[sparky1]

Hey,

just curious if anyone has had any experience with sealing up the side passages of the front main seal after it has been leaking for a while?

I finally got around to tracking down my oil leak after re-doing the front main seal, oil pan gasket and all that stuff after breaking a serpentine belt a few months ago.

Turns out it is leaking from somewhere in the front main seal area and I am thinking my issue is that I did not put enough of the sealing stuff in the groove on either side of the front main seal.

Would there be an issue if I took off the crank, cleaned up the grooves and followed the procedure again for injecting the loctite sealer in there? I think my issue is that I didn't put enough in there last time, and I did not hit it with the primer/hardener stuff after the fact.

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by sparky1

Hey,

just curious if anyone has had any experience with sealing up the side passages of the front main seal after it has been leaking for a while?

I finally got around to tracking down my oil leak after re-doing the front main seal, oil pan gasket and all that stuff after breaking a serpentine belt a few months ago.

Turns out it is leaking from somewhere in the front main seal area and I am thinking my issue is that I did not put enough of the sealing stuff in the groove on either side of the front main seal.

Would there be an issue if I took off the crank, cleaned up the grooves and followed the procedure again for injecting the loctite sealer in there? I think my issue is that I didn't put enough in there last time, and I did not hit it with the primer/hardener stuff after the fact.

I used Ultra Grey. It's specific for parts that move (vibrations). No sense paying $50.00 for a small syringe of sealant that has no plunger and no needle. The needle is extra and then you have to get primer that costs $14.00. In addition, you have to buy plunger off of Amazon or something. The whole sealing process is stupid. Get Ultra Grey. $8.00!!!!

Get a new front crank seal from FCP. You will need the tool(s) to get the seal out & install a new one.

The big thing is to lightly oil the crank shaft with motor oil prior to installing the new seal.

I filled the divots on the seal with Ultra Grey and put a bead around the entire seal before installing it. I let it sort of set up for about 15 min. After installing the seal, I put a bead of Ultra Grey around the outside and inside of the seal.

You have to let it cure for 24 hours before you start up the car.

That's how I did mine. It's been 2000 miles and no leaks what so ever.

[sparky1]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

I used Ultra Grey. It's specific for parts that move (vibrations). No sense paying $50.00 for a small syringe of sealant that has no plunger and no needle. The needle is extra and then you have to get primer that costs $14.00. In addition, you have to buy plunger off of Amazon or something. The whole sealing process is stupid. Get Ultra Grey. $8.00!!!!

Get a new front crank seal from FCP. You will need the tool(s) to get the seal out & install a new one.

The big thing is to lightly oil the crank shaft with motor oil prior to installing the new seal.

I filled the divots on the seal with Ultra Grey and put a bead around the entire seal before installing it. I let it sort of set up for about 15 min. After installing the seal, I put a bead of Ultra Grey around the outside and inside of the seal.

You have to let it cure for 24 hours before you start up the car.

That's how I did mine. It's been 2000 miles and no leaks what so ever.

That may be the route I go if my plan here doesn't work.

I've already got the primer, sealant and needle and all that stuff. I just think I didn't put enough in the side divots when I initially installed.

I'm going to do my best to clean out the divots with the seal installed, prime it and then hopefully inject the proper amount of sealant into it after the fact.

If that fails, i'm just going to take it into an indy - got a quote for ~$350-400 to do the job with a new seal and everything

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by sparky1

That may be the route I go if my plan here doesn't work.

I've already got the primer, sealant and needle and all that stuff. I just think I didn't put enough in the side divots when I initially installed.

I'm going to do my best to clean out the divots with the seal installed, prime it and then hopefully inject the proper amount of sealant into it after the fact.

If that fails, i'm just going to take it into an indy - got a quote for ~$350-400 to do the job with a new seal and everything

I would never pull the crank bolt out. That's asking for a lot of problems.

Also, you gotta be Arnold Swartzenager with fingers of steel just to get 3 drops out of the BMW sealant out of the syringe.

I like Ultra Grey. If it were me, I'd just send the BMW stuff back and get a refund.

[sparky1]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

I would never pull the crank bolt out. That's asking for a lot of problems.

Also, you gotta be Arnold Swartzenager with fingers of steel just to get 3 drops out of the BMW sealant out of the syringe.

I like Ultra Grey. If it were me, I'd just send the BMW stuff back and get a refund.

I think you might be missing what i'm saying here.

I've already installed a new seal as of a few months ago when my serp belt broke. I did a new front main seal, oil pan gasket and serp belt/tensioner, etc.

What I didn't do was get enough of the sealant stuff into the side divots.

I'm going to pull the crank pulley to get access to the front main seal and re-do the sealant stuff on the sides with the OEM stuff after attempting to clean it out the best I can. With any luck, that'll do the trick with sealing it up.

Otherwise, i'm just going to have an indy re-do the front main seal entirely for me since i'd rather not risk it leaking again and having to do it all over again.

Getting the pulley off and such is a maybe 30-45 min job, so that's no biggie. Fan shroud out, intercooler out maybe, serp belt off, front crank pulley off and i've got access to it all.

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by sparky1

I think you might be missing what i'm saying here.

I've already installed a new seal as of a few months ago when my serp belt broke. I did a new front main seal, oil pan gasket and serp belt/tensioner, etc.

What I didn't do was get enough of the sealant stuff into the side divots.

I'm going to pull the crank pulley to get access to the front main seal and re-do the sealant stuff on the sides with the OEM stuff after attempting to clean it out the best I can. With any luck, that'll do the trick with sealing it up.

Otherwise, i'm just going to have an indy re-do the front main seal entirely for me since i'd rather not risk it leaking again and having to do it all over again.

Getting the pulley off and such is a maybe 30-45 min job, so that's no biggie. Fan shroud out, intercooler out maybe, serp belt off, front crank pulley off and i've got access to it all.

Gotcha,

If you have a 30amp or higher battery charger/ maintainer you can start the engine and run it for a little bit without the harmonic balancer (crank pulley) & belt on the car. This way you can see exactly where it is leaking from.

[sparky1]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

Gotcha,

If you have a 30amp or higher battery charger/ maintainer you can start the engine and run it for a little bit without the harmonic balancer (crank pulley) & belt on the car. This way you can see exactly where it is leaking from.

Yup! I think I read that on your thread and I was going to do that after I get the crank hub pulley off to make sure that is where the oil is coming from