Front oil seal question
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 15,344
Likes: 4,009
From: Texas
Pretty straight-forward, but it is space confined.
Gotta remove the waterpump, opti, balancer, and the hub. Pry the old seal out with a screwdriver. Clean up any debris. Put a Very light coat of RTV around the outer edges of the new seal (serves as a lubricant during the install), and tap the seal in place.
For a seal installer, I use a short piece of PVC with one end capped. The open end slips over the crank snout and fits the OD of the seal while the capped end give you something to tap against.
Gotta remove the waterpump, opti, balancer, and the hub. Pry the old seal out with a screwdriver. Clean up any debris. Put a Very light coat of RTV around the outer edges of the new seal (serves as a lubricant during the install), and tap the seal in place.
For a seal installer, I use a short piece of PVC with one end capped. The open end slips over the crank snout and fits the OD of the seal while the capped end give you something to tap against.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 2,793
Likes: 46
From: Elizabeth City, NC
Man you are already there, just remove the timing cover and install it on the bench. It's just one more gasket to buy in the big picture. That's the way I have always done it. Now you won't be space limited. 
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 2,501
Likes: 177
From: Houston, Texas FEAR THE BONES
2023 C5 of the Year Finalist - Modified
Originally Posted by LPDesRoche
Man you are already there, just remove the timing cover and install it on the bench. It's just one more gasket to buy in the big picture. That's the way I have always done it. Now you won't be space limited.
Don't forget to drop the oil pan before removing the front cover, as the front cover fits into the oil pan gasket. If you don't drop the pan, you will likely tear the oil pan gasket trying to remove the front timing cover. If you go that far, might as well pull out the stock cam and install a hot cam... 
