[ksgrimsr]

Hi guys,

I'm replacing my weeping rear main seal and before I install my nice fresh one, I wanted to first confirm the proper orientation with the team since I have received conflicting information.

In the service manual section ED.14, for the oil seal replacement it states under step #4:

"Apply rubber grease to the outside surface and sealing lip of the new oil seal, and press into position in the rear housing, spring side rearmost. Take care not to damage the sealing lip or distort the seal, and ensure the seal is bottomed squarely against the flange in the housing recess."

So the proper orientation of the seal is such that the spring side of the seal is facing the transmission (and not facing the engine block)? This seems different than what I'm used to.

Knut

 

[s2kseven]

I will take a picture --- hold on

 

[ksgrimsr]

The rear main seal with the spring facing the block. The spring is to hold the neck or the shaft of the crankshaft so not to leak the oil out.
The same orientation on the two seals at the transmission drive shaft.
I will take a picture --- hold on

That's what I was expecting, but I consider "rearmost" to be toward the rear of the car so the wording in the service manual seemed confusing and counter to what I would have expected.

Knut

 

[s2kseven]

I have me lotus v8 rebuild pictures, but I can't find it.
However, I took this picture from the Lotus v8 manual book
https://www.dropbox.com/s/frr31xjw1ib00ka/Seal.PDF
Check the #3 seal in the picture.....is that one you are asking?

 

[ksgrimsr]

I have me lotus v8 rebuild pictures, but I can't find it.
However, I took this picture from the Lotus v8 manual book
https://www.dropbox.com/s/frr31xjw1ib00ka/Seal.PDF
Check the #3 seal in the picture.....is that one you are asking?

It's the seal at the rear of the engine at the flywheel. In the diagram below it's labeled "crankshaft rear oil seal." Trying to confirm proper seal orientation as the workshop manual is confusing when it refers to the spring in the seal being rearmost (which seems backwards). Does the spring side of the seal face the transmission (rearward) or does it face the engine block (forward)? The workshop wording sounds backwards and I can't really tell from the diagram.

Knut

 

[sailorbob]

It is a badly phrased description in the service manual. This photo from a thread on TLF shows the correct orientation https://mob23a.dm1.livefilestore.co...cYTUXzUdOaiVWISXv/DSCF9512.JPG?rdrts=64007189

 

[s2kseven]

The spring side must be inside....not pointing out to the tranny

Can you post the installation procedure phase you mentioned?

 

[gmendoza]

lol Thanks Bob, I was about to post that same pic.

Knut, the rear main seal is a bit of a pain. White side out and you have to stretch the lip over the crank curving towards the inside of the engine.


See crude pic bellow, red represents the seal, right is inside the engine

 

[sailorbob]

Another thing to note about that description is that some rubber greases have low operating temperatures so you need to avoid using these as they dry out and damage the lip of the seal.

 

[ksgrimsr]

The spring side must be inside....not pointing out to the tranny

Can you post the installation procedure phase you mentioned?

The verbatim text from the service manual is quoted in the first post in this thread. Sounds like it is written in a way that invites confusion.

 

[ksgrimsr]

It is a badly phrased description in the service manual. This photo from a thread on TLF shows the correct orientation https://mob23a.dm1.livefilestore.co...cYTUXzUdOaiVWISXv/DSCF9512.JPG?rdrts=64007189

Thanks for the clarifications and for the link with the picture. in teh service manual it clearly states to bottom the seal against the lip in the carrier, so in the picture the seal looks like it is not pushed into the housing as specified by the manual? I'd really like to do this once and not have to do this procedure again for quite a while.

Knut

 

[gmendoza]

Knut. how was our old one installed?

 

[ksgrimsr]

Knut. how was our old one installed?

The old one was mis-installed which is why I'm having to do this job in the first place, so I didn't want to blindly go off the orientation of the old one (plus I was reading the workshop manual which muddied the waters further).

Knut

 

[gmendoza]

Tough call, i dont remember exactly how mine was installed. I just remember the new engine got it intsalled the same way. It may have been driven to it's final position after the pic was taken and cover was installed. A lot has happened since then lol.

Here's a pic of one of Mike's engines:

It's a tough call

 

[sailorbob]

The photo shows the correct orientation but it is not seated fully into the housing. The service manual states the seal is to be bottomed against the step to ensure it is square to the crankshaft.

As long as the seal is square and the lip runs on an undamaged part of the crankshaft it will still seal OK. Sometimes you need to put seals in a non standard position because the old seal has worn a slight groove.