Hi Steve

I would generally consider the neoprene lip seal to be capable of doing the better job, but...

that requires the seal to be perfectly perpendicular to the shaft.

If the cover is at all distorted, cork may be the better option.

Thank you.  Do you think the cork seal will expand as it saturates with oil?

Steven, Is there a direct fit modern seal for the '35/'36 timing cover? A friend sent some to me with an adapter ring on the outside. I have not tried to use one of them yet. 

Mike

@steven-cavagnolo 

What you are saying is possible.

So, I would give it a little time before deciding on any corrective action.

Hope it gets better.  🙂

Mike 

when the engine was rebuilt, I had a guy Al a local seal distributor mic the OD of the harmonic balancer. He gave me a seal that fit very nicely into the cover. 
it has its own plastic retainer, and also has a circumferential coiled spring that maintains even pressure on the seal. 
se photos

@steven-cavagnolo 

That seal really should work fine.

There are however a few requirements which I'm sure you already know, but for those who don't...

The surface the seal runs on on the balancer has to be smooth and clean, with no pitting etc.

The seal can't be "cocked" on the shaft due to a distorted timing cover.  Support the cover from the back side around the seal area while driving/pressing in the new seal.

A little sealer around the outer edge of the seal when installing in the cover is a good idea.

A little grease on the neoprene lip before installing the balancer.

And of course, the lip has to face in (spring to the oil side).

One other thing that may help...

Don't tighten the bolts on the timing cover until the balancer has been installed.

That will allow the seal to center itself on the balancer as much as possible.

Hope that helps.  🙂

Stovblt

Thank you so much.  

Now I have to remove the grill and radiator AGAIN!  But again,  If there is nothing to do on the car, what good is it?!!

One more thing,  do I dare run the engine with the cover off to see if oil is getting to the timing gear?

sfc

@steven-cavagnolo 

That's not something I would do, and can't recommend it.  🙂

But I can refer you to this discussion from a number of years back on the old VCCA site:

https://vccachat.org/ubbthreads.php/topics/278037/36-timing-gear-oiler.html

From that, I would think if you remove the brass fitting spoken of and clean out the groove supplying the fitting, you should be fine.

Steven,

The brand and part number for the seal would be very helpful.

Thanks.

Mike

Stovblt,

Thanks for the chat link.  That makes sense.  The brass fitting was clear when I replaced the cam gear.

I have a new cork/rubber seal from the Filling Station.  I suspect the cork seal that is in the car now may have dried up or cracked, causing the leak.

Mike,  

I'll get back to you later today.

Steve

Mike,

I sent a photo of the neoprene seals(above).  Here is what I found on the seal casing:

1:  MAK which I think is the Manufacturer

2:  TC  ?

3.  37  Which is the mm of the ID of the seal

4:  55  Which is the  mm of the OD of the ring (It presses into the cover plate nicely)

5:  8 which is the depth of the seal ring (it fits flush with the edge of the cover)

6:  2  I am not sure but there are 2 rings that engage the harmonic balancer.  I think it refers to them.

When I put the seal in the cover plate, I used sealer around the edges as suggested by Stovblt.  That may have been a source of leaking when the neoprene seal was on originally, as there are three punched out holes in the inside of the cover plate.  I also tightened the cover plate after I slipped on the harmonic balancer.

I mounted my harmonic balancer on a drill and polished the surface that interfaces with the seal.  I finished with 800 grit.

I replaced the harmonic balancer and started the engine, and let it run until it got hot (no coolant in the motor ( <5 min)

I found no oil pooling under the the cover plate!!!!!

I hope this helps.

Steve

Steven,

Was the seal boxed when you bought it? I can find no reference for a MAK seal, online.

Mike

Mike,  I did some research going through old receipts.  This is what I found:

The seal was purchased at Bearing Engineering, 667 McCormick St. San Leandro, CA 94577. 510-746-3000

The manufacturer is SKS.  The part number is 9826CR.

Hope that helps,

Steve

Mike,

I found another receipt from the same company.

the item number shows 38X55X8TC metric seal.  This item has a 38mmID instead of the 37mm previously mentioned.  I was told that there are several manufacturers. If you call, they can help you out. 

Yesterday, I installed the 37mm seal, as it seemed to fit better after polishing the OD of the harmonic balancer.

steve