trouble comprehending crankshaft seals

[jhugh]

I've got my 3.2L case together. Everything's torqued down and the crankshaft turns fine. Now we come to the crank seals. My Bentley manual has no pictures or diagrams. It says simply to install them. Not having taken pics when I tore the engine down, I don't know which way these things go, how far in they sit, or what's an acceptable way to get them in there (besides the specialty tool they mention but don't describe or show a pic of).

Also, I just don't get at all how the smaller seal is supposed to fit over the end of the crank by the nose bearing -- there doesn't seem to be enough crank for it to grab ...? Is the pulley supposed to compress it? WTF?

Does anyone have pics of the installed seals they can share? Short of that, I'd appreciate any and all visualizations, descriptions or tips... something that will lead me to understanding what to do here.

Thanks!

[yelcab1]

Take better pictures or notes next time, but it is hard to remember to do this.

Seals go in with the flat surface facing out.
They go all the way in until the seat up against the surface.

Don't know about the nose bearing seal, did you get the right one? Look at the pulley and see if there is actually a surface to seal against. My educated guess is the pulley is NOT supposed to touch the seal. Otherwise, it will rip the seal to pieces. Guess how I know !

[ChrisBennet]

Be careful when installing the seal on the pulley end. It is possible to dislodge the little spring that holds the inner "lip" snug on the crank. If that happens you get a pretty good leak. (Don't ask me how I know.) A tool junkie will have special Porsche tools for installing these seals. Know any tool junkies?
-Chris
"Hi I'm Chris, and I'm a tool junkie."

[Superman]

That little spring thing inside the lip of the seal can be removed, unscrewed, tightened a little, rescrewed and reinserted into the seal, if you're worried about it falling out. The spring screws into itself.

Put a little grease on the seal before you install it. Make sure the lip does not get turned under when it engages the shaft. Use even pressure around the outside. push it in until it is flush, lip side in, flat side out.

The actual sealing lip is on the inside, so it probably does fit back onto the shaft, on the pulley end. Pulleys often ride close to the seal. Mount the seal flush and the pulley will leave it alone.

[jhugh]

Hmm, okay the big seal for the flywheel end makes sense. Still, I have no idea how the pulley end seal is supposed to go on the crank. Does it fit around the nose bearing? If so, it looks like it'd take one hell of a whallop to get it there. Just doesn't look right. Maybe EBS stuck the wrong seal in my kit... but probably not.

So I just took a rather crummy pic. What do you think?

[Tyson Schmidt]

Well gee, I don't know how to tell you this, but you're going to have to remove the old seal first!

[jhugh]

That's the kind of thing I like to hear!! Good lord...

Thanks Tyson!