Hello all,
So to make a long story short I changed the clutch and rear main seal on my CRV with a stock b20. Started leaking so I changed the oil pan and gasket, 3 different gaskets and same leak. Took motor out and came to find that my crankshaft has a groove on in where the rear main seal goes. You can feel this groove with your fingernail. Any suggestions? Am I going to have to have a new cranshaft installed or is there a method of fixing this issue without replacing? Thank you for your time.

 

I've had this problem before, and my fix was to install a new seal, and just make sure to push it in deeper or shallower than the original seal so the lips don't touch the grooves but rather a fresh surface.

 

x2

This is exactly what my factory trained honda tech told me to do when I run into crank grooves on either the front or rear side.

Same thing can happen on the cam shaft on the gear side. Same trick is the fix.