Pulley Seal Success (long)

[DavidI]

I mentioned in a previous post that I had a leak near the crankshaft pulley of my 83 SC. I ordered the parts from PP and they arrived within 2 days. The parts included the pulley seal, the intermediate cover gasket, and Curil T. With the parts in hand, research on this board, Wayne's 101 book, Wayne's Engine Rebuild book, and the knowledge that I could post a question should I get stuck, my adventure began.

I called local Pelicanhead "Chili" (Chad) to lend a hand and he came over with a Porsche full of tools.

We lifted the car and placed it securely on jack stands. The previous week, I had regularly sprayed the muffler bolts with WD 40 to lessen their will to delay my progress. With a quick turn of the wrench, they came off faster than a whore's clothes. Off to a good start! I unplugged the harness to the rear fuse panel. Using a floor jack, I supported the engine and loosened the motor mount bolts. I was surprised how easy every thing was going. I gently lowered the engine to have access to the bolts holding the sheet metal and motor mount face plate.

With the dexterity of a fiddle player and the determination of a champion boxer, I contorted to get the proper angles to remove the bolts and nuts. Again success! Hey, this is kinda easy.

Now the beast called the rear pulley stared me directly in the face and challenged me to a duel. Armed with an impact gun, the battle began. Round after round I returned to my corner with my coach telling me I was down on points. The impact gun laughed at me as it attempted to pivot the Holy Grail. No bueno. I thought maybe the compressor was the culprit. I borrowed a heavy duty Sears compressor from a neighbor thinking the big dog would slap the life out of the pulley nut. Again, the pulley nut clung to life and refused to budge. We were now in the 10th round and I needed a knockout or I was going to lose the fight. I went primitive on it and broke out my Chevy tool (a sledge hammer). I put my trusty Craftsman ratchet and socket on its head. I threw a right cross, followed by a left hook, then an uppercut. In a fit of mercy, the other corner threw in the towel as the pulley nut spun its head like the Exorcist. Again, success!

In all of its bare naked glory, the pulley seal had finally revealed itself. With my surgeon like hands, I carefully excised the seal and cleaned the area up with a degreaser. Coating the outer rim of the seal with Curil T as Wayne's book suggested, I gingerly tapped the new seal into its new home. I squeezed a small bead of Curil T around the joint around the number 8 nose bearing in case that is leaking as well.

The reverse process took less than a couple of hours and was quite simple having already done the difficult part. I let the Curil T cure over night. Images of following Black Beauty II in the canyons danced through my head as I slept like a baby eagerly anticipating the roar of my lifeless 6 cylinder symphony.

When I woke up in the morning, I went out to the garage and stared at the car like a long lost love reuniting after a brief interlude. I twisted the key and "Black" fired up. I took her out and stretched her legs bringing her up to beyond operating temperature. I returned home and crawled underneath her belly looking to see if she was still menstruating. The majority of the leak had been slayed by the new pulley seal, but she wept a golden brown tear at the number 8 bearing seal. I hugged her and wiped her forehead as I told her that I love her the way she is. Our bond had been strengthened as I had spent quality time with her operating on her with love.

Now it is time to treat her like the monster she is and blast through some canyons!

And so it goes.....Thanks for all your knowledge base on this board and Chili for lending a hand.

David

[brcorp]

You should start wrtiting romance novels, you'd certainly put Fabio to shame.

[ChrisBennet]

"I laughed! I cried! Better than Cats!"
-Chris

[randywebb]

Ya know I've often wondered what DI's did in their off hours.

Now I know...

[DavidI]

Thanks gents......what can I say?

Again, thanks Chili, David

[Wil Ferch]

Success?

you say..."but she wept a golden brown tear at the number 8 bearing seal.."

Isn't this what you started out to fix?

vastly improved maybe....hope it "settles-in" for a complete fix?

Oh...nice writing style...would add some punch to a tech article you may wish to publish!

Wil

[DavidI]

Wil, you are right in that my initial goal was to fix the possible leak at the number 8 bearing. What I found was that the pulley seal was also leaking. I have my fingers crossed as the amount of oil leak has been cut in half at least. I can live with the leak until a teardown in years to come.

Thank you for the compliment on my writing.....it is the trade of my craft.....law enforcement of course.

David

[DavidI]

Just a quick update.....no leaks! This may be the magic tonic.

David

[yelcab1]

I thought I was reading Forum