jbrob007

Guys, We've got a problem with the 87. We replaced all the seals on the front of the engine, but the top Balance Shaft seal is leaking like a sieve out around the front of the shaft. We cant' understand it. We replaced the reddish-brown shaft seal, the mylar (onion skin) seal and the rear "O" ring on the back of the housing. It is not leaking from behind the housing - that seal is good.

We made sure the reddish brown seal is seated correctly, just below flush & level all around. We looked at the PET for this year and there doesn't appear to be any other seals... We double-checked the upper and lower seal part #s and they are in the correct locations (the lower is slightly bigger than the upper). On the top shaft, the metal spacer that fits inside the reddish-brown shaft seal is loose and slides back & forth... Is this common? Are we missing something??

Thanks in advance for any assistance!!

Joel

thomasmryan

there is an odd size race that requires an odd size seal

buccicone

Actually both the upper & lower shafts slide in/out a bit as does the metal spacer that fits inside the reddish-brown seal... Is this common? Are we missing something?? I assume the only real oil seal other than the red/brown shaft seal is the mylar (onion skin) that is on the shaft is this correct???

thanks again for any assistance you may provide...

Joel

buccicone

We did not remove the balance shaft housing that bolts to the block... just the end cap (with 3 bolts) that supports the end of the shaft/gear.

Mike and Joel are working on this together - hence, the two different postings...

thomasmryan

did you replace the race? does it have a groove that catches a fingernail?

someone noted that the manual says to apply 574 on the bolt but I missed that part.

jbrob007

Are you referring to the metal spacer between the red/brown seal and the end of the front of the shaft. It's part # 4 in the PET. Otherwise I'm not sure what "race" you're talking about... As far as I know there isn't any races outside of the main cover.

royalschwarz

Yes, it's #4 in PET. Even the smallest of grooves in that will cause a leak. I replace them anytime I'm in there as they're relatively cheap. Certainly cheaper than spending an afternoon digging back in there to replace them if one happens to leak.

jbrob007

#4 is the Spacer Sleeve that rides between the shaft and the seal.
# 25 is the Balance Shaft Bearing (looks like it's pressed in).

I'll take a look at both of these in the a.m.

Any other ideas, insights, hints, experiences... I'm all ears! I don't want to have to do this a 3rd time!! Thanks for your input.

Joel & Mike

Charlie

Make sure it is the correct seal and the direction arrow on the seal is correct.

7B944

jbrob007, Spacer should not be loose on shaft. Spacer #4 has an internal groove that will accept an o-ring seal to prevent oil leak between it and shaft. Figured that out on third attempt to stop leak after seal, spacer, onion ring and bearing replacement. Also possible to get some leak around the threads of bolt holding gear. Threadlocker blue helps there.

pfarah7

+1 to what Charlie stated above. The lower and upper shaft seals require different seals. There are small ribs that go in opposing directions. I wish I had a pic but unfortunately I don't.

Also, you want to verify that the metal sleeves are perfectly smooth. I always replace them as they're short money.

jbrob007

We replaced the upper and lower shaft supports/spacers (#4 in the PET), the onion skins (mylar) and the rubber seals (again). We had used the proper seals & mylar before and in the correct locations, but the NEW shaft supports/spacers seem to have done the trick! They fit very snugly as compared to the old supports.

Now, the only leak is coming from the cheap (non-Porsche) oil pressure sending unit... Aargh!!!! Oh well... Time to order a Porsche part!