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VT crankshaft front seal

Goznalez

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hi everyone
I had an oil leak under the harmonic balancer which was dripping to both sides of the engine. So i bought a HB puller set got him off pulled the old crank seal out and installed the new one. I made recessed timber cutout to tap the seal in so it would go evenly and siliconed around the outside. I put some oil on the inner rubber ring and shaft of the HB.

I waited 24 hours and started the sucker up and the leak is now worse than before.

Has anyone had this issue before? I cant work it out, the seal is definitley in correctly. Went in nice and square.
The inner seating area that the seal sits in was smooth. The top face of the of the timing cover(?) which faces to the front of the car was scratched from getting a screwdriver in to remove the old seal but i wouldnt have though this is the actualsealing surface?

I didnt silicone the keyway. But this sits in the inside of the HB shaft so i didnt think this would be an issue.

Only other thing i could think of is the HB shaft itself? But it has no scratches and when i run my fingernail over it its smooth. Can they become worn? Cars got 233k kms on it. Its been in the family since new and im pretty sure the HB has never been changed.

Any advice would be appreciated
 

Utel67

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Maybe the parts store gave you the wrong seal or a faulty seal, grab another seal and try again
 

Trevor loves holden.

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U did put it in the right way around? Sorry had to ask, you put sealant along keyway channel? If you did it correct the seal is faulty wouldn't be the first to be faulty, grease on the lip is better when pushing the balancer on. Its not coming from the oil pump seal?
 

Goznalez

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nah i didnt silicone the keyway. But would this cause a leak? its on the inside of the HB shaft and the outside of the shaft should be sealed by the rubber of the seal.

i dont think it would be the oil pump, otherwise it would have remained leaking as it was. currently its worse than what it was.

I might try a new seal this weekend and see how i go.
 

Goznalez

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Sooo... i ended up taking the timing cover off and installing new gasket to the timing cover and sealing up with rtv around the sump to timing cover interface(sump gasket remained in tact). While the timing cover was out i made sure i installed the new crankshaft seal.

I rtv sealed the keyway to the balancer.

The damn thing is still leaking from the front crankshaft seal!

Could it be the balancer? It does look a bit wonky/out of balance. But i still dont understand how that would affect the seal.
 

greenacc

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If it's real wonky, the seal could be tight against the stem of the balancer on one side and loose enough on the other side that there's clearance for oil to leak out.
 

greenacc

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In other words, a badly machined balancer, or they've sold you the wrong seal for your engine. If you have the balancer off again check the seal is a good fit around the balancer before you fit it.
 

Trevor loves holden.

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maybe to much rtv on the key way preventing it from sitting flush.
 
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Goznalez

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If it's real wonky, the seal could be tight against the stem of the balancer on one side and loose enough on the other side that there's clearance for oil to leak out.
This was the only conclusion i could come to.

Im 99.78% sure its the correct seal.

And i didnt do too much sealant in the keyway just a dab.
 
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