front main seal

[fonzi90Tsi]

So I am keaking from my front main seal and getting oil all over my timing belt. I needed a quick fix and went to the autoparts store and picked a main seal up. Well that didn't work out to well. So I jumped on extremepsi.com and ordered oem. Well it just arrived and now ot is time for me to replace it.

Question is, is there anything I should do? Rtv? Oil it? I have a fsm as well as a chiltons and there is no real description on outting it back in besides tapping it lightly.

All help is appreciated!

 

[crash89]

How did you get the seal out of the front case with it still on? Why didnt the parts store replacement go so well? However, to answer your question, just tap it into place.. Best way to change it would be take the front case off, remove the seal, replace the seal.. Front main seal is quite the job.

 

[DSM1G90]

Front mains are easy to do, but time consuming. Take off the belts and sprockets. I've used a small blade screwdriver to pick the seal out, but being careful NOT to score the oil pump housing around the seal or you're stuck with oil leaks...and don't score the crank shaft as well.

You press the seal back in dry with the spring inward and the oil notch at the 6:00 position. You can use a rubber mallet and tap around the outer part of the seal to press it it square back in the oil pump outer housing.

There is a danger with front leaky seals: The danger is if the original seal has the teflon hardening to where it's rock solid and not flexible.

This hardening of the teflon can actually cut a minute groove in the crankshaft itself, where no new seal can completely stop the oil leakage.

Crank, if so, then has to be removed and have the metal rebuilt back up, or a new crankshaft.

If you're lucky and got it in time, replace the belt (don't use an oily belt for that will spell breakage) and hope for the best.

Good luck - DSM

 

[fonzi90Tsi]

It was easy. I just put a little screw in it like a member suggested and oulled it out by tyat.
And not sure why. It slowed it down but still a very small leak.

Also thanks DSM1G90!!! Exactly what I wanted to know!!
I to hope that, thats not the case!

 

[Jon Lane]

Drilling holes in the seal and fishing it out with anything but a seal removal tool is just asking for huge trouble. Don't.