crank seal timing cover side

[tom t]

i think my crank seal is leaking on the timing cover side of the engine.

can i fix it with the engine in situ? and will i have to take the chain off?

also wheres best to get the seal gsf? also will i have to just buy the bottom end gasket set? cheers

[Kris M]

do you mean the half moon shaped seal between the timing cover and sump or the round seal behind the bottom pully ??

Both are doable with the engine in, the first one can be tricky to get to seal up properly afterwards if you dont drop the sump slightly others have been lucky ?

[tom t]

im thinking its the seal behind the pulley bud. any tips would be much appreciated as i need to get it sorted cheers

[Kris M]

yeah, easy to do mate, replaced mine last year, as far a i remeber it just pushes in and out of the timing cover, i bought the seal on its own from renault as i didnt need to buy a whole bottom end gasket set

[tom t]

sounds promising and easy enough for me to do. dont suppouse you remember if the chain etc has to come off? cheers.

[Kris M]

no mate, the seal is in the timing cover, im sure someone will correct me if im wrong but i didnt even remove the timing cover. Just removed the bottom bully, popped the seal out and pushed the new one in

[tom t]

sounds even better. just looks a bit fiddley in the small gap. did you do it from underneath? or drop the engine at all?

also is that the only seal in the timing cover area that could fail apart from the half moon in the crank? thanks for youre help

[Kris M]

wheel off, on axel stand, bit of a combo of underneath, from the top, and im from the side

[tom t]

cheers bud couldnt just confirm if thats the only seal in that area what could fail apart from the half moon on the sump? and if its definatley called the crank seal, dont wana sound a plonka on the phone 2moro lol (dnt mind sounding a plumb on here lol) cheers top man

[tom t]

now looking at doing my crank seal got the wheel off etc. am i going to have to drain the oil to do the job?

[TNT Tricky Nicky]

Nope, changed mine without dropping oil, may have had car jacked up slightly so oil was downhill. You may need a bit of locktite or ptfe tape on the pulley bolt and make sure it's torqued up

[RICHIE]

its not the only seal the timimg cover has its own bead of mastic ect that could be failing. the crank seal is easy flat head screwdriver and ping it out.

[tom t]

got the seal out etc. just putting the new 1 in how do i tell when its in the correct place? cheers

[TrixNFlix]

just make it flush with the edges of the timming cover around the seal

[tom t]

awesome cheers thats what ive done. all seems good now. will have to drive it more and see.

also thanks to everyones help made this a nice easy job cheers

[tom t]

looks like ive still got a leak from somewhere so im thinking of doing the timing chain cover gasket. what should i use to do this (the best stuff to use)?

and does the sump use sealant aswell as the two seals either side? cheers

[TrixNFlix]

im just doing this at the moment tom. I'm using comma's instant gasket silicone. Gonna use the same on the sump too. The two seals either side of the sump are liitle horseshoe shaped rubber seals .

[tom t]

kool dude. ill see what i can get hold of at halfords.
my mate done the pully wheel bolt up with a buzz gun yesterday so i doubt ill be getting that of today as hes at work. so might end up just doing the sump.

do you think id be able to get the pulley bolt undone by locking the flywheel with a screwdriver? im doubting it. cheers

[TrixNFlix]

How tight has he done it? supposed to be 110nm. Yeh i've wedged a piece of scrap iron in before. best is if u have a piece of metal with two sides that are 90 degrees to each other that you can wedge in the teeth. give it a go

[tom t]

not sure on how tight. will get it done up with a torque wrench next time.

im going to give it a go at replacing the sump gaskets and sealent and the timing chain cover sealent. as ive still got a little leak somewhere. looks like it will be a pain in the arse to get some sump bolts off.... any tips appreciated

earlier i topped the car up with oil as it had obviously been leaking some. i ohad overfilled it but didnt notice this before i drove it and the car was making knocking noises. (might not have even been the engine though)

ive drained some oil and its not doing it now do you think it should be ok?

cheers

[TrixNFlix]

Im doing my sump today also, but i have the added bonus of my engine is out of the car.
Took another bottom end out of the car last weekend getting ready for my new engine and decided take the sump of whilst under the car to see how hard it was. Its takes a bit of messing around caus the subframe is in the way of a couple of bolts and you will need an long extension on your wrench to get to them. Think i also loosened the front engine mount and jacked the sump up a bit to get better access to the sump bolts. Just get stuck in and give it a try and just be patient .

[tom t]

cheeky begger lol.

patience.... whats that again. got all the bolts off at the mo. just gota get timing cover ones off now.

