7B944

87 944 turbo: The lower balance shaft front housing seal and o-ring was leaking. I replaced the seal, metal top-hat spacer, onion skin and o-ring for both upper and lower shafts, as well as new crank seal, rollers & belts. The lower was still leaked, so I installed another new seal. The covers are currently off so I can see that there is still has a slight leak coming from between the back of the shaft drive gear and the front of the housing. Can't see if it's from perimeter of seal or between seal & spacer. I used the correct 48 mm seal and didn't use any sealer, just mobil-1 on the seal. I believe it is completely seated and straight and seems to seal around the shaft. The spacer is tight on the shaft. Could the housing bearing be worn causing too much play on shaft letting too much oil get to seal?? I don't want to keep replacing seals if it doesn't fix it. Can anyone tell me the secret to stop this leak? Thanks, Dave '

turboted

On my '86, the upper and lower balance shaft seals are different sizes...just barely. I think one is 1 mm larger in diameter than the other. Not sure about the '87 models...but if they are the same, is it possible that you intalled the seals in the wrong shafts?

Ski

Are you applying proper torque to the retaining bolt?

7B944

Yes, IIRC it's about 33 lbs to the bolt and per the manual used some green locktite, but don't think it's needed as the threads did not have oil on them. For the later shafts, I don't think the center of the shaft is open to the bolt threads?

dacula951

Where did you buy the seals from? If you take a close look at a seal, you'll see little ribs on them where they contact the shaft. These ack as little blades to swipe the oil back and away from leaking out. The ribs are oriented according to the direction the shaft rotates. Some seals have the ribs arranged in a V shape to accomodate rotation in either direction. If not arranged in a V, the seal is designed for rotation in only one direction. Maybe you're not getting seals that are exactly correct for the application.

7B944

Paragon, they were a front seal kit and I think they are correct. The ribs are in one direction for the lower shaft seal (48MM) and the other direction for the upper(47mm).
If it's leaking around the perimeter, I can put sealer on it, but if around sealing lip. then don't know what to try.
Dave

Richy_s

Went through exactly the same on my S2. I was convinced it was the lower housing but it actually turned out to be the oil pump and to this day I say it looked like the lower housing. Have also hear dof the lower housings having hairline cracks.

Rich

billthe3

On a somewhat possibly related topic, when I pulled my lower bs housing, the bearing in the housing was pitted to hell. This is still all behind the seals, but if a bearing was bad, could it allow for enough play in the shaft to mess up the seals? Or could it let too much oil past the bearing/shaft and then be too much oil for the seal to hold? Don't know if either of those are even possible, just thinking out loud.

I did replace the bearing in mine.


Oh, did you check the housing and block for any burs or sharp edges? Maybe the seal or o-ring is getting cut on installation?

Tom M'Guinn

Try cleaning it up till it's spotless, then take a short drive and recheck to see if you can pinpoint where it is coming from. Any chance you scratched the seal seating surface removing the old seal?

7B944

I don't think I scratched anything, can't be sure now, but thought it was smooth at the time. I look under every time I drive and park it. Seems like it may be leaking less? Have to get back on ramps to see if it's still leaking and where its coming from.