Bill,
From my research and recent experience, probably the best thing would be a test stand run so that you can fix a seal problem before engine installation. That option was not available to me short of making my own test stand.
I have talked at length to my engine guy and I don't think he would have done anything differently during assembly. He has done hundreds of rope seals with no issues, so this one is a mystery.
Good luck,
Mark

Well, after about 15 miles of test driving a leak is back in the same general area of the rear seal/clutch cover. Just wondering if it might be a leak from the oil pan and not the rear seal. Is there a way I can tell for sure where the leak is before launching into seal replacement again?

And, just wondering if anyone has successfully replaced the rope seal with rubber/neoprene on a 356?. Other posts reported success on the V8's.

Thanks folks,
Mark

Bill,
If you haven't already, I would take a look at the shop manual, as it covers this in detail.
The hole for the horn wire is the end of a tube that extends above the oil level. So, hard to imagine a leak where it exits, unless there is a problem where the tube is pressed into the bottom plate.
The tube also makes it a bit more difficult to remove the bottom plate. You may have some disassembly to do.
Also note that those gaskets are actually a set of shims that adjust the gear play, also covered in the shop manual.
Can't help with power steering.
Good Luck,
Mark

Mr. Pridley,
I just pulled the pan on my 2106 last week. I'm thinking yours is similar. You need to loosen the steering idler (two bolts on right side of frame) and the steering arms will lower enough for pan to clear.

I removed the clutch cover so I could turn the engine via the flywheel to rotate the counterweights so the pan will clear them also.

You should have some round holes or other access to the front bolts. On the clipper, there are round holes through the cross member.

Like everything else on the 356, the pan is not small. I found a set of Fel-Pro "snap- ups" to be helpful (a few bucks, but might come with the gasket).

I am pretty much an idiot with these things, but the project wasn't bad. Read the other posts on this topic.
Good luck,
Mark

I pulled the cable out from the top. Lots of lube and no apparent binding. The cable looked ok, or so I thought. Looks like a small kink right at the end of the speedo end (the lower end in the pic). It wobbles on a table top. The trans end looks much straighter with no wobble. Seems like that kink might be the problem and source of noise and for starters I should replace the cable and go from there...
Mark

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I performed some highly technical wiggling this morning and I might have felt the cable relax a bit.
Just wondering about the correct routing. I have it as shown in this photo (thanks to the poster). Cable goes behind the horns and enters the firewall at a pretty steep angle.

Is there a clamp/clip between the clip under the heater hose and the point where the cable enters the firewall?

Thanks,
Mark

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Thanks Howard, I will check for kinks etc. tomorrow. I do remember moving the cable a lot during the work. I was hoping to drive it to town for a front end alignment in the morning, but sounds like I should fix the whine before something really binds up...

I'm taking some test drives in my 2106 after a bunch of work including engine and transmission rebuilds. Nothing was touched behind the dash, but we did of course disconnect the speedo cable at the transmission. I'm pretty sure I got it connected properly.

At about 20 mph the speedo starts to make noise, seemingly from the dash. Sounds like gears meshing and whining. The speedo worked fine before the rebuilds, and it seems curious to develop a noise there.

Anybody have any tips on this gremlin?

Thanks,
Mark

I removed the oil pan and my mechanic came over to pull the rear cap. As suspected the rope seal shredded in short order. No clear explanation.

The shop found a suitable rubber seal and so far no leaks.
The seal is for a Chrysler slant six, backed with a .040 shim. I think the Fel-Pro number is 91020.

Coraseven,
On my 2106 it is on number eight. I think there are some engine photos posted in the photo section.
Mark