One piece (Modern) Crank Front Seal

[OTTAWAED]

I am having constant problems with leaking front seals. Are the currently-available non-asbestos half-seals undersized? Am considering using the "modern" seal. I assume that I do NOT have to remove the oil pan, although of course the timing cover and pulley have to come out. Am I correct? Ed

[plyfor]

You'll probably get a lot of thoughts about this. The prior owner of our car tried the modern seal some years before our purchase. It failed and leaked a lot. The crank surface has to be super smooth and not wobble. I've seen some double lip types and I believe Stipes Specialty MotorCams has a modern seal. We went with the 2 piece rope and installed it with some sealant and ends projected quite a bit as recommended. The current rope ones didn't absorb oil soaking and some use ATF to initially lubricate. The only place we found on the net to get asbestos (like the original) product is overseas by the foot but didn't go that route. We found some "originals" on ebay but were hard and useless even with soaking. The oil pan usually has to come off unless a way is found to properly install the crank pulley against the seal in place. We had a struggle to get the timing cover to compress the seal down on the pulley without some persuasion , engine in car.

[Dennis]

I’ve tried both with bad luck in the past until now. Recently had the engine out and decided to give the neoprene seal another shot. This time I peeled the outer rubber cover off and put a little sealant inside and then slipped the cover back on. I let it dry a few days doing other things. I polished the pulley to a mirror shine. Removed the front cover and pan, cleaned up everything, put sealant in the front cover, bolted it on with the sealant installed in the front cover and tightened it down to the block keeping the oil pan mating surfaces even. Trimmed my pan gasket and applied gasket sealant to the ends of the cork. Also a little sealant in the front of the pan where the front seal is located. Install the pan and tighten bolts evenly. If the gasket squeezes out when tightening then your pan bolts might be too tight. Don’t turn the crank for at least a day. My front seal is now dry. Changing these seals you need to get the front cover off which means you will need to lift the engine to get the weight off the front mount.

[Great Lakes Greg]

I tried the modern seal and it leaked. I probably should have used a sealant like Dennis did. I went back to the rope seal and it has worked fine like they always do for me. I think the pan needs to come down to get into the channel either seal fits into.

[Dennis]

Something that I think might have contributed to less leaking is cutting the excess gasket at the front so nothing is protruding the inside. It could just be a figment of my imagination, but this last time I gave that some thought and followed through with it.

[Greynomad]

I only use the modern seals and have never had a problem but I use a little sealer around the outside of them.
Can't comment on the original style.

[OTTAWAED]

Many thanks to all for your replies. I was hoping to again avoid lying on my back on the concrete garage floor to remove the oil pan. It looks to be unavoidable. Have both the original and modern seals on hand and will eventually decide on which type to use. A winter project for sure. Ed

[Dennis]

It can depend on what conditions you’re in. I prefer to pull the engine over laying underneath with oil etc dripping down on me.