Nobody seems to stock wicking material around here. Flywheel clutch on D2 5J needs new wicking and I can't find any, or anybody that even knows what I'm talking about (except the Cat shop). What do you guys use? Thanks,

Jack

Is this what you need?

www.magnetoparts.com/oil_cup.htm

More stuff at:
www.magnetoparts.com/cat_index.htm
Cheap drain/primer cocks!

CS

The Cat rope wicking that,s used in the rear main bearing caps of all the older Cat engines is 2B2414 packing as it,s called.It,s about a 3/16th" or 1/4" rope type material possibly made from cotton unless I,m wrong.

You can get various shapes of oil wicking (felt wicking) material through McMaster.

Wicking that is in contact with a rotating shaft should be either 100% wool felt or 100% cotton to withstand the heat produced. The tighter you pack it and the harder the felt the lower the oil flow. There is a lot of "felt" sold that is polyester, plastic and it will melt and you will have no oil flow.

If you are not real comfortable with doing this type of oil delivery, I would just go with the CAT part. It is very easy to have either to much or not enough oil.

My parts book for the 5J didn't show a number for the wicking, just the oil cup and delivery pipe in the cover. I just ordered wicking for the rear main cap on the D2 5U. I thought it was going to be something more like pump packing. Maybe there's enough in the package to do the main and have some left over for the 5J?

Jack

At the dealer we & I always cut about a 4" piece and then fold it back and forth as you go in and I had a piece of welding rod that will go in the hole to keep driving it in as tight as possible and then cut another piece and do the same till I got it filled to the bottom and I never had one leak of all the ones I did and that was a slew of them over the years.Always knock the flux off the rod before you use it. If you have a heavier punch when you get near the bottom it is a little stronger to use.

Main bearing cap packing is to act as a seal. Pack it in as tight as you can get it.

Studebaker gasket sets had hardwood blocks that we drove in. They were inclined to leak sometimes, so we used string packing and drove it in. I believe Willys Jeep used string packing also. It was pretty common. I remember a job that used a rubber tube with one closed end; you pushed the closed end in with a small drift. If you could keep it from crawling back out they sealed well. Can't remember what motor that was.

Seems to me that if you wet the packing with a little silicon it would be even better. Any ideas or experience on that?

The old time approach was to work flake graphite and grease into the packing that was to function as an oil seal.