Is the crank seal behind the harmonic balancer difficult to replace?
I know i need to remove the balancer and pry out the old seal but is the seal pressed in from behind or from the outside, what iam saying is, Do i need to remove the timing cover to replace such a simple seal ?

 

Yes, it's behind the crank pulley. No, you don't need to pull the timing cover off to put a new one in.

Get a seal puller and you will need a large race, socket or piece of pipe to tap it back in. Use new engine oil to coat the out side edge of the seal before you tap it in. Also put oil on the inside of the seal and the crank pulley when putting that back in also.

 

Whew thank god, i got the seal already, i was just worried about if i had to remove the cover, this should be quick and simple then, i replaced many seals like this in a matter of minutes, btw would replacing the balancer be a good idea? it has a 123k on it, seems to wobble a tad.

 

If you are already in the location you might as well take care of the balancer as well. No point it replacing it in 5k miles when you need to and redo any amount of work.

 

You mean the crank pulley?

If it's the pulley itself, then might as well.

But if it's not...

I remember reading one post where a water pump shaft was bent, apparently causing his crank pulley to wobble a bit. Don't remember who it was, though.

Try running the car without the crank pulley, see if the snout of the crank has any sort of runout.

 

Is that possible, and if so would it be a good idea? I mean, even for a short time?

Isn't the pulley/balancer there to provide crankshaft dampening, plus won't this create a large oil leak almost immediately after start-up?

 

Hmm not sure on that, I dont think i want to try that idea, ill just replace it and be done with it.

 

good idea!

 

I suggest that you put the timing mark on the crank pulley inline with the timing indicator pointer so that the woodruff key is at the "top"......less likely that you'll drop it (maybe into the timing chain case). The pulley should have no visible "wobble".......has the pulley been removed before and damaged? Pulley itself bent? I doubt that it's caused by the crank, but if you've got a dial indicator, check the radial runout. Check the seal contact area on the pulley for wear (grooved). If you can feel/see any real grooving and/or it's "bent" then replace it. Bolt torque is 29 - 36 ft/lbs and then turned a further 60 deg. (a hex flat)

 

The VQ is internally balanced; it's not a 'harmonic balancer'.

As far as the oil leak, it shouldn't. I've ran mine without the crank pulley before to save myself some work incase I had to pull the timing cover again.

 

Pully seems to wobble just a tad, i got the seal today but its 5 degrees outside so thats a no brainer, when it gets warmer ill install it, none of my local auto parts stores can get a new crank pulley btw.......

 

Try autopartsworld.com - they have the pulley for $122 in stock.
I've recently bought a bunch of parts from them and they are fairly good.