Front crankshaft seal replacement 617 engine
 

It's about time for me to tackle the front seal replacement job. I don't have the seal installation tool. I am curious if others have completed the job with out the installation tool. On other engines I have used a large socket or just tapped the seal in with a mallet.
Is it critical that I use the "official" tool or are there other options that would work as well?

1982 300D

There are other options that will work perfectly well. Look for a piece of PVC pipe cut square at the end. Or something else that pushes flat on the rim of the seal. I forget what I used, but it sure isn't any MB special tool.

I never used a special tool either when I did mine. There is a ring on the crankshaft that the seal rides on, it wears out but you can just turn it around rather than buy a new one.

Tango,

The problem is putting the seal onto the ring in the engine because the lip of the seal has to be toward the rear of the engine. I never used a special tool either. I did it as explained below.

Buy the new ring that Omegman is talking about and put the new ring in place on the crankshaft. Then push the old ring into the seal from the side opposite the seal lip, slide the old ring and seal on the crankshaft against the the new ring and then push or tap the seal onto the new ring on the crankshaft. U might use a plastic or something similar as Pete mentioned.

P E H

Or you can put the new ring on AFTER the new seal. That way you are sure not to mess it up. But if it's in the car and you don't have a puller, it might be hard to remove that ring.

I think i just pulled the ring off with a pair of channel lock pliers. And I put the seal on then installed the ring so I didnt damage the seal.

While you have easy access to the front of the engine check the inj pump timing. Mine was about 5 deg late. Adjusting it made a huge difference I now get 26 mpg in town.

Thanks for all the responses. I have been putting this job off for years, but the time has come.
It was pretty apparent from looking at the new seal and ring that the seal would not be too happy about sliding on to the already-installed seal ring. So I had already concluded that the ring should go into the seal from the front. I noticed in other posts that folks had reported getting the old ring out with a pair of flat screwdrivers, so I am hoping for the best there.
If I can get the balancer lined up okay on reinstallation, it should be all down hill. Checking the timing is another thing I need to do, so thanks for the motivation in that regard.

I decided to tackle the job today. All went smoothly until it was time to remove the old seal ring. It was on tight. No luck pulling or twisting it with channel lock pliers. After dousing it with Kroil penetrating oil, finally got it to budge using two opposing screwdrivers to pry it off from behind. Using a single screwdriver was not helpful. Had to use two at a time, from opposite sides of the ring. The seal ring had a pretty substantial groove worn in it, so it definitely needed to be replaced. The groove was so close to the middle of the ring that I am not sure that reversing the old ring and reinstalling it would have been a viable option.

Installing the seal first, then the seal ring, definitely seems to be the best option.

Putting the balancer back on was certainly no walk in the park. Despite my best efforts at lining things up, I still managed to shave a trace amount of metal from both pins. (MB must drill the pin holes after they install the balancer.) I don't know how I could have lined it up any better. If I had to do it again, I might consider chamfering the edges of the crankshaft holes a bit. If I was a machinist, I think I could design an alignment tool to make the balancer installation go a bit more smoothly.

Front Crank Seal
 

1984 300d Turbo
Go To **************.com They Have The Kit, Guide Book, Seal, Etc

Unless there is some serious enlightenment in the instruction book, you are paying $50 for about $18 worth of parts. There appears to be nothing in the kit to help with the difficult issues, ie: balancer alignment and seal ring removal.
It's also interesting that ************** recommends the use of a good gasket cement (presumably for the crankshaft seal) when the MB engine service manual specifically recommends against the use of such a product.

Of course, the service manual is not perfect either. On one page it recomends 25 Nm torque on the pulley bolts; on another page it' says 35 Nm. I think I will go with the higher figure.

I would never use a gasket cement on a seal. They are a press fit/pound in fit for a reason. I wonder what he is thinking about?