oil seal leak, (fixed)

[David Anderson]

I have a leak on my front oil seal on the front drive that turns the miter box on my eagle (6v92).  The book says I can drill two holes in this seal, insert two screws and pry it and remove it, or drop the oil pan 1/4", remove the  cover and drive the seal out.  That would be a big job.

How hard is it to replace this seal?  Will I have to remove the miter box and unhook the engine cradle?  I wanted to get some suggestions before I jump into this project.

David

[luvrbus]

David, you have to remove everything from the end of the crankshaft most of them have a cap over the crankshaft end that has to be removed also they have a wear ring that the seal runs on that has a seal ring between it and the crankshaft you need to look at the wear ring to make sure it has no groves in it  good luck.P.S. are you going to the Eagle rally in Colorado Springs

[lloyd]

Don't remove the oil pan, remove the hub and pully assembly and then drill two holes 180 degrees apart in the seal. Screw in two sheet metal screws and use a heel bar/pry bar and pry it out. The you should change the seal and the sleeve on the crankshaft. Make sure you install the new seal square in the housing. Good luck
Lloyd

[David Anderson]

Thanks for the replies, but bear with me as I've never done this, so in looking at the picture I scanned I can understand the hole drilling and prying the seal forward.  It appears from the picture it will slide off the sleeve.  However, if I replace the sleeve, how is it held in the crankshaft front cover?  I can find no info in the the DD book that shows that detail. 

Below is a picture of the backside of the crankshaft cover.  It shows nothing about the sleeve.

David

[luvrbus]

David, when you remove your miter box there should bolt that holds 1/2 of the coupling to the end of the crankshaft remove the bolt from the crankshaft remove the coupling and then you will see a spacer remove it from the crankshaft and you will see the sleeve     good luck

[David Anderson]

I can see the sleeve, but how does it come off?  Is there a key in it?  Will it require a special tool to remove?   I also have a crack in the engine mount rubber grommet.  May as well pull the bolt and replace that, too.  This is going to be a 2 day job, I bet.

David

[luvrbus]

David,when you get drive coupling off which has keys i spray a lot of PB on the inside and i just tap on the sleeve and using a pair of channellocks turning the sleeve.if you look on page 2 sec.1.3.6 of your manual  the photo is for a 8v92 with a vibration damper which you don't have but it gives some idea how its made and no it does not have keys.   have fun

[David Anderson]

Dumb question,  What is PB?  Is that a brand of penetrant like mouse milk or liquid wrench?  Please don't laugh.

David

[luvrbus]

not laughing David should have told you what it was sorry almost forgot to tell you again yes its a penetrant

[NJT5047]

The full name of the penetrant is "PB Blaster".  Best stuff!   Auto Zone, Advance, and most good auto parts stores handle it. 
I don't know about the front sleeve, but I replaced the rear crank seal and sleeve on my 6V92.  That was a good weekends worth of work! The wear sleeve is a thin steel ring that is about impossible to remove with the bell housing in the way.   If your DD has the same sort of wear ring, you may be forced to remove the front engine cover to gain access.  On an MCI, the pan isn't  bad to access and remove...don't know about an Eagle.  Reckon the starter would be the worse part of pan removal?
I had to split the wear ring to get it off.  Had great fear of damaging the aluminum bell housing seal surface.  Got lucky I reckon.
David, be sure that you get the correct rotation seal (no GM seals), and a seal/wear sleeve that's designed to work together.
IF the wear ring is a thin metal sleeve, it'll have to be installed with something that fits the sleeve but doesn't bind on the crankshaft.  May need a special driver?   You may be able to push it into place with whatever serves as your harmonic balancer?  Don't know if it helps or hinders, but I lubed the inside of the wear ring with a high tech sealing agent.   You never know.   You know any local DD mechanics?  A few special tools can make life soo much easier!
Good luck, JR

[David Anderson]

Thanks, I'll remember the PB.

It has been a long day.  10a.m to 4:30p.m. taking the miter box off and getting the coupler off the end of the miter box and shaft.  I had to buy a 1 5/16" socket to loosen the hub flange bolt from the shaft.  Using a 6 ton jack and some heat on the bolt got it loose.  Now I'm pulling on the hub flange trying to slip it off the shaft.    I am almost certain I'll have to pull the engine cradle off to get a position to to remove the seal.  The miter cradle is bolted at the engine cradle stud, so to pull it I have to remove the stud requiring the engine to be blocked up.  Arrggh.

More info tomorrow.

David

[NJT5047]

ARGGGHH....Now I remember why I bought an MCI....sorry.   
Looking at your pix, it would appear that the sleeve will be easier to work with than a rear main wear sleeve.   You can grab yours. 
If you know any body shop mechanics, they'll have a slide hammer that will affix itself to a hardened screw that will pull your seal.  Two screws, and pull the seal straight out...don't let if get cocked in the bore.  There are also large seal pullers that grab the seal by the lips...I've never had any results with those things, but it may work for you. 
Beauty of the screw seal removal method is that you can re-drill all the way around the seal if neccessary.  Don't be surprised if a screw just pulls out of the seal.  Just drill another hole, or install a larger screw.  It'll come out eventually.   Grease the drill bit so you don't drop shavings into the engine.
May want to shove a piece of hose on the drill bit to avoid punching thru too far with the drill bit and breaking it off inside the engine. 
Be sure to retorque all those big bolts that your having so much fun removing.   
If the sleeve doesn't want to come off, use one of those tiny drug torches on a small area of the sleeve.  Once just a small area is hot, get rid of the fire and spray some PB Blaster between the crankshaft and the sleeve.  The heat will wick the PB up between the parts.  Twist the sleeve until it moves...then you can pull it off. 
Regards, JR

[David Anderson]

Thanks for the hints.

David

[luvrbus]

David,be careful with the heat  behind that cover is the oil pump

[David Anderson]

I had to remove the engine cradle to get to the seal and the sleeve.   arrgh.