Re: 2002 R53 Manual

I've noticed a slight oil leak that appears to be coming from the front crank seal. The replacement seal has arrived and i'll be putting it in over the coming weeks with a mate who's a mechanic. I've read the pelican walk through and it doesn't seem to be a very complex procedure but getting to the seal may be.

Do I need to invest in the crank pulley removal tool, dampener removal and re-application tools to get to this $3 bit of rubber or can a few lateral thinking tricks like parking in gear with the brakes on do the job?

 

You can put it in gear and hold the brakes to prevent the crank from turning when you remove the bolt. But, you will still need to get a puller to remove the pulley from the crank because it is pressed on.
I would highly recommend replacing the timing chain cover gasket while the pulley is off. They have a tendency to leak too. Also, it's much easier to get the crank seal out when the cover is off the engine. You can push the crank seal out from the back.

 

n00b related question: is the crank seal, and the crank position sensor seal the same thing?

My terminology needs to grow I guess. We always just referred to it as the front main seal (i think) on older cars we used to work on which didn't have a crank position sensor.

 

Not n00b, similar name... but different:

http://www.*********************/lib...placement-103/

 

I found the proper tool to be VERY helpful. Actually made the job easy. Particularly on reinstallation.

///Rich