then that means i got her in right per your first post which i followed. so next i will try and sneak a mirror in there to see if there is seepage. unfortunately it will only exhibit leakage after warmup and pressurization so that precludes "hot" examination without injury, or else it is leakin' somewhere else cause i got a new valve cover gasket on it. i did notice that there was some pitting on the suface of the crank that rides in the rear main seal on the "new" crank they installed. my old one was perfectly smooth but had to be tossed as it was gaulded from the spun bearings. a leak there it would seem would cause oil to spew out the dust cover over the bottom of the bell housing though. that cover has a releif hole at 6 o'clock and i would think oil would just spew out of there if the main was leaking. instead it seems to just weep down the sides of the bell housing and drip off the lower suface. i will time it tomorrow but it doesn't leak at start up or after 90 seconds but waits till oper. temp. which leads me to the "packing" as it would not leak there till pressure builds up and the oil gets thin. more tomorrow. thanks for the "real deal" service manual references. i appreciate your diligence and concern.