Hello all,

 

I have had a persistant leak in front, hard to find where. Seems to be slower when the oil level is low.

 

I thought it might be my highmileage oil pump, so I replaced that, but it still leaks.

 

it seems the seals should be fairly easy to replace with the engine installed, take off the radiator, pulleys, etc...hook that sucker out, and tap in the new one. I am wrong in this?

 

david

Yea prob your Camshaft seals and/or Crankshaft seal leaking, and yes they are fairly easy to replace. Follow your steps, tear down the timing covers and remove the pulley's. Replace seals, build back-up. Fairly straight forward and doesn't take that long. Most of us had to do at one point in time (if not several times).

Thanks!

 

it is an EA81, so there ain't no timing cover. I don't think I have an exterior camshaft seal either....

 

should have specified the engine type....

 

d'oh!

 

david

Haha whoops suppose I should've asked that, guess I just assume when it's leaking oil from the front that it's an EA82..just too common.

cam and crank seals are good to replace or at least check. in tearing down kevins motor, his crank seal would wobble just by touching it, it was crooked and could have easily come out at some point.

 

all are easy to do with engine in car.

that was easy. busted the nut loose with a breaker bar and the starter, and it came right out. too easy, i think. the new seal needed to be glued in. the old one broke in pieces as i took it out. that engine got cooked! living in the desert really bakes the rubber out. the wires and hoses in the engine compartment all have been cooked.

 

no more leaks!!!

 

now on to the next project, my '82 tranny install. That will make the bigger wheels easier to spin.

 

thanks again!

 

david

Hello, Yes your assumption is correct, the front pulley seals often leak and most will point you to the oil pump as it's the easy answer. the pulley boss also wears but can be repaired by sleeving back to original specs, if you do not address this no amount of seals will help. l have done many of these repairs for customers, most of which have been told to replace oil pumps, boy, if l only had a dollar for every time l've heard this, just to be clear, it's rarely the oil pump and nearly always the seal/pulley.

hope this helps, good luck.

Redskin.

Yeah Dave, that front seal was a snap to change. I did mine a few years ago, around 200 or 225K. Instant stop leak (from there, anyway... ).

 

Glad to hear it worked!

the pulley boss also wears but can be repaired by sleeving back to original specs, Redskin.

What exactly is this "sleeving" process. I repaced my fron oil seal only to have the leak return. If the sleeving is just adding more metal back to the pulley, then what are the specs for the pulley (ea71 engine).

 

Any ideas of the kind of shops that I would take the pulley to to have this procedure completed?

 

Thanks

James

What exactly is this "sleeving" process. I repaced my fron oil seal only to have the leak return. If the sleeving is just adding more metal back to the pulley, then what are the specs for the pulley (ea71 engine).

 

Any ideas of the kind of shops that I would take the pulley to to have this procedure completed?

 

Thanks

James

What I think that he is refering to is known in the US as a "Redi-Sleeve" made by several seal makers--It's a very thin steel sleeve that is gently tapped on to the pulley sealing surface--you normally start the sleeve on the pulley & then set a piece of wood on top--tap the wood with a hammer & "drive" the sleeve over the surface--I normally drop some LockTite on the grooved area for the new sleeve to "bite" onto--Check with a local parts store to see if one is availible for you application---I'm not sure one is---

the nice thing about the ea81 pulley is it pops off after the bolt is removed

 

very common problem and simple fix

 

mine left a line on the top of the oil filter, not anymore!

What exactly is this "sleeving" process. I repaced my fron oil seal only to have the leak return. If the sleeving is just adding more metal back to the pulley, then what are the specs for the pulley (ea71 engine).

 

Any ideas of the kind of shops that I would take the pulley to to have this procedure completed?

 

Thanks

James

Hello James, what l mean by sleeving the pulley is to set the pulley up in a lathe and machine the length of the Boss to remove the wear marks, then turn up a ring, the outside diameter to the original size of the boss and the inside diameter

1 thousandth of an inch under the size your boss has been machined to.

Next step is to heat the ring in an oven to expand it and freeze the pulley to shrink it and then press the ring on to the pulley boss to gain an interference fit and return your pulley back to as new and there you have it.

This operation is not as difficult as it sounds and guaranteed to work. Any engineering shop can handle this type of proceedure, it's usually given to the apprentice to do as it's very a basic machining job.

If you need anymore info please contact me at redskin@dodo.com.au and l will explain in more detail.

P.S. My occupation is automotive engineer, l work at Tafe, (trade school) teaching apprentices, this is the type of exercise l would give to my first years as an exercise in meeting diameters.

Hope this helps.

Redskin

Thanks for the info.... your descriptions (the "redi-sleeve" and the machining process) were adequate for my purposes. And, I am thankful that there are people out there who have technical training as well as those who know by loving what they do. I hope that some day I can answer a question with the authority that those on this forum do.

 

Thanks,

James

Yes, I had a nice trench in the pulley too, but I also had three pulleys to look at...one from my 245k subiemarine, one from my current engine (deepest)with 200k+, and the one I used was from my 115k spare engine....it had a minor trench...you can also reposition the seal in the housing so that it doesn't wear in the same spot.

 

amazing what a groove rubber can wear in steel!

Be nice to see this one hit the repair manuel. dp