235 Rear Main Seal disintegrated!

Those that know me know I had just rebuilt my 235. I had run it about a thousand miles and the NOS rope rear seal disintegrated and caused the oil to thicken and my newly rebuilt motor is now an anchor. Question is, has anyone else had this happen? I got the NOS piece from Stovebolt who swears by them. My mechanic wants to try to use a 55 neoprene seal. Any advice on this would be appreciated.

 

Go with the Neoprene seal.......will last longer and give you better service..............

 

If your car is a stick, the rear main bearing cap takes the brunt of the load when engaging the clutch and is hard on seals. I had to replace mine with a neoprene and also no more reving the engine with the clutch in to hear the pipes rap.

 

What did you end up using? How did it work out? How did you install it?

 

I never trust NOS gaskets. Even though they have never been used, the material still ages and becomes "weak". Always use new gaskets but the type of material is up to you.