RE: The front crank seal that won't

["Keith, Michael S" <Michael.Keith@domain.elided>]

Since I know all of you are dying of suspense :-), I'll begin with the
ending; I was able to get the problem fixed.

Turns out that the inner lip of the crank seal got turned under in one spot
while I was installing it.  The crank was fine.  I was thankful for this
outcome for two reasons.

First, dealing with an improperly installed seal is a lot easier then
polishing a scratch off of the crank surface, even if it does reaffirm the
fact that I'm a bit of a bone-head. :-)

Second, I inadvertently found a problem that I feel could have cost me my
engine had I continued to drive the car.  When I took the timing cover off,
it appeared that the left cam seal was leaking as well; so I decided to pull
both cam sprockets.  The right one was OK.  On the left one, I found that
part of the outer surface of the seal had been scraped off as I drove the
seal in.  This was due to marks in the casting presumably from prying out
seals in the past.  I can't believe I missed this when I first installed the
seal.  The worst part is that it seems that the pieces of rubber sticking
out from the seal prevented the cam sprocket from seating properly when I
installed it because when I unbolted it, it slid off without having to use a
puller.  I think that had I not had a noticeable crank seal leak & continued
to drive the car, the left cam sprocket may have come off.

Anyway, all seems well so far.  I drove the car today; no signs of leaks or
other problems so far.  By the way, since I removed the cover to inspect the
crank, I installed the new crank seal with the cover off the car.  On the
one hand, this made for a much easier seal installation, but on the other
hand, I had to remove the tensioner & unbolt the A/C compressor bracket to
get the cover off.  Unless you're planning to take these pieces off the car
anyway, I'd say you're better off making a good seal driver out of pipe that
will allow you to install the seal with the cover in place.

Michael Keith
Houston, TX
'87 Milano Gold
>  -----Original Message-----
> From: 	Keith, Michael S  
> Sent:	Thursday, March 06, 2003 12:29 PM
> To:	'alfa-digest@domain.elided'
> Subject:	The front crank seal that won't
> 
> I finished a timing belt/water pump/front engine seals job at 2:00 am this
> morning.  Everything seemed fine, but after a short test drive, I popped
> the hood to find oil all over the lower front part of the motor.  It
> appears to be coming from the front crank seal.  The front crank seal that
> was originally in the car only had seepage typical of an old seal.
> Running the car to temperature in the garage did not produce a problem.  I
> had to actually drive it to get it to leak.
> 
> This seal was a nightmare to remove & quite difficult to install as well.
> I double-checked with my supplier, & he sent the correct seal (dimensions
> 48 X 65 X 10).  Therefore, I must have done something wrong when I
> installed it.  I don't have the factory tool to install it; so here's how
> I went about it:
> 
> 1- Lubricated it inside & out
> 
> 2- Started it by hand
> 
> 3- Put the washer, timing belt sprocket, crank pulley, & crank pulley bolt
> in place.
> 
> 4- Tightened the crank pulley bolt in order to drive the seal in.
> 
> 5- Step 4 only gets it to where the washer rests against the crank flange.
> In order to get it in the rest of the way (flush with the front cover), I
> tapped it in with a brass punch.  The end of the punch I used was slightly
> wider than the seal so as not to collapse the seal.
> 
> Once I was done, everything looked fine except that the outer seal lip
> that rides against the crank looked a bit distorted.  I wasn't't concerned
> about this because it was my understanding that the inner, spring-loaded
> lip was the one that actually served to seal the crank.
> 
> Can anyone see where I went wrong, or do any of you have a better method
> for installing the seal?  I was thinking of removing the cover, installing
> the new seal to the cover, & then installing the cover/seal assembly back
> onto the motor.
> 
> By the way, I have the old style, hydraulic tensioner, but I don't think
> that is what's leaking.  It was rebuilt this past August, & has not leaked
> since then.
> 
> Any input would be greatly appreciated as this is my daily driver.
> 
> Michael Keith
> Houston, TX
> '87 Milano Gold
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