Front Main Seal needs replacing, how hard is it?

[Mustangs Suck]

Well i got a bad oil leak, and the mechanic said pretty much all my gaskets are blown, but the bulk of the leak is due to the front main seal. He said after parts + labor + inspection the total will be $380.

Now my question is this - what do you all have to do to replace this thing and can it be done in a few days in my driveway? I've never done it before, and am just looking for some pointers, or even if possible, step by step help on how to get it removed and a new one put back in.

Anyone?

I appreciate it.

[aznpoopy]

i'm looking to do this myself actually. i've read up a bit on it. i believe you need to remove you clutch fan, shroud and all that fun stuff. then you need to take off a few belts and pulleys. finally you gotta wedge off that front main pulley, and it should be right under there. everyone i ever talked to said it's a one day job max. couple hours only. two days only if you're bad at this kind of stuff.

[projectRDM]

It's cake. If you're really good all you need to do is loosen the belts, then go from underneath and pull the crank pulley off, then pry out the seal. You can do it from up top and remove everything else, but it's more work. Make sure to have a friend handy to hold the car while you break the bolt loose, it's on at about 129ft-lbs IIRC. Make certain NOT to twist or gouge the new seal when it goes in, if you do go ahead and order a new one.

It you're not done in 45 minutes, urine will rain down on you. From my penis.

[aznpoopy]

you have room to pull it off with the clutch fan still on there? i might try it your way if this really works.

[Mustangs Suck]

Yeah on the FSM it doesn't look that hard...cool I was thinking yet another terrible fix, but seems simple enough.

Now...the mechanic said to me that all of my gaskets are leaking oil, but the bulk of the leak is from the front main seal, and the oil pressure switch.

So....what would all of the gaskets that are leaking oil include?

Also would the front main seal be called the front crankshaft gasket that I can pick up for about $5?

I'm thinking I'm going to want to just do ALL of the seals that would leak oil, but don't know exactly which ones those are....anyone know for me?

Oh and BTW I'll probably end up getting pee'd on then...as I'm sure I'll do something incorrect :hsdance:

Thanks!

[kandyflip445]

If he said that a lot of your gaskets are leaking check out your PCV Valve. It might need cleaning or replacing.

[projectRDM]

The front crank seal is about $5, so that sounds right. The oil pressure switch is prone to leak also, I'd recommend getting a real gauge while you're in there and putting the sender in place of the OE switch, otherwise buy a hole plug and cap it. The OE switch does you no good at all unless the car is idling, anytime other than that and you're already chewing up bearings. The PCV should be replaced for the hell of it, the valve cover gasket is easy, the rest of the problems areas (front covers, oilpan) are all done with RTV.

[Bradman123]

i wouldnt pay 380 for some retard to replace your front main seal. a pulley puller costs close to 60 bucks and my seal for my sr was like 16 bucks from enjuku...i dont know if urs is ka or what but it would be the same job. im sure the seal is between 5-20 bucks. take out the radiator the belts remove the pulley pry out seal press in new seal, press pulley back on (put pulley on crank and tighten big bolt) put belts back on, put radiator back in. and enjoy....30 to 60 min job. oil pressure is nothing to sacrifice on, replace it with an aftermarket sender and gauge...like autometer...and that shouldnt be a gasket. the sender threads in. i spose you could put some sort of pipe sealer on it or something but the threads shouldnt be whats leaking it would have to be the sender itself. and ya other gaskets are just silicone like oil pan front cover etc.. unless ur head gasket is leaking...the expensive job would be having someone regasket the oil pan because this involves supporting the motor with a lift and removing the lower engine crossmember. this would cost close to 380 im sure and a mechanics worst nightmare...well maybe not worst but would be a bitch. if the leaks are slow you could probably get away with cleaning the surface really good and just running a bead of silicone along the crack and maybe pressing it in in with ur finger or somethin. let it sit for 24 hours and then drive it and see if it still leaks. is ur rear main leaking also? alot of mechanics might just say all of them are leaking so that they can just charge you a bunch of money to replace all of them because they are too lazy to figure out what is specifically leaking.

