Front Crankshaft seal leak replacement

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OR VietVet

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Agreed. And, in this instance, I just chose to convey the opinions of GM's engineers. :p

I dig it. Speaking of GM engineers, there are PLENTY of us that would disagree with their "opinions". They're far more agreeable with than German auto engineers!
I wonder if some of those same "opinionated" engineered all the problems that the new rigs are having.......I was actually looking at a new Z71 about 6-7 months ago and I did not like the attitude of the salesman and I walked. So glad I did.
 

OR VietVet

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Am I dreaming or did we have an option to slide a thin collar on balancers back in the day that we’re perfectly smooth? Thin enough to work with standard size seal too.
You are not dreaming. They were called "seal savers" and were a PITA to install. Easy to bend during install if you did not have the patience of a nun. There were some reports of oil leakage past the collar and the balancer neck though. Best to just get a new balancer.
 

RST Dana

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You are not dreaming. They were called "seal savers" and were a PITA to install. Easy to bend during install if you did not have the patience of a nun. There were some reports of oil leakage past the collar and the balancer neck though. Best to just get a new balancer.
I thought I put one on a K5 back in the day. As a young poor lad (read used money for more fun stuff), I hammered on on a sb 350 balancer with a 2X4. Worked fine with no leaks.
 

iamdub

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I wonder if some of those same "opinionated" engineered all the problems that the new rigs are having.......I was actually looking at a new Z71 about 6-7 months ago and I did not like the attitude of the salesman and I walked. So glad I did.

I'm not ruling them out, but the problems other than the lifter and/or push rod failures don't smell like engineering fails to me. They smell like budget cuts: Lower quality materials and workmanship on the electronics, trim pieces, etc. The slip-ups in the installations and assembly are concurrent with over-worked and maybe even underpaid employees being rushed to put quantity over quality.

I my mind, the engineers are saying "We can't do xxxx because it has a 30% chance of failing" while the bean counters are saying "If we rush out an extra 500,000 units a year, that 30% will affect an even smaller number of units in comparison".




...With the millions of leak-free LS engines pounding the highways since '98, I'd have to trust them on their crank seal design. ;)
 

Geotrash

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I'm not ruling them out, but the problems other than the lifter and/or push rod failures don't smell like engineering fails to me. They smell like budget cuts: Lower quality materials and workmanship on the electronics, trim pieces, etc. The slip-ups in the installations and assembly are concurrent with over-worked and maybe even underpaid employees being rushed to put quantity over quality.

I my mind, the engineers are saying "We can't do xxxx because it has a 30% chance of failing" while the bean counters are saying "If we rush out an extra 500,000 units a year, that 30% will affect an even smaller number of units in comparison".




...With the millions of leak-free LS engines pounding the highways since '98, I'd have to trust them on their crank seal design. ;)
100%. If you have some extra time, this book is a fabulous read:

 

iamdub

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100%. If you have some extra time, this book is a fabulous read:


LOL at "extra time". The synopsis does interest me, though!
 
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Ecrews06

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Update

I pulled the balancer off and hit it with some emery cloth and polished it right up. I replaced the front crank seal, I put Lucas oil lube on the inside of the seal and on the balancer snout. I reassembled everything and took on about a 7 to 8 mile round trip drive. So far there are no leaks, hopefully everything holds up! Thanks for the help!
 

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