861 rear main oil leak?

Ford 861 gas tractor. I paid about $5000 for a complete engine rebuild (and new clutch) a year ago at a local tractor shop that took 7 months. They sent the engine out for the head/cylinder work. There is about 30 hours on the engine now. It had been leaking oil out the bottom transmission cover plate for some time, so finally decided to jack up the front end of the tractor and run it with the plate off to confirm it was coming out the bell housing, and not the oil pan (video). The oil pan bolts were loose among other things after getting the tractor back after the rebuild. Oil appeared to be running from the back of the pan to that cover plate and then dripping so I wasn't 100% sure of the sourec of the leak. So I also jammed some paper towels against the pan to make sure nothing was coming from there when the video was taken. Collectively, the whole rebuild process with the local shop was a mess with a long list of screw-ups, including my discovery that the head bolts were torqued only to 25 ft-lbs after it was already well into the break-in period. Here's the vid showing the bottom of the tractor while idling, with a stream of oil coming out the spot where the bottom plate was removed (bolts are still there so I don't lose them). The local shop where the tractor was taken for the work hasn't responded to my phone calls.
Note, to avoid confusion the red steel in the vid background is an idler arm for the halftracks on this tractor.
Thinking of trying to replace the rear main seal myself without splitting the tractor. Should that go pretty easily this close to having new seals put in from the rebuild (in theory)? I've given up on finding any reliable tractor repair shops, even supposed good ones that can't even check their torqueing of bolts. I'll never spend another dollar on an engine rebuild for these tractors. About 8 years ago I spent over $5k on an 841 diesel engine complete rebuild which broke a crankshaft only 15 hours after getting it back from the rebuild. They wouldn't cover the repair so that tractor has been sitting in the barn gathering dust ever since.
[video play=false:3eff36367c]https://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/videos/mvvideo66233.mov[/video:3eff36367c]
 
I was not able to stop my rear main leak with the engine in the tractor working underneath it, and I tried twice. The wedge seals at the rear main cap can be the problem. My leak looked like yours when I tried the side seals that are a paper type that are supposed to swell and seal. Mine never did. Next I tried the rubber side seals with a metal pin that is supposed to get driven into the side seal. I could never get the pin driven all the way in before bending the pin. Finally decided to pull the engine and get it upside down on a stand. Ended up rebuilding the engine once I started getting into it. I used Victor Reinz sealant in the rear main side grooves when reassembling the engine and been leak free for 7 years now.
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I wouldn't necessarily blame the broken crank on the folks who rebuilt your 841, since crank failures are known issues on those engines. Maybe in hindsight they should have magnafluxed it first. That said, the folks that rebuilt your 861 owe you at least a partial refund and an apology. What a sad commentary on pride of workmanship these days.

With my personal feelings out of the way, a rope seal would be not impossible, but very difficult to replace in chassis. A two-piece lip type seal will be somewhat easier. I'm not sure what style that engine uses.
 


FarmerBlair that is just awful!!! If what you are saying is completely true that shop deserves nothing less than you sitting in your truck out front with a big sign telling what crooks they are!! Replacing a rear main on one of these is a tough job with it upside down on a stand. I also recommend the lip seal with the Victor Reinze sealant.
 

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