Leaky front seal..decent sized job? Worth doing on F?

[RIDDLER]

OK- I have been telling folks for years that I have a 2F in my 1974 FJ40. It turns out it is a F engine with a 2f valve cover and the relocated oil filter location.

Long story short but we just finished installing the skyjacker 4 inch lift, 35's, new front and rear bumpers, sliders, and the Warn winch. I drove it out to a buddies to have the extended shock towers put on as I don't have a setup of tools to accomplish the job.

Either way it drove well, rode well etc except that I smelled oil and I was watching the gauges. I thought maybe we dripped some oil on the header when we were working.

Wrong. My friend pulled it apart and it is a leaky front seal. The F was supposedly rebuilt by the PO. I don't have PW but I do trust the guy.

I guess my first step is to do a compression check and see what we have for compression.

How many hours to R and R the front main seal and the timing chain seal while we are there? Is this a $500 job or less at a shop. This is a bit above my level of expertise. Where would you guys draw the line with a F engine for maint. costs? I like the way it runs but I am leaning towards a cummins 4 cylinder diesel conversion when this thing craps out on me.

Thanks

Aaron Riddle

 

[Cruiserdrew]

A late model F from a '74 is a good motor. The torque characteristics are excellent for a trail rig so I wouldn't be too quick to pull the motor out. The front seal will be a fair sized job, but not terrible. Go to a real Cruiser shop and see what they charge to replace the seal. Just make sure it is the front seal and not something easy like the front of the oil pan gasket.

 

[Desertdave]

Front seal

Years ago I replaced the front seal on my 2F in the driveway in a day. It included going to the store to get a wrench to remove the big nut on the pulley, as well as draining coolant, pulling radiator for access, etc. It wasn't the best good time I've ever had, but it stopped the leaking for many years, and I felt good about having done it myself. Once you pull the radiator you can remove the rock shield that lies underneath, then you have great access to work from the underside. It must be several times easier than replacing the rear main seal, if that makes any difference.

 

[CruisinGA]

I replaced the front seal on my '74 F last week (BTW all 74 F's have the 2F oil filter location and improved circulation path of the 2F)
I was already replacing the harmonic balancer, w/p etc so I was already in there.
If I had to do it over again I would replace the timing GEAR (no wimpy chains on cruisers) cover seals as well, but I was in a hurry with little $. Napa has all seals/gaskets necessary. This is not a difficult job, you will probably need:
The big nut for the crank bolt-got mine from craftsman needed 3/4 drive adapter as well.
a harmonic balancer puller-avail. at Pep Boys cheap
may need dry ice and a propane torch to get pulley back on crank (I did).

While I was in there I would replace radiator hoses (maybe have the rad rodded too).

An impact wrench is HIGHLY recommended for removing crank nut.

 

[RIDDLER]

Front seal

Thanks a ton for the advice. I'll do it.

Aaron

 

[65swb45]

Riddler, before you jump on this unnecessarily, you really should take Cruiserdrew's suggestion and determine if it is possibly elsewhere. You can reach the front of the timing cover, right behind the harmonic balancer, with a rag if you try. You should wipe it down and see if it gets wet there again. If it doesn't, it could be 3 other things: timing cover gasket, oil pan gasket, or timing cover plate gasket.