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I made my own rear main seal (flywheel side) driver with a piece of plywood. You trace the crankshaft end onto a piece of paper, apply it to the plywood, cut it to size and drill holes for the flywheel bolts. Position the new seal, put the wooden driver over it, screw in the bolts, and then, in a cross-wise pattern, slowly tighten each one in a bit at a time to ensure that the seal goes in straight.
A picture is worth 1000 words; email & I'll send a couple.
TOOLS/MATERIALS:
--Paper
--Compass
--Utility knife or Razor Blade
--Thumbtack or tape
--Small piece of 5/8” or 1/2" plywood (approx. 6" x 6")
--Jig saw
--Drill & bits
--Small wood chisel
--Nail or punch
--Hammer
INSTRUCTIONS:
MAKE A TEMPLATE OF THE CRANKSHAFT END BY TRACING IT WITH A PIECE OF PAPER:
1. Line up the paper (1/2 a sheet fits well) over the crankshaft end and gently press your finger against the stud to leave a mark on the paper.
2. With a utility knife, cut out a small hole in the paper where the stud hit it.
3. Line up the hole with the stud, slide it through, and hold the paper tightly against the crankshaft end.
Be careful not to let it slip around.
4. Get your finger a little dirty so it will leave marks. Gently press your finger against each of the bolt holes so that the dirty residue traces a mark on the paper.
5. Also run your finger around the outer edge of the crankshaft end, as well as the raised lip on the end plate adjacent to it.
APPLY YOUR TEMPLATE TO THE PLYWOOD:
You want the circumference of the driver to be slightly larger than the circumference of the seal; this prevents you from driving it in too far. The outer edge of the raised lip around the crankshaft end is a good measurement to go by.
6. Match your compass against the raised lip’s outer edge mark on the template, and scribe a circle on your plywood.
7. Line up the exact center of the template with the center of the circle on the plywood.
8. Hold the template in place on the plywood by pressing a thumbtack thru the center.
9. Using a punch or nail, punch a “starter” hole in the center of each flywheel bolt hole.
10. Remove the template (don’t throw it away yet…)
DRILL THE FLYWHEEL BOLT HOLES:
11. Using a drill bit larger than the flywheel bolt (can’t recall which size bit I used…), drill out the holes.
It’s important that the holes be larger than the flywheel bolts; this isn’t a precision tool and may not fit over the crankshaft end without a little “play” in the holes.
CUT OUT THE DRIVER:
12. Cut out the driver using a jigsaw.
CHISEL OUT THE MIDDLE OF THE DRIVER:
You’ll need to chisel out the center of the driver to allow it to fit flush against the crankshaft end.
13. On your template, match the circumference of the outer edge of the crankshaft end with your compass, then scribe it onto the driver. This will be approximately 1/2" smaller than the outer edge of the driver.
14. Chisel out two layers of plywood, working around from the line scribed for the outer edge of the crankshaft end. Be careful not to take out any of the wood between this line and the outer edge of the driver.
DRIVING THE SEAL:
15. Lube the new seal with a little petroleum jelly and position it around the crankshaft end.
Align the seal as straight as possible.
16. Position the driver over the seal and hand-tighten the flywheel bolts.
If the tool doesn’t fit properly, drill the holes out a bit more to allow for more play.
17. Using a socket wrench, begin to tighten each bolt just one or two turns at a time.
Work in a cross-wise pattern, as you would when tightening wheel lug nuts. In other words, start at the 12 o’clock bolt, then do the 6 o’clock, etc.
Take your time and periodically check to be sure the seal is going in straight.
posted by 63.225.17...
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