Ok. So... Basically the seal is bad. Getting an annoying leak from below. Pulled off the spring leaf that goes across the bottomg from side to side. Let the car sit high on jacks for a couple days, oil piles up inside the pully. Took it for a spin after fully cleaning everything underneath. Brought it back, Popped it up and the same exact leak. Now.. I just need to know if someone has a repair manual, Haynes or Chilton, that they can scan or send the section for this job ? I'm being told its a pretty big job. Consider the motor has to be craned and the underbody brace has to be dropped. Let alone the brake module and lines disconnected and moved. The power steering rack disconnected and moved. Etc etc. any help ?

 

I'm sure you can find a tutorial. But, I will give you a brief run down. The engine does not have to be craned. The suspension will hold the engine and cradle up if the leaf spring is reinstalled. You actually have to pry the cradle down and wedge something between the cradle and body when the suspension is left intact. The ABS module does not need to be unhooked and the lines do not need to be disturbed. But the bracket does need to be removed and the cluster of lines going to it need to be removed from the cradle so they can flex around. The steering rack does need to be removed. It is removed through the driver's side wheel well.You will need a harmonic balancer puller of the chrysler/GM style with three legs with hooks. I recommend an install tool as well. You can make your own out of threaded rod. I forget the thread size and pitch. You will also need some way of holding the engine still for torqueing the balancer bolt. You should use a new balancer bolt. The OEM bolt torque spec includes an angle measurement so you will need an angle meter or a torque wrench with angle. There are inexpensive aftermarket flywheel holders that are pretty good I use one from carshopinc. They are on ebay I think.

As for the seal it actually comes out and goes in pretty easy. Take a good look at your balancer before the job. Wobbly balancers are often the cause of front seal leaks. Plus the balancer is part of the sealing surface. If yours has some age on it, it is probably a good time to deal with it. LS1 OEM balancers are relative inexpensive.

If you search around you can find step by steps with pictures. It really isn't that bad. On a lift I can do it start to stop in a couple hours. On jack stands you might have to double that. But with the right tools and parts in hand. It should be doable in a weekend.

 

Oh right on. I'm gonna go in the morning to see if I can get all the tools you mentioned. Got the puller already though. Need a new bold and gotta see how much a new balancer is. Let you know what comes from this. Thank you much ...appreciate it a lot !

 

DO NOT BUY AN OEM BALANCER.....Get an aftermarket unit. Trust me !

 

You might look into the ARP bolt and an aftermarket balancer as someone else already stated. The ARP bolt is nice because you just have to torque it without using angles. I think the torque number they provide is 240 ft/lbs. Also I didn't have to pry up on anything when I did my cam and had the front cover off, but like Russell said you have to remove the steering rack. I found it easier to go out the passenger side cause less was in the way.

Here is a good write up on installing a cam. It's pretty much most of what you're going to need.

http://www.ls1howto.com/index.php?article=1

 

DON'T use the part of the procedure above to reinstall the damper. Use a threaded rod as suggested in the earlier post. Good luck.

 

Just for fun, I will ask if you know about the trick seal solution used on old T birds.

Notoriously difficult to access, and poorly designed, it was a problem. A guy devised a flexible pilot guide that allowed a new seal to be pulled into place without taking out the engine, kind of like an electrician pulls a wire into place.

I don't know much about it. I only know about it because a guy with an old T bird was talking to a back surgeon who applied the idea to make a medical device to repair disks in spines, which was approved a couple of years ago.

I thought some of the high skill guys might look into it, it they didn't know already, and see if this kind of bearing seal repair would work in this application . Might be useful , but I guess if it only replaces a two hour job in these cars, not a big deal, and an old T bird isn't asking as much of the seals, I suppose.

Still for guys like me, anything not taken apart is one less potential error in assembly, and sometimes the errors don't even wait for assembly.