Ill go ahead and say I've never done a rear main seal install on an FE.

So my question is can I pull the seal and install the new one without pulling the engine? It's in my highboy so is all that I need to do to get to it is pull the front drive shaft, middle drive shaft, trans and bell housing? And obviously the clutch and flywheel too. But does the pan have to come off? Any other things I should replace while I'm in there on the backside of the block? Thanks in advance.

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48 Farmall "H"
76 F250 Highboy 390 4-speed
Chevy daily driver

Pull front driveshaft only so you dont hit your head on it

Pull the pan

Loosen all the mains so the crank drops slightly

Take the rear main cap off

If its a rope, make sure the pin is gone in the main cap before you put a neoprene seal in

Slide the old seal out, slide the new seal coated with oil in the block (make sure the lip is pointed the right way)

Tighten all the mains

Put rear main cap in with new side seals pushed slightly lower than the cap

Once the cap is in, take a punch and drive the nails "smooshing" LOL the side seal as low as you can as you drive the nail to the bottom

Put a dab of silicone on the side seals because they will be below the pan surface

Put the pan back on

Only way it could be easier is if you rolled the truck on the roof


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- 70 Fastback Mustang, 489 cid FE, Victor, SEFI, TKO-600 5 speed, 4.11 9 inch.
- 71 F100 shortbed 4x4, 397 cid FE, headers, Street Dominator, 280H, 4 speed

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48 Farmall "H"
76 F250 Highboy 390 4-speed
Chevy daily driver

No reason to touch the tranny


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- 70 Fastback Mustang, 489 cid FE, Victor, SEFI, TKO-600 5 speed, 4.11 9 inch.
- 71 F100 shortbed 4x4, 397 cid FE, headers, Street Dominator, 280H, 4 speed

I only loosened the rear main left the rest alone.

For an FE rookie like me. I've build a few tractor engines and a handful of Harley V-Twins but this is the first V-8 I've really had to maintain. I've got 2 360's that are in process of being torn down. That's my FE extent.

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48 Farmall "H"
76 F250 Highboy 390 4-speed
Chevy daily driver

Sometimes a few hours, sometimes better part of a day, depends how the gaskets clean up, how much the seal fights you, etc.


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- 70 Fastback Mustang, 489 cid FE, Victor, SEFI, TKO-600 5 speed, 4.11 9 inch.
- 71 F100 shortbed 4x4, 397 cid FE, headers, Street Dominator, 280H, 4 speed

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48 Farmall "H"
76 F250 Highboy 390 4-speed
Chevy daily driver

...................to do the 360 flipped on the ground pan-side up. Once you loosen all the main caps and remove #5, you can jack up the slack in the crank (at the rear flange) to simulate gravity the truck engine will encounter to remove the seal in the block. You don't wanna be under the truck more than once or repeatedly. During the practice run remove and reinstall the old seals to get the hang of it, JMO, Rod.

Mickey Thompson's 63 1/2 #997 S/S Hi-Rise 427 Lgt/Wgt Galaxie,
1957 C-600 Cab-over carhauler w/390-4V, 2-speed rear-end
FGCofA member #4908
MCGC member #75

"There will ALWAYS be an FE in my LiFE"

Thanks Rod.

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48 Farmall "H"
76 F250 Highboy 390 4-speed
Chevy daily driver