M110.988 crank oil seal replacement

[Bellow]

Today I finally decided to do my crankshaft oil seal, and therefore tackle the crank bolt. My first try worked a treat. I used my Milwaukee electric impact gun. Model M18 FHIWF 12 and after about 15 seconds, the bolt spun off. I didn't even need a holding tool for the harmonic balancer. So about 20 hours of research for 15 seconds of work!

Research paid off then!....

The harmonic balancer was very very tight on the crankshaft and I used a hydraulic puller to get it off. I am not sure how I will get it on. Maybe stick it in the oven for a while. Any thoughts?

In Chevyland there's a proper tool for that. I improvised and used the bolt to pull it on (after warming the balancer on a radiator indoors and it was winter and the crank's snout very cold) but it was pretty nerve wracking. If I'd damaged the thread in the crank I'd have been stuffed. Worth looking for a proper tool if one exists for your engine - or adapting one. They exist for small block Chevy motors - put '350 Vortec' in your Google search if you go looking. What you must not do is hammer the balancer on as the crank thrust bearings can be damaged.

The ring spacer slid along the crankshaft quite easily, but the last 25 mm was stiff and I used a light weight 2 leg puller to get it completely off.

I am also thinking about installation and how I get the crank oil seal over the crank spacer ring. I am thinking of first installing the oil seal and then sliding the ring on the crankshaft and into the oil seal. Again, any thoughts please.

Thank you all once again. What a fabulous support this forum is.

Can you post some photos of the spacer and seal etc? (Save me trawling through the thread for same).

 

[shabazmo]

 

[shabazmo]

Ref the above photos. The smaller picture shows the existing crank seal on the engine and the larger picture shows the removed spacer and new crank seal.

 

[Bellow]

I am also thinking about installation and how I get the crank oil seal over the crank spacer ring. I am thinking of first installing the oil seal and then sliding the ring on the crankshaft and into the oil seal. Again, any thoughts please.

The above seems a reasonable plan.
Look for a chamfer on the spacer to help it ease into the seal in case it is present on only one side and create one if there isn't one (unlikely there isn't). Lube the seal and spacer copiously and just drift the spacer in.
Ideally the spacer slips over the crank without needing to be heated as heat will risk it 'picking up' a bit of the seal.

Remembering that your retaining bolt is much more substantial than mine it might be possible to use it to re-fit the balancer but that it was tough to remove (mine came off relatively easily with a simple bolt type puller) does complicate that a bit.
Don't overheat the balancer as it has a rubber ring which is vulnerable to heat. Oven is probably a bit excessive unless at the lower end of the range - 80C?

 

[Bellow]

The ring spacer slid along the crankshaft quite easily, but the last 25 mm was stiff and I used a light weight 2 leg puller to get it completely off.

Dress the end of the crank with emery to get rid of that tight spot. That will let the spacer slip over without a fight.

 

[shabazmo]

Lube the seal and spacer copiously

Any idea which lube to use. I have a thickish silicone grease in a tube and a silicone gasket seal also in a tube, but I think that one is a no.

 

[Bellow]

Any idea which lube to use. I have a thickish silicone grease in a tube and a silicone gasket seal also in a tube, but I think that one is a no.

Fresh engine oil will be fine.

 

[shabazmo]

Finally! I have come to the end of my marathon repair on the crankshaft seal. Having done some more research, I uses a small amount of silicone sealant of the type that is used to seal sumps, on the outer surface of the seal. I used a thinner, non setting silicone grease on the inner lip and shaft.
I put the radial ring on after I installed the seal. I heated the ring to 100C so did not have to use too much force to slide it on.

The harmonic balancer was heated to 180C. this allowed me to install it without too much force and allowed it to rotate slightly to align the pins to the holes.

I have run the engine for half an hour and so far no leaks but it is early days. I need to do 20 miles or so to be sure.

If I had the confidence I would have detailed the procedure with pictures. Thank you everyone for your contributions. Its helped me a lot especially in believing that I could do it.

If anyone is doing such a job on the M110 engine, please feel free to contact me if you need any advice.