Alright DIYers, I need a little help with a mistake I made last year.
When I replaced the front seal of my 3800 a year ago(the one underneath the harmonic balancer/crank pulley), I marred the hell out of it getting the old one out. I used RTV silicone, put a new one in, and prayed. Well, it didn't work and started leaking again and I am finally back at it. This time I am wondering what to do..
Pictures:
You can see from the pictures, its pretty bad in multiple places. I don't want to replace the whole front cover because that involves the water pump, oil pan, and a few other gaskets to be replaced as well(plus its like $150..). Can I just use my dremel to sand this smooth, then use JB weld to fill it in and even out, install a new seal, and call it good? Should I use RTV again if I do this?(I think the seal calls for a dry installation). Is there something else I should do? I don't want to have to do this a third time..
I don't think you can use a dremel to get the results you want. I tried something similar on a aluminum oil pan on a Kawasaki. I never got a good seal no matter what sealant, gasket, or combination of the two I used. I think you should take it off and replace it. Alternatively, you can try to have it filled and machined smooth but it would probably be much less expensive to replace the part.
olejoedad is right on the money. And the cleaning is the most important part. And if it ever leaks you will have to pull the cover. That stuff is serious,
Wow thats rough man thing must have been glued in there or something. Have replaced 2 in the last month due to a ridge on a harmonic balancer and 2 more for the first two engines i had it my car and have never had to use much force to get them out.
[This message has been edited by BadNewsBrendan (edited 10-14-2019).]
Wow thats rough man thing must have been glued in there or something.
Yeah, thank god I had the engine out, it would have been a massive pain with it in the car..unfortunately I was on a time crunch to put the thing back in so I didn't replace the front cover right then and there like I should have..
A warm mating surface and a cold bearing is your friend on install. Heat the very outside of the ring without applying heat to the seal. Put the seal into the freezer for half an hour then immediately install.
Same with pulling. Use a puller along with the heat and cool method. Ice on the seal with heat on the cover.
As far as the marring goes, and I am only shooting here, but you need to replace it. You could try to make a tool to hone the gouges out I guess? Whatever you do, you will need to have the grooves of machining match what you see before you banged it up. Like copper pipe soldering, you need to have the machined surface to hold the seal in and to create a better seal. A scratch across the machine marks, a mountain or valley, will allow passage of oil.
A warm mating surface and a cold bearing is your friend on install. Heat the very outside of the ring without applying heat to the seal. Put the seal into the freezer for half an hour then immediately install.
Same with pulling. Use a puller along with the heat and cool method. Ice on the seal with heat on the cover.
As far as the marring goes, and I am only shooting here, but you need to replace it. You could try to make a tool to hone the gouges out I guess? Whatever you do, you will need to have the grooves of machining match what you see before you banged it up. Like copper pipe soldering, you need to have the machined surface to hold the seal in and to create a better seal. A scratch across the machine marks, a mountain or valley, will allow passage of oil.
Hey, we have all done something similar.
Thanks Tony! I think this one I am going to try and very lightly smooth the groove out and just pray it works. If it doesn't, I will pull and replace later, I really don't want to deal with the coolant coming out right now..