[TheSnail]

This is all you need to do. It cost 12$ for the seal and thats it. This is what I did, and total time took me 45min for the first time since I did not know what to do, that means 20min for the second time.

Get A Crowbar and wedge it in one of the crank pullies 3 holes. Once you have it in one of the holes while it is at 12, and have the butt of the crowbar wedge against the chassise of your car (pass side), this will allow no movement from your crank pully, as you use a braker bar to take out the crank pully bolt. . That is the easy way. I hope you understand what I just blabberd, if not you will need to take out the ac condenssor and radiator, and put put air to the sucker.
-Snail

[projectRDM]

the expensive job would be having someone regasket the oil pan because this involves supporting the motor with a lift and removing the lower engine crossmember. this would cost close to 380 im sure and a mechanics worst nightmare...well maybe not worst but would be a bitch.

No it doesn't, you certainly don't need a lift to support the motor. Jack the car up, put a jackstand under the bellhousing, and drop the crossmember. Oilpan removal is a 20 minute job.

[ItzGenX]

This is all you need to do. It cost 12$ for the seal and thats it. This is what I did, and total time took me 45min for the first time since I did not know what to do, that means 20min for the second time.

Get A Crowbar and wedge it in one of the crank pullies 3 holes. Once you have it in one of the holes while it is at 12, and have the butt of the crowbar wedge against the chassise of your car (pass side), this will allow no movement from your crank pully, as you use a braker bar to take out the crank pully bolt. . That is the easy way. I hope you understand what I just blabberd, if not you will need to take out the ac condenssor and radiator, and put put air to the sucker.
-Snail

I would personally throw the car into 5th gear with car on the ground and e-brake up pretty tight. This will keep the motor from turning better and without *jamming* something. After the bolt is loose, go ahead and raise the car and do what you set sail to do.

[Mustangs Suck]

kandy - will do.

R240 - I already bought a brand new oil pressure switch (it was $6)...so you're saying that it's going to leak no matter what I do to it, unless I find some kind of sealant to go around the switch?

Bradman - no my rear isn't leaking, or not badly for anything to point out, he just said the main two that are leaking are my front main seal, and my oil pressure switch, the rest would be obvious as they all have 165,500 miles on them...so Im just going to put the front in and thread in the pressure switch, and wait for another bad leak to occur where I'll just replace whatever gasket that goes that time, but I am going to look into my PCV valve, as if that's cheap and easy, I'll get that overwith as well.

The Snail - thanks for the idea, I took out the radiator/fan shroud and the intake piping last night to get some room in there for me to work on, autozone would rent me a pulley puller so I'll either do that or do your crossbar idea which would be cool.

Itzgen - I'll just be having it in 1st gear, as my emergency brake no longer works, I put the rear rotors on, and they all work perfectly, but must of either knocked off a tube for the emergency brake, or it was just it's time to go coincidentally...that's my next project after the front seal and pressure switch...

Thanks for all the info guys.

[kandyflip445]

I dunno if you would want to do this but I was told this by a mechanic at my local Ford dealer. Since the engine turns clockwise (when looking at the engine from the front of the car) you can put an IMPACT socket on the nut, then put on a breaker bar and a nice thick tube and rest it against the DRIVERS side part of the body with a towel under the pipe(so you don't scratch anything) then crank the engine breifly. After that you should be able to get the thing out easy enough.

When installing the front main throw it in the freezer overnight, making sure not to get it wet so there isn't any ice on it. Then lube it lightly with some oil before you put it in.

