Crank oil seal gap?

[jukematt]

I had a pretty major oil leak and after fixing some minor leaks it boiled down to the front crank seal. Well, I got it in (trying to follow the little arrow and rotate it as I'm installing) but there appears to be a tiny gap on the right side when viewing the pics.

On the left, the seal lip rests right against the crank. On the right there is a little gap and when I shine a light down, it looks like the seal is still contacting the crank but it just isn't right up against it like on the left. In pic 2 you can see the grooved lines of the seal that are against the crank inside the gap.

Btw, the shadows create a sort of optical illusion that there is a big gap on the side away from the crank. Pay no attention to those, just look where the seal meets the crank. Is this OK? Or will I maybe have another oil leak when I get the timing belt and everything back on again?

 

[jukematt]

58 views and no replies. I guess I'll put it back together and hope everything is fine.

 

[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

Ive not changed mine yet as i got to do this on sat but that seems fine, all the other seals ive taken off and replaced was touching and seems normal to me so i would put it all back

 

[007jimmy]

Are you reusing the seal or is it new?

 

[BogusSVO]

Try again.. looks like the inner lip is pinched between the outer lip of the seal.

You may be able to unbolt the seal bracket and rock back and forth so both of the lips ride on the crank seal surface.

It will leak... a deformed seal will not seal....

In pic 2 it shows the vanes for oil control holding up the outer lip.

 

[jukematt]

Try again.. looks like the inner lip is pinched between the outer lip of the seal.

You may be able to unbolt the seal bracket and rock back and forth so both of the lips ride on the crank seal surface.

This is a brand new, OEM seal, just installed. And I'm sorry, I am not sure what you mean, what seal bracket? Also, the way I got the old one out was to break it and pry it out. To try again, will I have to remove the front case?

 

[BogusSVO]

Un bolt the front case.. and then reinstall....the seal should be fine, unless it is ripped.

When you installed the front case, you must have installed it dry, that is with out a finger of oil smear on the seal lips, nor the front of the crank where the seal rides.

The inner lip stuck and folded over then was pinched between the outer lip and the crank.

Seal bracket is any part that the seal gets tapped into, in this case.. the front case.

 

[jukematt]

Un bolt the front case.. and then reinstall....the seal should be fine, unless it is ripped.

When you installed the front case, you must have installed it dry, that is with out a finger of oil smear on the seal lips, nor the front of the crank where the seal rides.

The inner lip stuck and folded over then was pinched between the outer lip and the crank.

Seal bracket is any part that the seal gets tapped into, in this case.. the front case.

When I first installed the front case, I put some oil on my finger and went around the inside of the seal and the crank. But I used an off-brand seal when I should have used OEM which is why I figured I had a leak (engine was rebuilt by me and finished last month). With this new, OEM seal, I did not want to remove the front case so I pulled the other one out, lubed this one, and slid it over the crank.

Could that be why it didn't seat right? Just seems a pain (and pointless?) to remove the whole front case just to replace the seal.

 

[BogusSVO]

You should have been able to install just the seal in the case over the crank... something went wrong.. now needs fixed...

Did you rotate the seal on to the crank? or just go straight on?

 

[miguelmcv]

I would suggest to get an OEM seal, I know, It's a big headache, But it will be worst then a nightmare to get a leak after the install and to know that you could off prevented and didn't.

Edit,

The gap looks kind of big for the oil to pass through, But considering the oval shape of the edge, It is not to bad, if you don't want to use an OEM, Just add some shalach on it and it will seal it, But it will be hard solid when trying to remove it again.

 

[jukematt]

You should have been able to install just the seal in the case over the crank... something went wrong.. now needs fixed...

Did you rotate the seal on to the crank? or just go straight on?

I tried rotating it according to the arrow on it but it was hard since it wasn't like it would slide in like butter. So after a little bit in, I tried pressing on it in different spots using a socket extension in the direction of the arrow to sort of make a rotational tendency.

I would suggest to get an OEM seal, I know, It's a big headache, But it will be worst then a nightmare to get a leak after the install and to know that you could off prevented and didn't.

Edit,

The gap looks kind of big for the oil to pass through, But considering the oval shape of the edge, It is not to bad, if you don't want to use an OEM, Just add some shalach on it and it will seal it, But it will be hard solid when trying to remove it again.

I did get an OEM seal this time. The gap here is from the new, OEM seal.

 

[BogusSVO]

Well you have 2 choices... pull the front case and reset it back so the seal will do its job, or 2 pop the seal out and try again so the seal sits proper.

Well there is a third option you can try and may or may not work... take a .005 to .007 thick feeler gauge, with lots of lube/oil on it and try to push the inner lip into place. even if this seats the lip you may still leak if there is a sharp bend in the lip....

The gap looks kind of big for the oil to pass through, But considering the oval shape of the edge, It is not to bad, if you don't want to use an OEM, Just add some shalach on it and it will seal it, But it will be hard solid when trying to remove it again.

WTF? no sort of goop, rtv, shellac will cause that gap to seal, that is a double lip seal designed so seal oil on a rotatial part, the crank.
A shellac is used to help seal a non-moving part, like a flat gasket or a front case gasket...

 

[Ferrarieater]

When I install my main seal I use a socket that fits after I insert it far enough by hand and lightly tap it untill its even all around. You might want to get another seal and do it over if your unsure.

 

[jukematt]

Well it looks like I found another oil leak at my cam seals so I ordered new ones for those. I'll take a look again at the main seal and see if I can fix it. If not, I guess I'll have to remove the front case. I really don't want to spend an extra $25 on another new crank seal.