rear main replacement

[benzdude42]

i've bought a full crankcase gasket set for my 617.951 because my rear main is leaking a gallon of oil every 300 miles and so its time to bust this bad boy open. i've got 7 days to get it done or the car has to stay on my family farm, love it to death, and hope this sounds reasonable. i was wondering what pulley remover i will need, how to mount it on a ac delco engine stand, from my work, and what special tools i may need. i'm planing on following this fellow members institution
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/298852-rear-crankshaft-rope-seal-replacement-without-removing-crank.html

any help or ideas would be great, honestly i'm a little worried on how long this would take.

[Stretch]

As you can see in that thread the stumbling point is the pin...

I've put pictures showing it here =>

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/288644-fitting-rear-crankshaft-seal-om617.html

When I replaced mine the crank was out - it is a bit more work to remove the crank but not all that much more in my opinion.

[ROLLGUY]

Originally Posted by benzdude42

i've bought a full crankcase gasket set for my 617.951 because my rear main is leaking a gallon of oil every 300 miles and so its time to bust this bad boy open. i've got 7 days to get it done or the car has to stay on my family farm, love it to death, and hope this sounds reasonable. i was wondering what pulley remover i will need, how to mount it on a ac delco engine stand, from my work, and what special tools i may need. i'm planing on following this fellow members institution
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/298852-rear-crankshaft-rope-seal-replacement-without-removing-crank.html

any help or ideas would be great, honestly i'm a little worried on how long this would take.

You will need a 3 bolt puller, and the proper length of metric bolts (8mm?). R&Ring the engine will take the most amount of time. Sealing the crank should only take a couple hours once you have the engine on the stand. The flywheel and adapter plate MUST be removed to move the crank up enough to replace the upper part of the seal. You may have to get creative on how to mount the engine to the stand. It is helpful to have your engine hoist holding the engine while you are working on it, as there is a lot of leverage on the 4 bolts holding the engine on the stand. I used a piece of metal to support the front, but looking back, I should have just supported the engine with the hoist instead. You could also do the job with the crank on the down side (may be easier), but I did it the other way. Be sure to use anaerobic sealant on the upper pan to block joint. Nothing else will work properly. It is really not that bad of a job, and is much easier than totally removing the crank!

[benzdude42]

sweet! that's really what i wanted to here guys. i was worried that it would take forever and be a huge pain. i plan on conning someone with more experience to help remove the engine to speed it up. i also plan on replacing all common leakers while its out, oil filter housing, turbo, ext.

[Junkman]

Originally Posted by benzdude42

i also plan on replacing all common leakers while its out, oil filter housing, turbo, ext.

Someone posted their strategy for a leak free engine. Perhaps it will be easy to find.

[benzdude42]

i read it once. honestly, i'm lucky to have the $300 its bound to cost to do this with my discount and connections from work, his guild requires all real Mercedes gaskets, kit is $175.i know for a fact that my oil pan is leaking. where can i find the special gasket in a tube i need for the upper pan that rollguy was talking about. btw thank you for the heads up on that rollguy

[ROLLGUY]

Originally Posted by benzdude42

i read it once. honestly, i'm lucky to have the $300 its bound to cost to do this with my discount and connections from work, his guild requires all real Mercedes gaskets, kit is $175.i know for a fact that my oil pan is leaking. where can i find the special gasket in a tube i need for the upper pan that rollguy was talking about. btw thank you for the heads up on that rollguy

I got mine at NAPA (very expensive), but found it on Amazon cheaper
Amazon.com: Permatex 24163 Surface Prep Activator for Anaerobics, 4.5 oz.: Automotive

Permatex 51031 High Temperature Anaerobic Flange Sealant, 50 ml : Amazon.com : Automotive

[benzdude42]

o sweet! i got that stuff in my store just never gave it much of a look. does it hold up to pressure well? btw Napa is over priced, at least in idaho, and not very helpful.

[ROLLGUY]

Originally Posted by benzdude42

. does it hold up to pressure well?

I believe it is similar to the type of sealant used in the factory (obviously improved since the 80's). Metal to metal connections without some kind of paper gasket is common practice nowadays, so this is what is used. In theory, these new sealants should be better than those of 20-25 years ago.

[Dan Stokes]

I documented mine in my thread ("I'm Back.........."). might be helpful. There are quite a few pics including some of the engine mounted on my stand. DO NOT mount the engine off the intermediate plate - the aluminum just wouldn't be safe and besides the plate will be in your way if you leave it on. There isn't much spread between the bolt holes that mount the intermediate plate so it's hard to get a stable mount on the stand but you can do it with some effort. My stand has a geared head to rotate the engine and you'll find the engine will be tough to to rotate without it.

I used a sling and my engine hoist to lift the crank. That worked GREAT! I suggest you take a good look at the main bearings while you have them right in front of you. Mine were getting a little beat up so I changed them. Watch out for the thrust bearings - they will easily fall out of place. I "glued" mine back in place with assembly lube.

I found that the hard part was to get the cam chain loose and out of the way w/o losing cam timing. I THINK I got it right but I'm not sure yet as I haven't started the engine yet.

The other challenge was getting the dead seal out. Mine was hard as a rock and eventually broke out in chunks. The lower, which of course was easy because it was the easiest to get to, came out the way you would want it to. I used a small straight screwdriver.

GOOD LUCK!

Dan

[benzdude42]

yeah my engine stand can rotate the motor also, i'll be a good hour away from any autoparts store/bolt store so i got to have a plan on how to mount it. where do most people chain the motor up at? i remember seeing someone bolt up to the motor mount arms and lift it up from there, but i'm not sure it will stay balanced.

[benzdude42]

someone at work said that the right stuff might be a cheaper and better gasket maker to use on the oil pan. wandering if you guys think it will seal and hold, also how much of the anaerobic sealant will i need

[DeliveryValve]

I heard mixed reviews with "The Right Stuff". But you wouldn't need much.


FWIW, I had great success with the semi drying ThreeBond 1104 liquid gasket in the upper pan. (Same as HondaBond or YamaBond in the motorcycle world)




EDIT: looks like ThreeBond 1104 has been replaced with ThreeBond 1194.



.

[Stretch]

I don't know about the three bond stuff - never used it - but I will say that Permatex (as suggested by ROLLGUY above) has never let me done.

[benzdude42]

i get the special permatex anaerobic sealant for $15 for 50ml, really small tube, where as the right stuff is $8 for 6 oz