mulik51

Just interested if I should do it. Engine has about 100k. It is out of the car.
If there is no official data, just tell me on what milage you changed the,

Thanks,

KLim

Sharkbody

If it's out, it's a no-brainer. They're inexpensive . Why is it out of the car? Are you thinking about rebuilding? Seals are susceptible to long periods of storage. I had mine changed out along with the TBWP at 84,000.

Jim bailey - 928 International

In my opinion the vast majority NEVER get changed especially the rear main. As noted ,with the engine out of the car it becomes a simple task. The front main gets done more often during a timing belt water pump reseal exercise since if there is oil on the belt it is next to impossible to know what was leaking so cam seals oil pump seals and the front main ALL get done.

Bill Ball

My rear main went precipitously at about 100K miles. It can be replaced on the car with the tranny still intact, even on late model AT cars (I did it that way), but you've already been told this is a no-brainer decision to do it with the motor out of the car. It should take you all of 10 minutes if the flexplate is off.

mulik51

Ok, thaks. Do I need the special tool to install them? To remove them?
Thanks,

Klim

hupp

I used PVC of appropriate diameter to install.

Bill Ball

There is a notch to allow you to pry out the old rear main seal with a large screwdriver, with suitable caution to avoid contacting the crank surface. Push the new seal in with anything that fits over it. Lube the inner seal surfce before insertion. You can even use a hammer and the old seal to gently pound it in. Just make sure it is going in square by checking often during the insertion process. It can be little hard to get started this way (as opposed to using a press), but once it is going in evenly, the rest is easy.

mulik51

Thanks, I heard the PVC trick.
What about the front seal. Is there a notch to pry it out?

Thanks,

Klim

UKKid35

I didn't do my front crank seal when replacing tb/wp and heads because I thought there was a significant possibility that I would scratch the crank, and there was no sign of it leaking. I did use new cam shaft oil seals and I would strongly recommend using the special tools, I didn't and it was very awkward.

mulik51

Hey. I was installing the front seal today and ran in some problems.
1)After it looked like it was installed, I saw that on one side the inner lip of the seal didn't go in all the way. But easy and carefull push with a flat screwdriver made it go in. Is it allright, or I need to change the seal?
2)I made a stupid thing. I decided to check if the seal is on all the way(even though it was flat with the surface of the block). So, I started to lightly hammer(rubber head hammer) it. And on top, it went about 1.5mm in. So, I hammered it on the bottom, and it went 1.5 mm in. So, now the seal seat about evenly 1.5mm behind the surface of the block. Is it allright or I need to get a new one?

Thanks a lot,

Klim
P.S. Just for future seal installers, I used a 2 inch three way PVC pipe fitting. With one end sawn off, you can get the original crank bolt, "washer"(thick one) and "washer" which goes next to the TB pulley on the crank. Worked allright, except above.

mulik51

I think I know the answer for the first question I asked:if the lip was on the outside, it means that the round spring inside the seal went off. So, I probably need to replace it. Now, I still don't have an answer for my second question.

Thanks a lot,

Klim

Big Dave

I had 117K on my rear seal when I replaced it (engine was out), but it still wasn't leaking. The front seal was replaced at 70K miles, and looked fine, too.

I agree that if the engine's out, do it. You'll never have it any easier than with the engine on a stand.


About the cam seals: Using the special Porsche tools makes it easier, BUT, since the driver's side cam sticks out further than the passenger side, you can run into a problem using the tool. To drive the seal in on the driver's side, the outer tool needs to be driver further onto the cam. When I did it, the 2 tools got stuck together so tightly that I needed to use some drastic methods to separate them. My advice is to be careful and lubricate the tools prior to using them.

Bill Ball

Yes, lube the seal inner edge and the shaft so the lip slides on. This prevents premature wear to the seal too. It's best to use a seal driver that will drive the whole seal, but a pipe that drives the outer ring will work if you go slowly and the shaft is lubed.

The seal position is OK. Flush or slightly below.

mulik51

Thanks for the answers.
So, the seal crank seal should be flat with the surface of the block, or slightly in it? Right?

Thanks,

KLim

lorenolson888

I remember the seal seating in about 1 to 2mm below the block...

I used a wood tool I made with a large hole saw kit... but as bill and other mention the old seal a PVC pipe and a hammer will work...

LO