Front oil leak AGAIN! WTF?

[Mmusicman]

Here's a pic of my harmonic balancer with the repair sleeve installed.

Repair sleeve?

[Corsemoto]

Yeah, mentioned at top of thread:

I was going to ask the same thing as chevymaher...

When I recently replaced my oil pan gasket and timing cover, the harmonic balancer had a slight groove in it from the crank seal so I installed an $8 repair sleeve on the shaft. The repair sleeve should come with a cap for installation.

I also used a factory GM timing cover kit from GM Parts East after reading many bad reviews about the Dorman kit.

Don't forget a dab of sealant on the keyway/slot to seal that area too.

I agree, it is a terrible design.

The groove wears into the machined surface of the harmonic balancer shaft, where it sits on the crank seal and spins. Maybe consider an OE crank seal?

I used a National 88176 repair sleeve from Advance Auto.

I lightly cleaned up the groove with sandpaper and Scotchbrite but could still feel it so installed the repair sleeve as the harmonic balancer was in great condition other than that.

The cap is the installer. I left the balancer in the freezer overnight and used a heat gun on sleeve prior to install and then tapped into position with cap. I also used a bit of high strength threadlocker on shaft.

Note: That's red grease in the photo on the previous page, not threadlocker...

[RECox286]

Thank you, big time, for a follow up posting once the gripe was finally off the board.

It really helps others, even me, to learn what works and what doesn't work out in the

real world. Hope you're good for another thousand miles or so !

Uncle Bob

[longboardguy]

An old thread with great info.

I hate oil leaking.
I can see oil weeping from the bottom area of the shaft seal at the Harmonic Balancer. It is not leaking from the timing chain cover anywhere.
Maybe my Van is just marking it's territory. My dog does that.


I have recently replaced with new parts, the Belt, Pulley, Balancer (new OEM so there are no wear grooves) and the Timing chain cover (Dorman) and the front Balancer seal is weeping enough to make a daily 3 inch spot on the ground overnight.
I do not know if there was sealant applied to the keyway before reassembly. The oil is not leaking from the front keyway area on the HB. My mechanic does meticulous work but is currently AWOL.

My question is:
If the HB seal is leaking, Do you think installing a repair sleeve (National 88176 repair sleeve) to increase the diameter of the HB sealing surface and create a tighter seal?
The sleeve description says the sleeve is 0.010" thick.

Do you think this would work to stop the weeping? I do not want to remove the timing cover, or try to replace the seal.

I appreciate the forums opinions.

Thanks in advance.

-fisher

[Corsemoto]

You could try, at least remove the harmonic balancer to inspect. You'll get a better idea of the condition of both the hb and seal at that point but I would think once a groove has been worn in the hb, the seal is probably bad. Clean everything well, put some sealant on the keyway, grease and install using the proper tool. You'll only be out some time really, and maybe get lucky.

Here's a little more detail on the process: https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/astro-awd-stroverlander.72414/post-1697319