Hello Chico and Ole Truckers,
Hope my distributor gasket experience can be of help.
In the process of replacing my 1951 Chevy 3100's 216 engine with a
newer 235, I decide to out-smart the Chevy experienced engineers by
reworking the open road tube crankcase vent into a positive crankcase
vent tube going back to the valve cover and on to the carburetor.
Naturally, I replace the valve cover's vented oil fill cap with a
non-vented one. (If we are going to burn the fumes, we might as well
burn them all.)
I take my time, check everything I can remember, pre-oil the cylinders,
and crank her up. Lady Luck is with me day and deserves the credit for
235's robust start up. (I learn it might be a good idea to schedule
this event during low light conditions: pre-oil the cylinders make an
impressive black cloud.)
After I tighten up the exhaust pipe to manifold bolts and a few other
things I miss during pre-start check, I give the engine a visual
once-over. Oops, major oil gusher where distributor meets engine block.
(There was no gasket on the 216 and it never leaked there. Why would I
install one on the 235?)
Friendly counter guy at parts store seems ready to be amused whenever I
approach with an old truck question. He is already smiling when I ask
if a gasket is supposed to be in place. He knows he can sell me
something. I walk out with a Fel-Pro Distributor Mounting Gasket
(Fel-Pro 12665 (Future No. 14-1002), which seems to be the same as
Victor Reinz B26466 (carried by NAPA). (Size: I.D. = 1-1/16"+, O.D. =
1-5/8"-, thickness = 1/32"+,-).
Back in the shade tree garage, I figure it is better to do some
research now rather than never. (It seldom happens before I buy the
part.) I see the engine block has a rabbet at the hole for the
distributor. That makes me think a gasket or an "O" ring fits in there.
Yet, there is no reference to any seal in the Chevy Factory Assembly
Manual & the Chevy Truck Shop Manual for either 216 or 235 engine. "How
To Build High-Performance Ignition Systems" (page 63) says, "Before you
reinstall the distributor, make sure the gasket or O-ring is in place
on the housing." (My hunch is they are not talking about stovebolt
engines.) An hour of research yields no giant step forward.
I refrain from just filling the rabbet with roofing cement. In goes the
Fel-Pro Distributor Mounting Gasket. At restart, I'm happy the gusher
has gone elsewhere, perhaps to a Ford. None-the-less, I still have a
leak and it is more than a drip.
It is time to engage my brain. In the 216, cylinder blow-by vented
without building much pressure in the crankcase. Perhaps my genius
positive crankcase vent tube "improvement" is increasing pressure
enough to blow oil up the distributor shaft and out the
distributor-engine block joint. I replace the valve cover's non-vented
oil fill cap with the original vented one. Thank you, Lady Luck, you
save me again. No more oil leak at distributor.
In a perfect world I'd stop everything and rebuild the 236 to minimize
cylinder blow-by. In the meantime, things are looking pretty good as
long as Lady Luck remains close by.
Hope this helps and Good luck with your engine.
Culver Adams
1951 Chevy 3100
Minneapolis, MN
---
-----Original Message-----
From: chico_woodhill <lotsali...@gmail.com>
To: old-chevy-truck <old-chevy-truck@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sun, Sep 16, 2012 8:51 pm
Subject: [old-chevy-truck] Distributor O-Ring?
I'm putting the distributor back in my '48 235. There aren't any
O-rings on the shaft. Should there be? I get conflicting info from
different sources. Some people say they remove the O-rings that come
with rebuilt distributors so they fit in the hole.
I figured someone here would have the definitive answer...thanks...
chico
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