Replacing the front crank seal

[Donnyten]

Tried searching forums, but getting results which dont particularly answer the question for me. Sent a few pms out, but got no response.. so posting again. is the crank seal behind or within one of the main crankshaft bearing caps? silly question really because i did the bearings on this engine and took the cap off and the crank seal was able to spin freel. in fact i really dont know why i made this thread but the procedure to replace the crank seal entails doing everything i did to remove the harmonic balancer then you press seal into place, but clearly the procedure is a little different on my 88 lxi or am i buggin> theres no mention of doing anything with the crank timing gear. i want to change this and i'm not too sure if the crankshaft timing gear needs to come off or not because the seal looks smaller than the gear. i wont be around for a little while to see, so i'm just asking for clarification. There are two plates, one before crank timing gear and one after the gear... they are fairly loose without pulley being on.. normal i'm assuming"?

i've done a seal for a ford and a chevy but this seems a little different for some reason

the shop manual that i have is kinda less than helpful

Also, replacing the oil filter housing gasket, there was a slab of red rtv lining in the gasket housing, do i need to reapply red rtv then place in the gasket when changing the gasket and the oil filter housing? what pump and oil pump as well?

Also, when taking off thermo housing or whatever it is, the bottom end connecting to the engine broke off due to rust smh. is this a part i can order or do i have to visit a junkyard ( no junk yards near me have this part or the car in general) is there another car i can grab this part from?

sorry for the flipped pictures, no matter how many times i rotate and save image same chit happens smh

[Donnyten]

So apparently the only way to do this is to pry off the crankshaft timing gear, correct? There was not one mention on this site that stated that step needed to be done in all the threads ive read about this. It was always.. remove crank pulley, drive in seal. Not that simple unless im misunderstanding?

[Donnyten]

Well that was unexpectedly tough. Took a lot of prying and i think i may have damaged the oil pans mating surface in two places. Can anyone tell me if there is cause for concern of an oil leak?

[Dr_Snooz]

The gear should have slid right off. You sure you didn't overthink it?

The coolant neck is a junkyard only item.

You're not supposed to put RTV on the oil filter base gasket (the crazy-8 shaped one), but if your "new" seal is actually an NOS seal that's been aged for 30 years, you might want to use some RTV as a backup. Don't go apeshit with it though. If you hog it everywhere, pieces can come loose and block your oil pickup.

Your pan will seal fine.

I returned your PM for the other questions.

[Donnyten]

The gear should have slid right off. You sure you didn't overthink it?

The coolant neck is a junkyard only item.

You're not supposed to put RTV on the oil filter base gasket (the crazy-8 shaped one), but if your "new" seal is actually an NOS seal that's been aged for 30 years, you might want to use some RTV as a backup. Don't go apeshit with it though. If you hog it everywhere, pieces can come loose and block your oil pickup.

Your pan will seal fine.

I returned your PM for the other questions.

My experience with crank timing sprockets is that the sprockets usually have to be pressed or heated then slid on. This particular one did not budge and required use of a pry bar and a lot of cursing. Hopefully it will slide back on with ease

[Dr_Snooz]

If you led with the pry bar, then that could have wedged it on there, which would have made it a lot harder. That's not real likely though. You might want to do some investigating as to why it was so hard. My first guess would be that the original key was lost and a substitute beat in to replace it. You know, the typical "I sure feel sorry for the poor sap who has to take this apart...." I don't do that anymore because I'M always the poor sap who has to take it apart. I hope that the crank isn't damaged.

[Donnyten]

If you led with the pry bar, then that could have wedged it on there, which would have made it a lot harder. That's not real likely though. You might want to do some investigating as to why it was so hard. My first guess would be that the original key was lost and a substitute beat in to replace it. You know, the typical "I sure feel sorry for the poor sap who has to take this apart...." I don't do that anymore because I'M always the poor sap who has to take it apart. I hope that the crank isn't damaged.

It doesn't look like this engine was tampered with much if it all during its life. it only had one owner with 270,000 miles on the clock. Perhaps it was rusted a little bit or could have been stuck on due to age? Damaged crank? from me having to pry it off or the fact it was beat on? Then again the sprockets i've dealt with always needed to be heat treated first, especially upon installation, but if you say its supposed to just slide on, then i guess it wasnt a good thing i had to pry it off. Ummm, also, is the key supposed to be attached to the gear sprocket? because mine came off with it and appears attached.. looking at the pics i posted i hope the crank isnt damaged toward the inside of the key slot..really hope thats some form of oil and dirt and not warped metal smh.. really hate thinking about stuff like this while im at work..

