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78 Sports Sedan Front Seal

1103 Views 10 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  RSahakian
As i was recently steam cleaning engine bay i noticed a little oil leak under the car.
After some looking it looks like its from the front crank seal.

so i was wondering how hard is it to do, and or what should i look for?

any and all help please.

thanks
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I had a 78 SS that I changed it in car. You need to know how to time the injection pump(might as well change the belt because your there), and get the nut off the crank( I put the car in 4th and parking brake) which can be a knuckle buster. While tapping in the new one, try to keep it even going in. If there is a deep grove in the pully shank it might leak still.
Cool thanks,

i looked at it and i was wondering about the fuel timing too.
i guess i should get both belts - should i get a crank pully to be safe?
i dont want to take it apart the be stuck. since with my luck it will be bad.

where can i get one?
I dont think you will find a new crank pully anywhere; someone here might have a good used one. I would do it first without it and see. There is a lock tab on the crank nut you have to bend back; you cant get the scocket on it without pushing it back down.
perfect i will do it that way 1st and hope i won't get stuck.

and thanks for the heads up on the lock tab.

i think i will try it this weekend. i already got the belts from ALFA only in glendale
Get the right size socket for the crank pulley retaining nut (1 1/2 inches, I think or maybe 1 9/16 inches). Anyway, I could only get it in 3/4 inch drive socket so I needed a 3/4 to 1/2 adaptor. This works out well because it gives you a little more reach and better access to the nut. I then used an impact wrench (like for lug nuts) and the nut came right off.

There is a product called "speedy sleeve" made just for repair of the crank pully. It is a very thin stainless steel sleeve that fits over the end of the pully and provides a brand new surface for the front seal the work against. There was a thread some time back on the yahoo 750-101 group about the sleeve and replacement of the front seal. It even had the part number for the "speedy sleeve". Fairly good reading and excellent information.

Randy Harris
'62 & '67 Spider
'78 Sport Sedan
thanks that is a great help, i will look to the sleeve kit and have it ready just in case. i like to start and finish stuff in one day - as much as i can.
since it will take me forever to get back to it.
Getting the engine locked enough to put a lot of torque on the crank pulley nut might be a problem. I tried everything, but wound up having to make a flywheel lock and install it in place of the starter motor. I think a volkswagon flywheel lock will work as well, and they are commonly available. Even with the flywheel lock, I had to use a 3/4" drive and a pipe extension to be able to apply the torque necessary to loosen the bolt. Hopefully yours will not be as tight/corroded.
When I took the front pulley off my '78 Sport Sedan I did it to replace the water pump and did the fuel injection belt, front seal and "speedy sleeve" at the same time. Using the air powered impact wrench I only had to put the tranny into first gear and set the parking brake. I set the air pressure at 100 lbs. and it only took a few seconds to break the nut loose. I saw no indication that the nut had been removed in the previous 28 years.

I've used this method on my Duetto (2L) and '62 Giulia Spider with equally good results (just a different size nut on these Giulia).

Good luck.

Randy Harris
i think this is a perfect reason to purchase air compressor
i can always use more tools.
since my driveway is up-hill and pavers i don't want to have other problems.
cool, thanks for the heads up on what i can run into.
that would just give me more stuff to break, so i'm thinking maybe air compressor might not be bad idea.
since i need to redo the rear brakes and other suff.
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