View single post by Mason Jones
 Posted: 02-07-2012 07:57 pm
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Mason Jones



Joined: 06-03-2011
Location: Austin, Texas USA
Posts: 97
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Checked the oil in my 73 and found an ominous yellow/green foam on the dipstick. Looked in the oil canister and it looked like I was making fondue in there. Sooo...I’m guessing I have a blown head gasket (or a cracked block).
 
I’ve got a spare 74 engine that’s been sitting in the garage that I can swap out.  So I’m replacing all the regular maintenance items: timing belt, head gasket, cam cover gaskets, rear main seal, etc. before I install it.
 
My question is on the 74 engine: I removed the rear main seal housing and am not sure if this looks right. There’s a star-shaped plate behind the end of the crankshaft that has the top tang bend over and the bottom tang extends past the end of the housing into the area where the gasket would be. The service manual doesn’t show this very well. Is this the "spray shield"?
 
Seems like that bottom tang would interfere with the gasket making a good seal. Anyone who has done this before know if this is correct? BTW, this is engine has the press in oil seal, not the rope seal.





Last edited on 02-07-2012 08:12 pm by Mason Jones