The reason I said to check the PCV(for those of you that don't know already) is because when it's not working properly the little amounts of gas that go into the crankcase can form a corrosive gas that can damage oil seals. It takes awhile for these gasses to breakdown a new gasket or seal but it will with time. If you have many oil leaks it's always a good idea to check out the PCV system. Cause you always want to fix the cause and not the symptom. ;)

[projectRDM]

The reason I say not to use an OE oil presuure switch is two fold. First off, it will leak again, maybe not for another 30k or so, but the OE switch is pretty cheap, a motor with good oil pressure will eventually push past the seal and it leaks out the end, where the connector is. I've yet to see one that didn't leak. The other reason is simple, the switch trips the light in the cluster at 8psi of pressure. 8psi at idle is low, and a strong indicator to turn it off immediately as possible damage will occur. 8psi while you're driving down the road at 4-5k rpm is an indicator that damage already has occured. There's not enough warning. A true gauge will indicate correct pressure on a scale so you can always have a 'buffer' before damage occurs.

[240Stilo]

Why with the taking off of so many things? You can use a hammer and a 2x4 to tap the top and bottom of the pulley so it comes off. Only things removed were the belts. It was going to cost me 100 for a shop to do it but I was able to do it for the 7 it cost for the seal.

[Mustangs Suck]

kandy - I'm either going to use the crowbar idea, or just rent a pulley puller from my local autozone and use the breakerbar to pop it off...should be good enough. As for freezing it - why?

R240 - well i'm a poor dude right now, so a new one should suffice until things start rolling for me in a month or two.

240 - Well already have the parts off, so *shrug*, just gonna keep going.

Thanks guys.

[Bradman123]

i have a lift so either way would work. i would rent the pulley puller and use an impact wrench for the pulley bolt...all this prying doesnt sound good to me. unless of course you dont have the tools or the money to go buy them cuz trust me buying them is worth it you will always need them some day. had to take the radiator out so i could fit the pulley puller and impact between rad support and pulley. my fan sticks out too far off radiator to get it in there with it on. but ya 45 min first time sounds good 20 min second time sounds bout right even removing the radiator for me. putting it back on i put it in gear and pull e brake and torque it on.

[Mustangs Suck]

Brad - that's pretty much what I'll be doing, pulley puller or crowbar and a breaker bar :)

Now...one more questions for you all

My oil pressure switch, I found it and it's CAKED in oil, so unfortunately it's RIGHT next to the oil filter, how the hell do i get it off, or am I gonna have to drain the oil and pop the oil filter off, which would suck as i JUST got an oil change....... or would popping the oil filter off without draining the oil and putting it back on be ok?

Thanks!

[kandyflip445]

If it's frozen it's easier to put in cause it shrinks just a little bit, and it's a little bit harder.

[projectRDM]

The pressure switch is like a 24mm, spin it off, but it will leak a little so put the new one quickly.

[Mustangs Suck]

Okey dokey, my crankshaft had literally about 2" of oil that turned into a sandy substance all in it....absolutely ridiculous.

I got the crank bolt out, but the crankshaft pulley is not budging....any tips or do I need to get a pulley puller?

[240 2NR]

You'll definitely need a pulley puller. The one I borrowed was about .5" too long to fit with the radiator installed, so I had to remove it (a worthwhile task due to all the crap between it and the condensor). In the end for all the work I did, I figured it was worth the $100 to buy an underdrive pulley (I was planning to replace belts anyway since they all come off too for the install and they were overdue) and because my dealer quote was $130 plus parts for the job ($300 sounds way high, with airtools, a lift, and the experience of having done this before it shouldnt be more than a 2 hour job).

Incase anyone hasn't mentioned it, a few other things I learned....

-When removing the pulley bolt, put the car in 5th gear, 1st has too much "slack." That goes for tightening the bolt too.

-An 18" breaker bar will work if you really crank on the pulley, a 3' pipe on a 1/2" socket makes it a piece of cake.

-Be sure to grease the outside of the new seal/backside of the pulley and make sure the seal is flush or a touch sunken in the block or the pulley will wear down the new one.

-The old seal is a PIA to remove until it suddenly pops right out inevitably hits you in the face :bash:

[projectRDM]

I've pulled seven pullies, one needed a puller. It depends on a lot of variables but to say you definitely need one is reaching.

