Gent's,

I am presently in the process of replacing my timing belt on my '96 accord EX. Unfortunately, I think I may have inserted the replacement fwd. balance shaft seal too far into the oil pump housing. I improvised and used a socket and pressed the seal in until it bottomed out. Afterwards, I compared it to the photos I had taken before the start of the job, and it looks like it may be too far in. Is this going to pose a problem and should I attempt to remove it, or am I just being overly concerned for nothing?

 

If it is about 1/8" deeper it will be okay.
If you don't have a retainer you can use a little hondabond/ultragrey around the outer edge of the seal.
I'd also suggest that the rear "oil pump" seal get replaced as well. It is very thin and gets rock hard and leaks.

 

Hondadude,

It's in about 3/16" past the point of the chamfer in the seal opening. Ths was the last of the seals I was installing, and the crankshaft and camshaft seals all bottomed out in their openings. So, I just took it for granted that the fwd. balance shaft seal would be the same. I figured wrong when I installed the seal retainer and noticed the gap. Anyhow, I just want to make sure it's OK in this position before I start buttoning it all back up. If warranted, I'll bite the bullet and pull it out now while everthing is still accessable. BTW, I did indeed replace the oil pump/rear balance shaft seal, as you recommended. I look forward to your advise.