I was buying some hay for my livestock a week or two ago and spotted a '56 Ford COE parked behind the OLD FARMER'S stackyard. After loading the hay on my flatbed, I asked the farmer about the COE. After a little discussion, I learned that it ran and was for sale for $500, so I asked to kick the tires. Upon lifting the hood, I saw a Y block with the cool rams horn exhaust manifolds. The farmer said it was a 312 Ford engine. There was clean oil on the dipstick so I asked if we could try to start it. He was fine with that so we hunted up a fresh 12 volt battery and some gas. It started right up, but a lot of oil immediately started to gush from the back of the engine. The farmer said it never leaks oil except when it is running, but then it leaks a lot. he indicated he'd replaced the rear crank rope seal twice, but that didn't stop the leak, so he wasn't sure if the oil might be coming from somewhere else. I think that I would buy the '56 COE (cab and ch***is in nice shape) if I were't so worried about what it would take to fix the leak. Anybody think the leak could come from anywhere other than the crank seal? Maybe the crank is damaged? Opinions please!
http://www.streetrodderweb.com/tech/0810sr_bestgasket_rope_seals_ford_y_block/photo_02.html this may be your problem.. 312s are suceptible to rear mains leaking.. If not that, then maybe the cam plug came out?
Probably didn't seal the sides of the lower seal retainer correctly or just bad seal install. You can get a neopreen seal for the 312 now from Best, but it is more than likely a 292 since trucks did not come with 312s. Everyone with a Y-Block thinks they have a 312.
MIght it just be a leak in the line that feeds the oil pressure gauge. I wouldn't think theere would be a gusher even if completely shot. Or is there a fine feeding a hydraulic device att he back of the truck.
same block,same problem. they ran 312's in 56 too...so your point makes no difference to his problem.
actually there is a difference.. 312's have shallower seal grooves in the rear cap.. look at the pic in the link I posted. Of course that doesn't mean 292s won't spit out the seal either.
hey SOUTHFORK...i doubt if anybody made any repairs, but that's just me. the point is, will you get it at the right price. but it sounds to me like you have 1 big bargening chip! YES! cash it in my friend...call me POP...or the old FART!
My guess would be the cam plug is dislodged.......You would have to take off the bell housing and flywheel if it's that..............
$500 for a decent '56 COE cab and ch***is? Wouldn't matter if it had a Black & Decker Aquarian Pump under the hood, really, would it?
What are you waiting for, the Rams horns are worth almost that much. Keep the rest and sell some poor fool like me who has a y-block jones the engine and accessories. I'll give you half your money back immediately for the manifolds. Tim
X2 you could easily make your money back selling parts off that motor to crazy Y-Block Fanatics like me
Now that a couple of you have mentioned the possibility of a Cam plug coming out, the Farmer was thinking that maybe it had a "softplug" pushed out in the back. If that were the case, would the engine leak oil when it's not running? The guy said it doesnt leak except when it runs, and I think that he is correct about that. I guess i didn't realize that 312s bring a premium price over 292s. I have a 292 out in the shed that i picked up cheap a few years ago because it had run into an oiling problem on one of the valve train rockers (kinda typical I guess). Is there an easy way to tell a 312 from a 292? Can you tell from casting numbers that are visible when the engine is still installed in the COE? The Y Block may not be the original '56 COE engine. The old farmer seems to know his old Fords. He also has a '53-56 Ford pickup in his shed that he had fixed up when he was younger. It runs a in-line 6 and three speed. He had taken the grill out of it and exchanged it with the chrome one in the '56 COE a number of years ago.
no it wouldn't leak until it has pressure, then it will puke it out at a pretty good rate. Unless the rear main is completely gone, It wouldn't gush out. It would drip, weap, and make a nice mess of the underside. From your description it sounds like pressurized oil escaping.. cam plug is at the back and most likely after the rear main. 292s are actually better engines to build than 312s. 292s have stronger main webbing, easier to find parts, and have thicker cylinder walls. both 292s and 312s have the same marking on the outside. pretty ahrd to identify them without looking at the crank or caps.
The only real way to tell a 312 is to look at the main caps, which will be marked ECZ. The cranks may, or may not, be marked as ECZ as well. Many 312 cranks have a large dot on the rear flange...but not all. (I happen to own a 312 crank without the dot...and in spite of the various people who swear that "all 312 cranks have the large dot"...they don't.) All the block casting numbers that were used to build 312s also were used to build 292s, so that isn't a definitive way to tell...though certain other casting numbers were NOT used to build 312s, so you can sometimes tell that the engine wasn't a 312, at least from the factory. It is possible to convert a 272 or 292 engine/block into a 312. Tim is correct in saying that 312s were never installed in ANY truck from FoMoCo. However, there are some known cases where dealers installed them in light & medium duty trucks, to meet a customer's wish, or to offer a power upgrade.
There is no reliable way to tell a 312 from a 292 from the outside. The 312 was never factory in any truck.,,,,,Oh, somebody said that a'reddy,,,,,,,
Ok let me see. In this day and age you're looking at a 500 dollar solid '56 COE and you're concerned about an oil leak. Man I thought I was tight. It is most likely the rear main seal. Chageing a rope seal with on the the car/truck is an art. Seems pretty simple you just snake the china fingers over the crank and pull the new seal in but for whatever reason it just just go that way. I got a buddy that changed the seal 3 times in his caddy before he got it right. Anyway I would guess that it is the rear main seal.
Yeah, yeah, but I already got '39 Chevy COE and '40 Chevy COE projects that aren't moving forward very fast. Also I've got a list of parts that I need for other projects about a mile long. I'll probably eventually end up with the '56 Ford COE, but just trying to get as realistic as possible about what repairs I'll have to do once i do get the thing. The idea of having a nice looking and running Y Block for a model A coupe project is as much of a pull on the wallet as is the truck itself. Sometimes I'll buy a complete and cheap car or truck just for the running drive train ( if it's a desirable engine), but then down the road, more often than not, I can't put the engine in another rod because the law of supply and demand has kicked the intended donor vehicle into a place where it is worth much more together than parted out. For example I bought a 64 Buick wildcat and a 66 Buick GS hardtop for their running 401 and 425 nailheads a few years ago, but now the ***led vehicles are getting pretty desirable. But I digress.
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