Thank you for posting this, very timely as I am pulling the Y block out of my A coupe to replace the seal this week.
Used to do that procedure a lot in the car in the 70s on various Ford motors. Actually pretty easy in the car. I liked to use STP oil treatment on it to slide it around the block. That stuff is slick!
One of my first jobs as a new 'mechanic', all of 17 years old was to put a new seal in a leaking 272, '55 Vicky. Dealership had sold it and the new owner wasn't too happy with the puddles. So, being the used car 'mechanic' it came to me to fix it. Way before rubber seals. so, rope, 'Chinese finger' tool and lots of effort later I got er done. Boy, I'm glad those days are in the rear view mirror. That particular car was only 6 years old at the time, really cherry looking car with the fasted speedometer I've ever seen, indicated 85 was about 60! Pan had at least 2 qts of muddy looking, gummy stuff in it and rocker arms covered with waxy deposits. Nasty to work under and on! Would have loved to have had the seal in the video.
I can remember doing the one on my Buddy's F100 with the truck sitting at the curb in front of his house with the front tires up on some wood blocks for clearance for us to get under the truck. I think I got paid two cans of Budweiser for that one. You just loosen up all of the mains so that the crank will drop down a tad.
I don't know much about Y blocks but "B" and "RB" Chrysler have side seal rear main seal retainers....The gasket info use to tell you just prior to installing the side seals to soak them in diesel fuel... This would cause them to swell and seal against the block...I never had any problems with rope seals either.... Just had to make sure there was lube on them to keep them from glazing on startup...
Original ropes were made of asbestos and much tougher than ropes you can get today. Plus lots of drag.
The Jalopy Journal
