Continental gas engine identification and rear seal leak

New member here, but I've been around for a while reading the forum. Always appreciate the help and info.

I've acquired an old Morbark/Beever chipper powered by what a friend told me is a continental engine. Looks to me like it came off a tractor (the chipper engine was replaced at one point). I think some of the older Massey's had continentals??

First question, can anyone help me identify this engine? There's a number stamped into the side of it - 493 333 9. Also a number cast into the block - A152

Secondly, it's dripping a lot of oil off the clutch bell-housing. I think it's the rear main seal. Anyone have any tips on doing this?

I can't get the system to let me attach a picture. It's telling me it's spam. ??

Ah, ok, that explains it. Thanks! Will try to either get permission or rack up a few posts and then put a couple of pictures here.

Yes, it is a 4 cylinder. Valve cover and intake are yellow, rest of it is red. I've looked over it quite a bit but can't find any data plate. Will do some more searching.

I'm pretty handy with a wrench, but don't have much experience with these older gassers.

(quoted from post at 13:12:40 05/12/22)
Ah, ok, that explains it. Thanks! Will try to either get permission or rack up a few posts and then put a couple of pictures here.

Yes, it is a 4 cylinder. Valve cover and intake are yellow, rest of it is red. I've looked over it quite a bit but can't find any data plate. Will do some more searching.

I'm pretty handy with a wrench, but don't have much experience with these older gassers.

Click to expand...

My MF202 has a 1958 Z134 Continental 4 cylinder gas engine. I can see the ID plate on the left side of the engine looking right between the distributor and the coil.

Alright, here's a couple of pictures.

Masseys had an A(d3)-152 engine, but it was a 3 cylinder Perkins diesel...

What is that rectangle looking thing just above your starter? Looks like an ID plate to me. Looks like I can even see rivets or screws holding it on.

Pretty common for the rear main to leak on those.

First, make sure the oil is not overfilled or gas contaminated.

Be sure the crank case vents are clean.

If you are the operator or you trust the operators, try letting the oil level settle down to where it wants
to be. Sometimes trying to keep it on the full mark is a lost cause, once it gets down about 1/2 to 1 quart
low it will slow to a manageable drip or stop.

Got a Continental in the fork lift at work, been that way for 20+ years now, just run it a quart low.

Yeah this one will run itself dry. It's a fast drip -almost a stream - when it's hot.

Regarding replacing the seal, can I pull it from the rear or do I have to drop the oil pan?

Yes, there is a flat spot there, but if it had a plate on it at one point it's gone now. I cleaned it pretty well and can't see any numbers stamped into it. Here's a pic. There are some numbers cast into the block to the left of it but they're near impossible to read. Looks like "2000" is part of it. Can't imagine that's the model number, but if so I can try to do some more deciphering.



Here's the plate that says A152



And here's the other number stamped into it.

Here is a pic of the plate on my Z134 engine. I took a pic of it using the macro setting on my digital camera. Sometimes when you have something that is very hard to read, you can take a macro picture then use a photo editing program to play around and adjust the settings to make it more readable.

Not sure if it can be changed from the rear or not, most can not.

Often a leaking rear seal is a symptom of more serious problems. Loose main
bearings, and excessive blow-by contribute. Often a new seal will be a
temporary fix or a fail from the beginning.

But, rear seal leakage is more likely to leak when the engine is shut off,
not so much when running, but there are exceptions.

I say this because there could be a leak from above, like the valve cover, an
oil line, the cam plug, or a leaking galley plug. Always do a very close
inspection before assuming the rear main is the cause.

Well we're making progress - on both the seal and the engine identification.


I pulled the flywheel, dropped the oil pan, and took the crank bearing off to get the seal out. The seal had several numbers on it. I took it to a couple of really good parts places but unfortunately all the numbers were extinct. So I went online and did some searching. I was able to cross-reference some numbers and narrow it down. Interestingly, most of the manufacturers for the seal were military/govt. And I finally located the seal from a military surplus supplier.


Evidently this is a common part for the M151 army jeeps. That gave me an idea for identifying the engine. I did some searching for the engine specs in the M151 jeeps. There were a few, but the common one seemed to be Hercules. The pictures of the M151 jeep engines looked like the engine I have. I found an article from Foley Engines which stated that "the Hercules G1600 serial number is a stamped-in number located near the dipstick. It is 7 digits in length beginning with 491, 490, or 493." My engine has a 7-digit number stamped near the dipstick beginning with 493. I think I found the engine!


I also discovered that this engine was used in White tractors, and I found a picture of one and the hood looks almost identical to what's around this engine.


So at this point as best I can figure this is a Hercules G1600 out of a White tractor.


On another note I've got the seal on order. Hopefully will fix my problem.

I got the seal and just wanted to get opinions on installing it. It's about 4" diameter and I don't have any seal installers or sockets big enough.

The seal is held in place by the crank bearing, so when I unbolted the bottom half of the crank bearing, the bottom half of the seal was loose and I pushed it out by hand. Would the reverse work for installing? If I push it in by hand and then bolt the crank bearing back on to compress it in place, do you think that would cause any issues with it sealing?