pressure going?

Do you have any way of running the engine on a bench?

unfortunately not. But I did purchase a commercial pressure/vacuum testing that also produces smoke so that I can determine if there are leaks (or blockages) before putting the engine back in place.

I’m going to smoke the oil galleries and the crankcase and hopefully I will feel confident that things are working as they should prior to reinstalling.

Originally Posted by Tins

Do you have any way of running the engine on a bench?

G'day All,

Interesting thread. Great job.

Just a thought was the rear main seal the right way round? Meaning the garter spring side of the seal facing into the engine. (The oil side.)

Chris