[TrixNFlix]

Good lad

[tom t]

ive got all the bolts of the timing chain cover now.

how do i get the cover off now?
and have i got to take the crank seal out i put in yesterday? and will this be ok to use again? cheers

[TrixNFlix]

Get a screwdriver down the side of the cover and break the seal of the paste carefully round the whole cover. it will then just prise off. The seal you put in earlier will be fine, leave it as it is.

[tom t]

now putting the cover back on. most of the things are bolts. but ive got a couple of things that are threads with bolts on. is this normal? and could i replace them with bolts? cheers

[TrixNFlix]

there are two threads with bolts on. These are ment to be on ( i know i thought they were put on caus someone had lost the bolts). These go back into the same 2 holes you pulled them out of, caus the thread depth is less for these holes, the other bolts wont fit flush and tighten on to the cover. you will see what i mean when you try and fit them in the wrong holes.

[tom t]

ive literally just finished with the car. gave up as i couldnt get the sump on. need to get the engine mount undone. but that the only size socket i cant seem to find. is it 16mm?

bloody thing feel like ive been at work all day....

cheers

[TrixNFlix]

on mine the sizes are:

top bolt = 5/8
bottom 2 bolts = 17

good luck tomorrow

[djinuk]

shouldnt need to remove any engine mounts to do the sump matey. simply bend the edges of the subframe out to gain access to needed bolts.

[TrixNFlix]

sorry i posted the three bolts from the engine mount that bolt to the block. Pretty sure the 2 bolts on the rubber part of the mount are 5/8, but as djinuk says you can just about wriggle it out i just loosened the 2 bolts a bit to give a bit more clearance.

[tom t]

ive done all of the timing cover thats back on all siliconed up.
ive got the sump off, i cant seem to get enough clearence to get it back on without all of the silicone getting messed up. and i dont really want to get it back on and it leak. so i think its best if i try and undo the mount abit.

[djinuk]

if i remmber right as i was doing mine litrally the other day.. angle it up , pointing towards the timing cover side , so that part goes above the subframe first.. then as you straighten it up you will find the only thing that should really get in the way is the close edge of the engine mount towards the front of the engine, however it will only catch it , and with a little wigle and a slight bit of pressure it should clear ok. just a though aswell, i think i turned my engine over via pulley so that the outside pistons were set high as they can get in the way i found. (hope that makes sence , sure theres more technical terms)

[tom t]

kool that makes sense. ive had it up in the right position. but its catching on the silver plate that goes near the gearbox cant think of what its called.... need to get this sorted gana go try now.

[tom t]

first time after turning the engine. it slotted up there. going to leave it over night to dry. and torque the pulley bolt 2moz and hopefully all is well.

if it leaks the engines coming out touch wood though

cheers

[djinuk]

glad that sorted it, it was sparkie who told me about turning the engine over. :P Mine still leaks gota do it again.

[tom t]

nytmare m8. bit of a bugger of a job really.
i had to leave my sump half of the other night as i didnt finish it. and it was really windy yesterday, and there was lots of dust and grit getting blown about yesterday whilst i was doing the job.

im thinking it would be best if i ran some cheaper oil through her first and droped the oil quickly and change the filter again. as i dont want to mess the engine up with grit.

whats the cheapest oil i could use? and does this sound a good idea? cheers

[djinuk]

not sure on that , but the reason mine didnt work is..

I put a new seal in the timing belt cover and re sealed it.. i put it on so that it was on both dowels top and bottom , bolted it all up, no problem.. Did the same with the sump.. drove it and oil pissed out... then i felt around the timing belt cover and the bottom dowel had gone through but not all the way and left about 1mm at the back.. as it was late i tried to bodge and a tapped the dowel all the way through and just smeared some silicon along the edge... now its worked, but not well enough so ive got to redo the job

[tom t]

could anyone please tell me if i could use say a cheap mineral oil to flush the system please? cheers

and if thats ok how long would you run it before changing it again as im worried bits of dirt and stuff may have got in the engine. cheers?

[Spooky]

get some cheapo oil, run for a few miles, letting the oil circulate etc

drop the oil for some 'deceant' stuff

[Spooky]

when you're putting new oil in, use a new oil filter too.

if its a case of running it around the engine to help flush it dont, just when you drain that oil, change the filter...

[tom t]

it had a new filter and ive just put 15w40 mineral oil in it. ive ran it around for about 5 miles. and its got up to temp etc. only going to 2k revs.

do you think i should change the oil now? am thinking of doing it now.

and now ive got the joy of taking the front bumper off to remove my boost pipe run to be able to get to the filter lol cheers