Front Main Seal replace

[rtaylor]

And if you pull the timing cover, it is advisable to looosen the pan bolts as well. I did not do that and when re-installing the timing cover, due to the tight fit of the timing cover between the pan and the head, the head gasket got pinched, which then caused an oil leak and I had to pull the head to install a new head gasket.

And I don't even want to talk about the problem with broken water pump bolts, argh!

[ChrisA]

Also as to changing the depth of the seal, is there no seating ridge??

Usually you want the new seal to be re-installed in the same position as the old seal. Which is flush with the front of the timing cover.

Another thing to check is if you have a seal wear groove on the dampner, you can get what's called a "Speedi Sleeve". It is a thin metal tube that is driven on to the dampner nose for the new seal to ride on. BEWARE THOUGH...the O.D. of the speedi sleeve will be a tad bigger than the O.D. of the dampner nose. In my experience SOME aftermarket seals (Felpro,National etc.) will fail when run on a speedi sleeve. I always use a factory Nissan seal and they will run with a sleeve. I replaced the front main on my 240SX which is very similar to a L series and the aftermarket seal failed twice. But again, I switched to a Nissan seal and its been leak free for 23,000 miles thus far.

Good luck,

Chris