I read clever posts about using a corkscrew or (2) drywall screws and (2) pairs of pliers to pull out the old seals. Is there no bottom seat under these seals to be concerned about damaging? How far in can you drive the screws? Are the seals held in place by the side walls only?

 

Not really no, Be careful to put the screw towards the outer edge of the seal though, I went to close to the inner edge and scratched up a cam once.

Just drive them in a 1/4 inch or so.

Yes.

 

94EG8, thanks for the reply. Sometimes install procedures leave out little details, like what can go wrong.

 

Last year and for the first time in several crank/cam seal replacements, the tip of my corkscrew broke inside the old seal. Have a few backup corkscrews ready. Look at the new seal and get an idea of where you can start the corkscrew. I try to lever the corkscrew, as I rotate it, in a direction that follows the circumference of the seal, to reduce the chances of marring the shaft and seating area. The seating area is pretty soft metal. Though I do not think a scratch from the corkscrew is likely to result in a leak.

 

I'm going to go with (2) coarse thread drywall screws. One on each side. Use pliers and alternate pulling one side, then the other.

 

Seal puller? Aren't they like $20?

 

I have had good luck using drywall screws, I give them a little help by poking a hole in the seal with a scribe or a straight pick. The sidewall of the seal is thin metal, I just bump the other end of the pick with a hammer and it makes a hole. You can place the hole carefully so the screw won't hit anything. Turn the screws in just a couple turns, this is usually enough engagement to pull it out.

 

I read lots of posts regarding these seals. I really wonder if folks ever actually changed them or if its just parts guys pushing sales! Give me a break! You are not going to just push an object into one of these seals. Replacing these seals was very hard for me until I figured it out. First off, the seals have a hard steel body. You have to use a small drill bit to drill a hole into the seal. This is easy on the crank seal since there is an indented seam in the center of the seal. You have to be careful drilling into the cam seal. I used a spring loaded bit starter and the drill bits still tended to "walk" away from the drill area. I gouged the outer seat a couple of times. I had to start a new hole at least (4) times before I sucessfully drilled a hole in the center of the seal. I tried using a thick metal pick to pull out the seal for about 45 minutes. I ruined 3-4 picks. The seal would not budge! I finally found the right approach. Stick a small screw driver straight into the hole with about 1/4 inch penetration. Then turn the screw driver downward in a 90 degree rotation. The seal will pop right out.

 

Thread added to FAQs sticky.

Do you also happen to have any pictures or tips for installing the two seals?

 

I forgot to mention that I tried using a 2" piece of 1 1/2" SCH 40 PVC to hammer in the seals. I could not get the seal to go in! 1 side would go in, the whole things would pop back out. I finally just used my thumbs to press in the seals using equal pressure on both sides! This worked great. Using my thumbs I pressed the seals flush to the metal seat. No tools needed for the install. Drill & small bit, spring loaded drill bit starter, and small screw driver for the removal.

 

Nice. Did you also grease the outer edges and the inner lip of the seals, as well as the contact points on the cam and crank, prior to installing the seals?

 

I used an old clean sock to wipe out the inner seal surfaces to make sure there were no drill fragments. I did this a few times using a clean sock. I kind of polished the seat and shaft areas to ensure there were no "old hard grease" spots. I generously greased up the inner and outer seal edges before pressing them in. No tool beats the precision of fingers for some applications!

 

So on my engine it seems like the hole where you put the crank seal is almost to big. the seal slides in and out way to easy and i cant get it to stop leaking, ive done it twice now. its driving me nuts!

 

I would use the VIN parts machine to make sure you are getting the right part. There are losts of Honda part numbers for seals. The wrong seal will NOT fit! Here is one VIN parts machine. Just type in your VIN, then search for the part. http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...artsSearch.jsp
The crank seal is located under the "Heading": OIL PUMP - OIL STRAINER
The crank seal is number "17" on the exploded diagram.

 

Thanks a lot man