Hello Lynn,
After waiting and waiting for about 3 months (soaking the engine with penetrating oil) but mainly mystery oil; then after about 4 hrs of work, moving the flywheel tooth by tooth in both directions with a flat bar against the housing, I managed to get the engine freed up!!
Then I remember the diesel, but decided to use it as a cleaner... I proceeded to fill the cylinders with diesel fuel with a hand sprayer (works great) and went on to spin and spin the motor for quite a while and getting all the crud and rust from the cylinders...
Once the pan was off, I was able to see that #3 and #5 were the problem cylinders with some rust on the bottom... I do not see any scoring on the cylinders other than rust, so I hope to be able to put it together and fire it up... It has been about 35 years since this thing has come to life... In the meantime, I put a couple of ounces of mystery oil in each cylinder to avoid any issues while it seats for a while longer...
As for the oil pan gasket, it looks as it could be tricky to get back on and avoid problems/leaks...
Am I better off trimming the end cap pieces a little short and use RTV sealant to make the difference, or should they be trimmed exactly to fit the end caps on the block?
The set U purchased from Felpro (0S 5000 C) also gives you 4 end pieces when you only need 2...
After searching online for information but not finding anything concrete, are you expected to have less problems by:
A) Setting the long and end cap pieces pieces on the block with RTV sealant..
B) Setting the end cap pieces on the block and the long pieces on the pan with RTV sealant...
Some old timers recommend setting the gasket on the pan with RTV and letting it dry completely, then before installing the pan use either a light coat of grease on the surface of the cork or a thin coat of Permatex #3 aviation sealant... That way you can still remove the pan if you have to without destroying the gasket...
Your advice appreciated here, since I do not want to do the job twice, but once once and right!