[DanJDT]

I just did my front main a few days ago.

After I removed all the other stuff I tapped the crank shaft gear a few times with the end of my ratchet then put my flat head screw drivers on either side. The gear slid off rather easy. My Crank shaft gear/sprocket had a built in key way. The crank pulley did not.

Hopefully this helps a little. Maybe take a straight edge across the spots you marred up and see if you got any super low spots. It dont look half bad. I would just add a little sealant (not much. A dab goes a long way)

[Donnyten]

I did so much prying to get that sprocket off smdh. Thank you for the clarification. I assumed as such. More piece of mind for me. Should I use hondabond or some permatex rtv? Also, should i put a little rtv around the crank seal?

[slithica]

Yeah, replaced my crank seal before. The crank pully was a bit difficult but I managed to pull it off by hand with gloves on. The crank sprocket itself came off super easy. You probably just jammed it and got it stuck.

I didn't put any rtv around mine and it sealed just fine. I did wipe out the hole though.

[Donnyten]

I don't know something just isn't adding up. I'm trying to re install the pulley sprocket after changing the seal and it simply won't slide back on. It seems like a press fit sprocket and the crank shaft itself is not damaged from when I can see and feel. Only way to install it it seems is to either heat up the sprocket or use an installer tool. And This is also with a replacement sprocket as well.

[Dr_Snooz]

That should all slide together nice and easy. Something definitely isn't right. They don't even make an installer tool for these.

[Donnyten]

I have no idea.. is it possible that they changed sprockets or something over the course of a year? i see you have an 89. i seriously dont know whats going on here but this isnt my first encounter with a press fit type sprocket. I usually heat them up in the oven for 20 minutes on 350 and they slide back on. I didn't heat it up enough so i only managed to get a piece of the sprocket on then it got 'stuck' as it cooled down. I've been using the crank bolt to press it back on, i know thats not a wise thing to do, and luckily i havent damaged the threads in the crank, but i have no other option.. so its almost on all the way now. I just need to get it on some more, somehow. i suppose i can use a longer bolt, some washers and nuts. When I rebuilt a 1.9 escort engine it was the exact same way. press fit sprocket. Well I dunno, shit dont seem right. i cant ' jiggle/ wiggle/ twist/ or turn maneuver the sprocket onto the crank.

[Oldblueaccord]

I have no idea.. is it possible that they changed sprockets or something over the course of a year? i see you have an 89. i seriously dont know whats going on here but this isnt my first encounter with a press fit type sprocket. I usually heat them up in the oven for 20 minutes on 350 and they slide back on. I didn't heat it up enough so i only managed to get a piece of the sprocket on then it got 'stuck' as it cooled down. I've been using the crank bolt to press it back on, i know thats not a wise thing to do, and luckily i havent damaged the threads in the crank, but i have no other option.. so its almost on all the way now. I just need to get it on some more, somehow. i suppose i can use a longer bolt, some washers and nuts. When I rebuilt a 1.9 escort engine it was the exact same way. press fit sprocket. Well I dunno, shit dont seem right. i cant ' jiggle/ wiggle/ twist/ or turn maneuver the sprocket onto the crank.


Well the one I have like said just slips on.

Since yours now sounds like its stuck either heat it back up and get it off or like you said pull it in with the bolt.

I suspect the keyway is what is hanging up but there is no way to tell now. If you get it back off use dyken or a sharpie marker and mark all over the parts and when you put it on it will tell you where the high spots are.

[Donnyten]

I'll see whatsup. the sprocket is basically on now, thanks to the bigger crank pulley. I do have a question though..

there was a plate behind the the gear and one in front of it just before the harmonic balancer, right?

[slithica]

I'll see whatsup. the sprocket is basically on now, thanks to the bigger crank pulley. I do have a question though..

there was a plate behind the the gear and one in front of it just before the harmonic balancer, right?



1987 here, dx and lx models both have a sprocket that slide off easily. Just so people know.
I cannot personally confirm more.

Ok, so yeah. The sprocket has two metal disks that are there to keep the sprocket from rubbing on anything else and to keep the belt in line.

Look at them and make sure you put them on properly. They are directional.