Syonyk Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 1. My rear main failed, soaked my clutch/flywheel/etc in oil. I've cleaned everything up, and used brake cleaner to get all the oil off the flywheel. I have a new clutch & pressure plate to use. However, there's still some interesting discoloration on the flywheel - I'm not sure if it's from slipping, or oil getting baked in, or what. Should I be resurfacing the flywheel, or will just cleaning/lightly sanding it be OK? It was gripping just fine even when oily, so I'm not too concerned about it. 2. After I get done stabbing the Subaru dealership for giving me the WRONG ****ing rear main seal (apparently the EJ & EA main seals are different, despite what the guy who'd been there forever thought)... How far in do the seals need to be? I gathered from another thread that the rear main needs to be slightly past flush or it may pop out. Is the front main the same? I got it installed, but it's ~2mm past flush. Is this a problem, or will I be fine? Same question with the rear main - how far past flush should it be? And the cam seals are currently flush - is this OK? Also, what's a seal protector (in reference to installing an oil seal)? Finally, there was a disturbing amount of sludge buildup on the insides of the valve covers & such when I took it apart. I suppose I'll be Seafoaming it pretty hardcore when it's back together. I've got some pics I'll get posted soon. A few other useful comments for those doing a rear main seal or general reseal on an EA82: *If your rear main is leaking, get a clutch kit while you've got it apart. There's a LOT of oil in the clutch material now. *Air tools are awesome for taking engines apart. Things that are a royal PITA without them (flywheel, etc) are trivial with them. *Use the starter to pop the front pulley bolt off. Disconnect the ignition, put a long breaker bar on the nut, wedge it against something, and blip the starter. Presto, loosened front pulley bolt. *The timing belt drive pulleys (the geared ones) *do* pull straight off the front of the crankshaft. They're likely fairly stuck, but they just come right off the front. I had success using a screwdriver to pry the front one out slightly, and then wiggling it with some screwdriver pressure from behind to pop the front one off. The rear one slid right off. *Having a friend who wants to learn about cars is great. They can be assigned to the task of cleaning the crap off the crossmember & such. *The grass-like stuff embedded in the oily sludge on the crossmember is "engine fiber", *not* a reason to stop offroading. *To remove a front or rear main oil seal, I had success removing a segment of rubber in front of the main metal ring of the seal, then using a small screwdriver to hook between the ring & the engine case to pull it out slightly, catch it with another screwdriver, and pop it out. The rear main was tougher, but I was able to pull the metal ring out slightly, wedge a screwdriver behind it, and pry with another screwdriver as the fulcrum to pull it out. Be sure to put something soft between the screwdriver & the crankshaft if you're on that side of the oil seal - a scratched crankshaft in the oil seal area is Bad. -=Russ=- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 What constitutes "interesting discoloration"? If it is blued (usually darker blue, with some difference in hue near the edges), kind of streaky and (usually) with some skips between patches of discoloration, then the flywheel material has been locally overheated and has developed "hard spots". Considereing the cost of the clutch set and the effort needed to get at the clutch/flywheel, I would have the flywheel resurfaced. I can't remember what the recommendation on the Baord is for seal setting, but I have set them until they seat. (If there is significant wear on the crank seal surface, you may want to set the seal so the lip doesn't ride in the crank's wear-groove.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 Resurface the flywheel - it's cheap, and usually a real quick turn-around (later the same day for my local NAPA) Just flush is fine. Check your PCV system - clogged up system can blow the seals right out of the engine. BIG leaks. Rope-trick - instead of bumping the starter (AKA - throwing heavy objects into the neighbors yard ), or jamming stuff in the flywheel teeth(AKA - dropping strange things in your bell-housing), thread some 1/4" nylon rope into the #1 cylinder at BDC of the comp. stroke to stop the engine from rotating safely. Removing old seals - use a couple small wood-screws and thread them into the rubber/metal part of the seal - grab with pliers and pull out the seal. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 GeneralDisorder said: Resurface the flywheel - it's cheap, and usually a real quick turn-around (later the same day for my local NAPA) Just flush is fine. Check your PCV system - clogged up system can blow the seals right out of the engine. BIG leaks. Rope-trick - instead of bumping the starter (AKA - throwing heavy objects into the neighbors yard ), or jamming stuff in the flywheel teeth(AKA - dropping strange things in your bell-housing), thread some 1/4" nylon rope into the #1 cylinder at BDC of the comp. stroke to stop the engine from rotating safely. Removing old seals - use a couple small wood-screws and thread them into the rubber/metal part of the seal - grab with pliers and pull out the seal. GD good post. rope trick very good, and ive never heard that for seal removal before. slapping myself on the forehead as soon as this post is published. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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