[240Driver39]

ah, a helpful thread, mine has been pissin oil for a while now and ive been plannin on fixin it when in a lump with a couple other maintanence repairs...good info thanks.

[95Blue240sx]

my seal was leaking too, and i just pulled it all apart today. i needed to use a puller to take off the pulley, but everything else was strait forward. after i took off the pulley i noticed that it was cracked where the woodrift key goes. on top of that, the woodrift key was pretty beaten up. the seal popped out with some force. so instead of getting another stock pulley i just ordered a ASP pulley and second day'd it here.

i hate spending money when something like this happens

[Mustangs Suck]

240 2nr - i just rented a pulley puller from autozone $15...i just need 3 10mm bolts to screw it on into the crankshaft and get it out. as for removing the bolt, i just put the breaker bar on it...had the breaker bar rest on the ground, and did a quick crank of the engine, removed it just fine :) and will do on the greasing it again.

240driver - good luck..it's a pain in the ass your first time...

95 - yeah this'll be a 2-3 day project for me too...not having the right tools really does put a halt to getting it done in a few hrs...

Thanks again everyone.

[Mustangs Suck]

Also this may be a given, but do I need to drain the oil out before taking the seal out or will it be ok since the engine isn't running and it's all sitting in my oil pan??

Thanks.

[Mustangs Suck]

Good fucking god, the goddamn parts store gave me the wrong seal...i can't believe how fucking stupid people are...how hard is it to read a part number? 2nd time in a damn row.....

i'm going to kill someone soon...

/rant.

[Mustangs Suck]

also, what is this part called? is it's REAL name the front MAIN seal or can it be called something else, i'm just going to order it online as obviously i can't rely on idiots to give me a correct part. Everything I go on doesn't have a front main seal though, but they do have a front crankshaft seal - is this the same part????

or could someone give me a direct link where to get one from?

Thank you!

[95Blue240sx]

i can give you a part # the parts store should be able to cross it over to something they should have.

052-3659 is the part #. luckily for me i work at a parts store and i look all the shit up myself. dont goto kragens, pep boys, auto zone. look for the hole in the wall parts place. Winchester auto pwns j000

[kandyflip445]

I got mine at the dealer and it was called front main seal.

[Mustangs Suck]

Thanks for the part number man i really appreciate it. I found one on partsamerica.com with the same part number for $4.95

Thanks again!

[Mustangs Suck]

Alright well i just went to the dealer and got one...so i got the seal out and the new one in..it's flush with the motor.

Now I have ONE more question...when putting back on the crankshaft pulley, I know there is a little groove in the pulley itself, and then a little notch on the crankshaft. Now when you put that back on, how far does the pulley go on? I've been hammering away at it and it's on tight, but there is a good half inch gap left and it doesn't seem to be budging. Is the crankshaft itself supposed to be flush with the outside of the crankshaft pulley? or does it just go on a little until it's tight and then you put the harmonic balancer on and screw those 6 bolts in. It seems like it should go all the way on, but no matter how hard I hit, it doesn't move anymore....anyone know?

Oh and P.S. I have the service manual and it doesn't say SHIT about the crankshaft whatsoever.

Thanks.

[Mustangs Suck]

OK....well nevermind got that all done, but it seems to still be leaking from there, SO i'm thinking :duh: i put the damn thing in backwards or something.

If you look on the inside of the seal, you can see some springs on one side of it, do those springs face inside the motor or towards the back of the crank pulley?

[aznpoopy]

OK....well nevermind got that all done, but it seems to still be leaking from there, SO i'm thinking :duh: i put the damn thing in backwards or something.

If you look on the inside of the seal, you can see some springs on one side of it, do those springs face inside the motor or towards the back of the crank pulley?

i had the same q when i did the rear tranny seal. for that seal, the flat side faces out, the side with the coil faces in. i'd think its similar for the front main seal.

[Mustangs Suck]

Well shit I think I did put it in backwards then...well that'll explain the still slow leak then, good.

Thanks!