Working on a 1984 300D. I always replace both the seal and the race when I do this job. I also unbolt the aluminum part that makes the cover on top of the seal. I put a little lock tight on the inside of the race as they seem to fit "loose" on the crankshaft. I installed the seal with a little bit of sealer on the top and bottom of the seal and reinstall the top cover with sealer where it meets the block. After I finish, I'm ending up an oil leak coming from the bottom of the seal. Any ideas?

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Andrew Villasenor
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1984 300D turbo 5-speed manual(daily driver)
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I had a similar problem. My issue was the harmonic balancer. The previous seal had worn a groove in the flange that fits inside the seal. I was able to fix this by taking very fine wet dry sandpaper (the dark grey stuff) and sanding the groove away. An easy fix just a little elbow grease required.

Bottom of the seal as in bottom of the inner - on the crankshaft - or bottom as in next to the upper oil pan?

Another thing worth checking very carefully is that the valve cover gasket isn't leaking from the top and you now think the bottom seal is still leaking.

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
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