Front Crankshaft Seal

Can someone please provide detail directions from their experience of
replacing the oil seal round the front of the crankshaft on a 1992 1.5
Civic.

Thanks

 

A regular named "Eric" gave me very good help with this in
2004 for my 1991 1.5L Civic. Jim Beam also had a few hints.
The link below takes you to disussions of this. They mention
the camshaft a lot, but I used the same approach for both
camshaft seal and crankshaft seal. Summarized:

Once you have the seal exposed, I recommend using a
corkscrew and/or old-fashioned can opener to dig into the
rubber of the seal and twist it out. Be very careful not to
scratch or dent the metal in which the seal sits.

Studying the new seal helps IMO, so you'll know into what
you're trying to "hook" with your corkscrew and can opener.

Removing the old seal:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.autos.makers.honda/browse
_thread/thread/6c7c6b2e75d54bc8/20fd180a02fc9f9c?lnk=st&q=co
rkscrew+author%3Acaroline&rnum=1#20fd180a02fc9f9c

Installing the new one (see Eric's June 9 post):
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.autos.makers.honda/browse
_thread/thread/e7ad1d01b0547286/c055d5aea039c9a8?lnk=st&q=se
al+group%3Arec.autos.makers.honda+author%3Acaroline&rnum=1&h
l=en#c055d5aea039c9a8

If you need assistance getting the pulley bolt off, ask.
There's plenty of help in this group's archive for this.

 

I would add to Elle's fine directions that the seal has to be worked out in
a round-robin fashion. It isn't very tight, but it needs a bit of coaxing.
As she says, take care not to scratch the crankshaft or block. Scratches can
be filled, but you really don't want to go that way.

I assume you will take advantage of the opportunity to replace the timing
belt and maybe the water pump (depending on how long it's been)?

Mike

 

I have 20K mi on the pump and belt. The seal began leaking 1 year ago (10K
ago). It would probaly be wise to replace the timing belt and seal at the
same time. Thank you

 

replacing that seal is fine & dandy, but here's a couple of things to
consider:

1. some oils cause seals to leak, some don't. using a good oil may
completely eliminate your need to replace [google for my experience with
motorcraft oil].

2. if you're going to replace seals, the real priority is the main seal
on the flywheel end. that has to deal with a much higher relative speed
than the pulley end and therefore has a much harder time sealing. and
if it's leaking, it's real messy, can affect the clutch, etc.

bottom line, people do the pulley end seal mainly because they can get
at it. and let's face it, it's one more thing to sell the customer.
regarding your needs, if it really is leaking, while the main seal is
not, go ahead and replace. BUT, if using a decent oil can address the
underlying cause, i think that's a better way to go because you're also
dealing with the other little things like the distributor seal [only
"replaceable" by swapping out the whole distributor body for $270-odd
bucks], etc. and scratching the sealing surface on the crank is a real
bummer.

have fun!

 

and a question: what oil are you using now?

 

5w-30

 

brand. what brand.

 

jim, i don't question your wisdom for a second, but please explain how one
end of the crank spins faster than the other (why is it more important to do
the flywheel side versus the pulley side)? or am i reading cross-eyed?

t

 

They don't. Both ends spin at the same rate. However, if you compare the
seal journals on the crankshaft, then you should note that the rear main
seal has a larger diameter than the front crank seal. Thus, with a larger
diameter, the rear main seal will experience a faster speed where the metal
seal journal contacts the rubber seal lip. It's still the same rpm but a
point on the larger diameter journal must travel faster in order to cover a
larger distance in the same amount of time.

Eric

 

Valvoline MaxLife