Has anyone successfully replaced their front main seal without removing the timing chain cover? What are the pros and cons to attempting this without going the long route (remove cover, oil pan, reseal, etc)?

 

Oh wow! Do you have much of a leak?

I remember that the old BMW 2002 front seal would leak (natural rubber degradation), and the oil would seep along the oil pan/block and soak the clutch disc.

Thanks!

 

Front main seal isn't a bad job. The only thing for me was breaking loose the crank pulley bolt.. The torque is very high. You will need a honda specific tool to hold the pulley in place. 2 person job or use a large impact.
Once removed just take off the crank pulley and pry out the leaking seal. Install new seal lubed with oil and use the old seal on top of it along with a socket to tap it into place.
No need to remove the timing cover to replace the seal.

 

Remember my last thread asking if this was a timing chain cover leak? I think you said it could be the front main
I looked closely along the lower seam of the cover and found traces of oil underneath the crank pulley so...it could be time for a new seal (130k + miles on OG 2000).

 

That's what I needed to know! Thanks. My only concern now is if I actually need to remove and reseal my timing chain cover because at this point I'm not sure if it is leaking towards the bottom right in addition to the main seal... if it is then I'm going to have to pull the cover and then replace the front main with it off.

 

Couple thoughts.

Donw use an impact gun to remove crank pulley bolt. Impacts not good for crank. Use the 2 person tool, long bars for leverage. If run into trouble, double down on socket drive, go up to 3/4". Then go mega leverage.

Are you sure leak isn't just oil pan? At that front corner? You have to remove pan to remove cover, so maybe try resealing it if main seal doesn't fix.

Also, a good clean can help see where leak is really coming from. Once clean, you can see beginning of leak. Use paper towel starting high, work low, see where oil wicks into, id source.

 

I forgot all about that thread. Short-term memory... ... Hmmm I forgot....

You are probably going to need to remove the radiator. I usually do on these fixes to have better access. :idea: