The more I think about it, I think its time to buy an air compressor and get a sand blaster. While I wait on the funds for the engine, I can clean up the bay, underside, rearend, tranny etc and maybe even clean up the interior a good bit.

I really want to start driving the thing, but its all good. After I get the engine out, I will measure all the specs, but I bet its actually in pretty good shape given it waas replaced right before it was stored.

 

MustangSteve has a writeup on changing the seal in the car.
http://www.mustangsteve.com/msFAQengine.html
scroll down when you get there.

There is an amazing contrast between your engine and engine compartment. I would be tempted to pull the engine just to clean up the compartment. Unless you have rust issues in the compartment I wouldn't use a sand blaster. Just soak it down really good with Simple Green (or alternative of your choice) let it soak and blast with a power washer. Once all the goop is gone, scuff existing paint and prime over any bare areas, then hit it with a nice semi-gloss black.

 

That's my thought. If you ahve the space and something else to drive, detail out that engine bay. The motor looks nice, you can give it a good cleaning and fresh paint while it's out and have a tight looking compartment.

Sometimes that's cooler than having the outside look all spiffy. Little rough on the outside, and sexy underneath. I dig that.

 

It is definately a little rough on the outside, but I'm thinking that if I go ahead and clean up the engine bay, I'll clean up the underside as well. It will leave less for the bodyshop to do in a couple years.

 

First off I want to say that your leak probably is a rear main seal, but keep in mind that a leak at the rear of the intake manifold will oftem mimic a rear main seal leak.

It would be a shame for you to repair the seal only to discover thatit aint the problem!! [:@]

A manifold leak can and will run down the back of the block and into the rear seal area. Also, as mentioned, the leak would need to be prety bad for me to fix right away.

<<edit--- That intake looks like a recent addition, could be leaking out the back, it is a common problem!!>>

 

I will check it out tonight.

 

That mustang steve writeup is interesting. It gives me hopw I might be able to fix the problem without removing the motor. We shall see.

 

One cause of rear main seals leaking, other than age, is wabble in the crank. You might think about replacing the bearings with oversized ones since you will most likely be pulling them out anyway. That will keep some of the slop out. I dad the rear seal replaced in my 351. It then started leaking again. The second time we replaced the bearings and seal. That has worked pretty good so far.

 

How bout a pic of the car while we're talkin? Thanks! LOL

Yeah I had the rear manifold leak on my Cougar back in the day...freaked me out.
I also tore down a perfectly good running engine due to a faulty oil filter....bypass stuck.

Sheesh. Gotta check this stuff out thoroughly.

 

Sound advice from all. For what it's worth I would yank it out and rebuild it....but I do in fact have a "sneaky pete" referred to earlier. They are a life saver doing warranty work at a dealership.