Bottom End Done... Some Concerns
 

Buttoned up the bottom end of the motor this morning. Sitting back now I'm beginning to second guess myself on a couple of items.

(1) Not 100% confident that I managed to torque down all of nuts within the 45-minute threshold. Once the two halves were together I started with the perimeter nuts as many of you have suggested. Ran into a problem in the process in that I grabbed the wrong washers and ended up using aluminum. Several ended up smashed flat like a pancake. Realized the issue once I was about done torquing them all down. Decided to continue and get the case thru bolts squared away and then come back to replace the washers. Once the case thru bolts were done I went back and one-by-one removed the nuts, replaced the washers and re-torqued. Should I have any concerns with having done this while the sealant was still curing?

(2) I ended up buying the pelican parts super kit which came with the blue o-rings. Already frustrated with the washer fiasco I stumbled on the first couple of case thru bolts and squashed the blue 0-rings. Pulled those out and reinstalled without much issue. I did follow Waynes book though and used the RTV around the 0-rings on both ends. Now, after the fact I've come to realize that most on the board are STRONGLY advocating the use of the green o-rings over the blue. Also see many criticisms on using the RTV as well.

Sitting here I am seriously considering re-cracking the case and starting all over. As this is my first rebuild am I just being overly neurotic?

Hi Rob,

Assembling the case successfully requires a fair amount of pre-planning, even for the pros,...:) One has to get EVERYTHING ready, laid out and in the proper sequence as one doesn't have much time before the sealant sets up.

We use the green Viton O-rings, not blue ones and NEVER use RTV anywhere.

This is the time to redo everything if you don't have 100% confidence that you'll not have any oil leaks.

Good luck!!!

Done... Was leaning that way Steve. thanks

Bottom end is back in pieces. Surprisingly all the blue o-rings looked to have seated properly. Oh well going to order up green ones and new sealant tomorrow. Start again next weekend after cleaning the case again.

A suggestion... Install the case thru bolts without the o-rings fully torqued, then hit the permiter. Let it sit for a day or two, then go back and add the o-rings to each thru bolt one at a time. You can then take as much time as you need to get things seated.

Mark the bolt heads as you add o-rings with some nasty color nail polish so you don't miss one!

BTW, if you've got a second pair of hands, it's a lot easier.
tadd

Do you lube these when installing? What do you use?

what case sealant are you using?

I was told to use Dow Corning 111 on my green O-rings. Worked great. It is a valve seal lubricant and assures that the seal does not hang up on anything while tightening.

I pulled mine apart too.....not a big deal at that point. Plus, once you do it again, you'll feel really confident things went right.