Getting the race out was, by far, the hardest part of the front crank seal job for me. Sharing what worked for me for the benefit of anyone out there Googling what to do:


TOOLS USED:
-A drill
-A sledge hammer
-1/8 in cobalt drill bit.
-3/32 in cobalt drill bit
-3/8 in cold chisel
-Vise grip locking pliers
-Seal puller (the same kind used for pulling the front crank seal)


1. Protect the inside of the engine. I stuffed a bunch of plastic wrap all around the opening.

2. Grab a sharpie. Hold the 1/8in drill bit up to the new race and make a mark just shy of the same depth as the new race. I did this so that I could know when I'm getting close to drill through the full depth of the race to make sure I don't hit the sprocket behind it.

3. Begin drilling a hole in the race using the 3/32in COBALT drill bit, then switch it out for the 1/8in bit once the hole is started. Make sure the hole is well centered on the face of the race and not angled up or down. You might have to abandon the hole and retry. I heard that using a dowel or something to poke an indent is helpful before beginning. Cobalt drill bits were game changer here. This was the job that finally propelled me to spend the money on a set.

4. After drilling close to the full depth of the race, I took a sledge hammer and started striking the hole with a 3/8in chisel. During this process I accomplished a couple things: The graduated nature of the chisel put enough stress on the race to cause a small crack, thereby loosening it slightly. Also, I was able to get the chisel somewhat "stuck" in the race, which enabled me to put a pair vice grips as tight as possible on the chisel and then smack the vice grips. This was a pretty goofy setup and I'm sure there are better tools for this kind of thing. The main idea is that I now had something to wack from different angles. The first movement I saw of the race was while doing this. Initially, I found it was easier to get it to move left or right. Eventually I was able to smack the vise grips at an angle that pulled the race outward, just slightly. You'll have to go back and forth with it and the vise grips will probably fall off a dozen times. Every time the race moves, it gets easier to move again.

5. After a bunch of chiseling and vise grip action, the race had become loose enough that I was able to take a seal puller and carefully pull at it, working it off


Hope this helps someone.

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