How do I do front main seal? Haynes seems overly complicated

Hi guys....I'm trying to decide weather to keep or sell my jeep. It has quite a leak at the front of the engine- probably front main seal.

It looks like I can replace it without removing the radiator like Haynes says. Do I really need a special tool to pull the harmonic balancer? Is their room to install the new seal with the radiator in place? Is there a DIY anywhere? How about that stop-leak stuff?

Forget the stop leak. It is much easier if you pull the radiator since you have to get a puller in there and there isn't much room. I would be worried about the crank surface being scored and needing a ReadiSleeve to repair it.

I would thoroughly degrease the area first and then try to verify where the location of the leak. Could be just the oil pan gasket, or oil migrating from the dist or some other location.

Yeah- I cleaned it up last night, & just took it for a little drive. I see no active leak, but there's still greasy/dirty/oily area just below the harmonic balancer.

Yes, you need a HB puller.

You may or may not need to pull the radiator--depends on the HB puller you use.

Consider replacing the HB when doing this job.

Stop leak aka miracle-in-a-can--the only miracle is how rich some people get from selling stuff.

Its really not a huge job if you have I little mechanical skill. Ive done 2 for buddies but still haven't found the motivation to do mine until it starts pouring out oil. For now it's just preventing corrosion on the front axle. Easiest way is to pull the rad and use a pulled. Rent one from autozone or something.

Don't think I've ever pulled the radiator for that job. If the puller's short enough it's not an issue.

Just make sure you cover the rad with a heavy blanket, piece of plywood or something similar.

Why is that? I thought clearance was the issue- not damage.

JJacobs said:

Don't think I've ever pulled the radiator for that job. If the puller's short enough it's not an issue.

Click to expand...

Just because you have calouses on your knuckles. It doesn't take that long to pull the radiator and I just like having the room to work without having to constantly be worried about dinging the radiator, or as I call them, cheese graters.

I also tend to look at jobs from a flat-rate point of view.

I didnt pull the rad on mine, I just pulled the front bumper and worked through the hole in the front cross member, and yes you need a HB puller dont use a jaw type puller or you will destroy the HB.

Blanket is insurance. Too easy to bang the rad with tools, the puller itself of have the hb bind slightly on the end of the shaft resulting in needing a good yank. Next thing you know, you've bashed a bunch of fins, maybe even popped a hole depending on your rad's age.

It's just a personal preference of mine to pad, cover or even remove certain items to prevent collateral damage.

Replacing the timing chain is not difficult, but can be made easier with a HB pulled and a seal installation tool. Prior to the Fall Fling I replaced the seal and HB which took about an hour that included cleaning the oily buildup on the cover and pan along socializing with a friend.
If the HB is over 5 hrs old this is the opportune time to replace it. Ensure to get the correct one for the year of your vehicle due to changes in the oil slinger ring on the crankshaft behind the timing chain cover.

I've done two without pulling the radiator. If you get the HB puller from NAPA, the screw is too long and will hit the radiator though (I substituted a different bolt). Ditto on cardboard or something on the radiator as its pretty easy to mush the fins.

Replace the balancer if the rubber looks questionable. If the snout is scored on the sealing surface, I believe there is an offset seal that can be used or just replace the balancer. (OldMan - The seal rides on the snout of the HB, so crank scoring isn't a possibility.)

Be careful when installing the HB. If you use the original bolt to pull it on, it will only engage a few threads at first. If you start wrenching to pull the balancer on, you'll rip the thread out of the end of the crank and then you've got a bigger problem. Get another longer bolt or all-thread and a nut. Run the bolt all the way in and use the nut to push the balancer on.