Front Main Seal replacement questions (M30B30)

[vanbavaria]

Ok worked on the crank brace here at work. Really nice having a mill at work.

Finished product. Should work like a charm

 

[billpatterson]

Real nice work!

Cheers

 

[vanbavaria]

Real nice work!

Cheers

I Appreciate the idea and original pictures Bill

 

[mulberryworks]

I wonder if a MAP torch would get it hot enough if it came down to it.

I've used heat on 36mm nuts on VW rear brake hubs when they wouldn't come off. And the 46mm nuts on VW Bus rear hubs can be incredibly hard to remove if they have been undisturbed for years. i bent a 3/4" drive Indestro breaker bar with a 5' cheater pole before breaking out the Oxy/Acetylene torch to loosen a bus nut.

But the BMW nut for the harmonic balancer shouldn't as hard to get off. Tough yes, but I'd be pretty careful about applying heat to the end of your crankshaft. I'd start with propane, though that may take a while and move up to MAPP if that's not enough. An acetylene rig would sure make a difference quickly, but if you get the nut glowing, any heat treatment is gone and you've lost some strength in that part. An IR thermometer would be a good thing to use to keep and eye on you temps.
And a 1 7/16" socket is close enough in size to work fine, if you have one on hand.

 

[vanbavaria]

-Alright the crank brace worked like a charm. No heat necessary to break the 36mm nut. Just a long breaker bar like suggested.

-after pulling the pulley hub off I realized that the seal does NOT ride on the crank shaft but the hub flange itself. Making it way easier to pry out of the lower timing cover (mind you very carefully not to score that surface). making it unnecessary to remove cover.

(sorry I don’t know why these photos load sideways)

-as you can see from the photo the old lip seal was shot

-the great thing about the replacement victor reinz seal is that the actual lip is located a few mm towards the front then the original. Making installing the new seal easier just lining it up smooth and even with the timing cover as the old one was and not having to worry about lining up the lip with the old lip groove on the hub flange.

-today at work in order to make sure the new seal goes on square and even on the cover I’ll make a custom seal driver to accommodate going around the crank shaft.

 

[vanbavaria]

She’s not pretty but should work for a “custom” front crank seal driver

 

[billpatterson]

Did it go 'ping' when you broke loose the crankshaft nut; it's kinda musical.

I always apply a thin film of Hylomar blue / some kinda RTV to the outside of seals before installing; lube and additional seal

Cheers

 

[vanbavaria]

Did it go 'ping' when you broke loose the crankshaft nut; it's kinda musical.

I always apply a thin film of Hylomar blue / some kinda RTV to the outside of seals before installing; lube and additional seal

Cheers

Not as much of a ping as I’d hoped! I’ve owed the bav for 15 years and there is evedance of a engine rebuild prior to my ownership so maybe that helped.

Yeah I usually put a thin layer of RTV on the outside when replacing lip seals. I figure it’s just worth the peace of mind after all the hassle it usually takes to get to them.

 

[vanbavaria]

New seal installed I’m confident it will work out ok. Just like to say thanks for all the input and tips everyone. Made the job a lot easier knowing what I was getting into.