If you do replace the front main (and there isnt any reason not too) make sure you do like someone mentioned above and get the neoprene seal- do not get the old rope style.
So i got the timing chain off and removed the lifters/pushrods. I go to "slide" the old cam out and its not budging. It turns freely but when i go to pull it, as soon as it its the front bearing, it stops and even pulling pretty hard it wont come out. Help! o No: My timing cover gasket did come w/ a black oily rope that i had no idea what it was for. Is that the bad rope seal thing you were talkin bout? That seems like it would take a while to do and more skills i dont have
Hey Brian I got my front seal from autozone or advance...cant remember but it was local. Looks like this http://www.yearone.com/serverfiles/headline.asp?hid=213AC56029 Its held in by pressure from using a chisel to pound the side of the timing cover to expand it. You'll see the marks inside when you take out the old one. I don't have a picture to show you and google is not revealing any either.
IMO, if that front seal wasn't leaking before, I wouldn't touch it. That's what I did and mine never leaked a single molecule of oil.p
The rope seals arent that bad, installation wise. I have done a few and had good results. just pull out the old one and pack the new one in the groove is all it takes. No special skills required. although logically a one piece neoprene style like I saw above will be much more likely to give a leak-free seal, by design.
Well Cason, the thing im worried about is that when i took the buick to the shop a while bak, they said that the front main seal needed to be replaced, but it would cost me 500 bucks. So im thinkin while i have it all apart i should probably replace it...
Ok so i just called Autozone and the guy said he doesnt have the neoprene style, but he has the rubber one. Is there a big difference?
That is the rubber one. TCS45930 :laugh::TU: this pn is the complete timing cover kit including all seals including water pump. oh.. if you feel ambitious and think you have low oil pressure an oil pump booster plate is a good idea too. autozone part P-20I when at the zone tell them oil pump and this is the pump kit but it doesn't include the gears.
I got the one from TA a while back. Its the TCS45006. Has the rope seal instead of the rubber. But ur sayin the rubber is the same as neoprene..?
it's the same. if you look at autozone.com you can see the difference in seals. as they have pictures of the two kits. and instead of returning the parts to ta have the zone look up front main seal for your car. the pn will be felpro 15200 and the web says it's $6.99 for me and my area. the other kits are quite a bit more expensive one is a timken part and the other is a timken repair kit.
Man i feel dumb, but the rubber will make the best seal? or at least better than the rope seal i have
others above like the rope. my rope seal was trashed got wound up around the oil pump when i opened mine to replace my front main seal. It also shredded the metal retainer behind it. I figured the General modernized for a good reason it's my turn and pretty easy to do.
A few pictures from what i did today, not much but somethin: Lifters out Timing Chain off Still gotta finish cleanin that The cam is now halfway out....haha
I got to ask... I didn't know the cam gears were plastic covered. Brian your pix appear to be gone so I cant refer back to them. When I had my cover off for a new chain, I didnt notice any plastic on the gears...o No:
The gears are covered in nylon to minimize noise. They break down over time and drop into the oil pan. Replace the gear set.
That it is...what sucks is im gunna do that front main seal now so ill have to wait for that to come in. Autozone didnt have it in stock so i figured neither would Advance. And the next 2 days i have no school or work so its the perfect time to work on it....
Ok so i got some more stuff done today and yesterday. I got the cam out yesterday. It was a pain in the ass to get that key out to put in my new TA212, but i did it. Then i finished cleaning/ scraping the timing cover and block. I took the water pump off, cleaned and scraped that, as well as the oil pump. I then got my front main seal and assembly lube from Autozone. I am pretty much at the point at which everything i need takin apart is apart. The last thing to take apart is that main seal, i am gunna need advise on how to do that. After fixing that seal, then its pretty much reverse, pack the oil pump gears with lube/vasoline and attach that gasket (no rtv?), attach the water pump with gasket (rtv?), put the new cam in (lube etc.), lifters in (lube etc.), rods, rockers, new timing chain on crank and cam, timing cover on block, balancer, intake, accesories and connect everything up....im sure im missing some stuff... So how do i do the front main seal? Any tips for engine assembly? Important information i need to know Here are pics
