front main seal.

Chevycummins

Chevycummins

Bad case of Tinkeritis!
Joined
Jul 15, 2008
Messages
3,488
take a look at the pics and see the grove that keeps getting cut into the the speedy sleeve that is installed. i replaced the front main and rear main at the same time and the front one has a pretty good groove in it from wearing on the seal or something. i am curious as to if anyone knows what may have caused this. it was installed straight and the seal didnt appear to be damaged just a gouge in the speedy sleeve. this was installed around last march so its been less than a year and the seal with sleeve came from cummins.

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Mine looks the same way, I think the tight tolerance and material that the seal is made out of causes the groove. So I'd say normal wear.
 
i will try to measure the groove today and see. the seal and sleeve are supposed to be made to go together since it makes the end of the crank bigger. the front cover appears to be fine and straight. nothing really shows out of the ordinary. the only reason i am asking about this is because i am loosing about 2qts in about 3 hrs worth of running time of the engine and its making a heck of a mess underneath my truck
 
Looking at the pic again, I don't think the groove on mine is that far forward. Is it possible that the seal is backwards? Did you install the seal into the cover from the front or back, and did you use the depth tool that comes with the seal?
 
The seal is in the correct way but I don't remember if I used the installer I don't remember if it even came with one. I don't think it did cause I think i only using a deadblow hammer to get it in
BrettWINspeed said:
Looking at the pic again, I don't think the groove on mine is that far forward. Is it possible that the seal is backwards? Did you install the seal into the cover from the front or back, and did you use the depth tool that comes with the seal?
Click to expand...
 
The instructions aren't that clear either when I bought the new seal today either. The direction of the seal is obvious but how to set the depth and the other rubber/plastic ring isn't covered very good
 
Chevycummins said:
The instructions aren't that clear either when I bought the new seal today either. The direction of the seal is obvious but how to set the depth and the other rubber/plastic ring isn't covered very good
Click to expand...
I can get you a measurement tomorrow, but hopefully somebody can tell you the depth sooner. The rubber ring can be put on after the timing cover is installed, it goes between the cover and the balancer.
 
I just replaced a seal on a guys truck not to long ago because it was leaking. And the new seal leaks. I used the plastic sleave to install it. All I can figure it was a cheepo seal?
 
i used a cheapo from carquest this time with new sleeve. i used the install tool that came with it and used it the only way that it appeared to be useable to install this time so hope i can make it longer this time without it leaking again
 
The Dodge service manual states to drive the seal in from the back. I had several issues with leaking front main seals, however I am not using a speedy sleeve. I was originally driving the seal in from the front, then setting the depth from the back with the steel "install" ring that comes with the front main seal kit. So far, my truck has not leaked any more oil. The other rubber ring is just a dust seal which is supposed to be used in industrial/construction applications. It can be used with no harm on our applications, or can be left off, the choice is yours.

You are using the plastic sleeve to install the seal onto the crank right?
 
yes i used the plastic guide to slide the cover onto the crank. i installed the seal from the front because it said you could do all of this with the cover still on the motor so i assumed it went on through the front and used the installer from the front too so the seal may be setting back to far now if it is supposed to be set from the rear
 
In every case of installing a front main seal (not that I have very many) I ended up installing the seal from the front, driving it in "too far", then using the metal depth ring to reset to the correct depth from the back.

It may just be my front cover, but I cannot imagine installing that seal with the front cover on the motor. It has always been a real fight to get the seal installed straight into my cover.
 
yeah i fought for several minutes trying to get this thing to even start. its just pretty lame how vague the instructions are there are no pics or anything to show proper install of these things.
 
Chevycummins said:
yeah i fought for several minutes trying to get this thing to even start. its just pretty lame how vague the instructions are there are no pics or anything to show proper install of these things.
Click to expand...

Ya I just had a seal in a box. $35 or so. I wasn't impressed. And I was told not to lube the seal or it would fail quick.
 
yeah i wasnt sure why your not supposed to lube it. i have always lubed seals and orings when rebuilding cylinders and stuff. that may be why that last one failed so quick i put this one together dry this time we will see how long it lasts.
 
There is a coating of teflon on the seal which, in theory, is supposed to get coated onto the crankshaft as soon as the motor is spun over. This teflon coating is additional protection against leaks. I believe the seal says right on it "Install Dry"
 
yeah the instructions that came with it said do not apply oil to the seal or surface
 
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