[Tishabet]

Originally Posted by pauloregon

Depends on how you define "a pain". It's a lot of work to remove all the stuff to get access to the front of the engine, at which time you might as well do the balance shaft seals, crankshaft seal and pump sleeve, as well as the camshaft seals. But, once you get all the cruft out of the way, it's rather simple to replace an o-ring here, slide an onion-skin seal there, etc. Just make sure to watch out for the oil seal details, using the right one on the right shaft, etc.

Agreed, this job is approachable to the average shady tree mechanic. Check out Clarks-garage.com for a good rundown of the job. While you're dissected down that far you'll probably want to replace the water pump as well unless you know the current pump was replaced recently. You'll also want to clean/degrease the area after the seals are done and replace your timing and balance shaft belts; if these have any oil on them they are no good and need to be replaced ASAP.