Ok worked on the crank brace here at work. Really nice having a mill at work.
Finished product. Should work like a charm
Finished product. Should work like a charm
Front Main Seal replacement questions (M30B30)
- Thread starter vanbavaria
- Start date
Real nice work!
Cheers
Cheers
I Appreciate the idea and original pictures Bill
I've used heat on 36mm nuts on VW rear brake hubs when they wouldn't come off. And the 46mm nuts on VW Bus rear hubs can be incredibly hard to remove if they have been undisturbed for years. i bent a 3/4" drive Indestro breaker bar with a 5' cheater pole before breaking out the Oxy/Acetylene torch to loosen a bus nut.
But the BMW nut for the harmonic balancer shouldn't as hard to get off. Tough yes, but I'd be pretty careful about applying heat to the end of your crankshaft. I'd start with propane, though that may take a while and move up to MAPP if that's not enough. An acetylene rig would sure make a difference quickly, but if you get the nut glowing, any heat treatment is gone and you've lost some strength in that part. An IR thermometer would be a good thing to use to keep and eye on you temps.
And a 1 7/16" socket is close enough in size to work fine, if you have one on hand.
-Alright the crank brace worked like a charm. No heat necessary to break the 36mm nut. Just a long breaker bar like suggested.
-after pulling the pulley hub off I realized that the seal does NOT ride on the crank shaft but the hub flange itself. Making it way easier to pry out of the lower timing cover (mind you very carefully not to score that surface). making it unnecessary to remove cover.
(sorry I don’t know why these photos load sideways)
-as you can see from the photo the old lip seal was shot
-the great thing about the replacement victor reinz seal is that the actual lip is located a few mm towards the front then the original. Making installing the new seal easier just lining it up smooth and even with the timing cover as the old one was and not having to worry about lining up the lip with the old lip groove on the hub flange.
-today at work in order to make sure the new seal goes on square and even on the cover I’ll make a custom seal driver to accommodate going around the crank shaft.
-after pulling the pulley hub off I realized that the seal does NOT ride on the crank shaft but the hub flange itself. Making it way easier to pry out of the lower timing cover (mind you very carefully not to score that surface). making it unnecessary to remove cover.
(sorry I don’t know why these photos load sideways)
-as you can see from the photo the old lip seal was shot
-the great thing about the replacement victor reinz seal is that the actual lip is located a few mm towards the front then the original. Making installing the new seal easier just lining it up smooth and even with the timing cover as the old one was and not having to worry about lining up the lip with the old lip groove on the hub flange.
-today at work in order to make sure the new seal goes on square and even on the cover I’ll make a custom seal driver to accommodate going around the crank shaft.
She’s not pretty but should work for a “custom” front crank seal driver
Did it go 'ping' when you broke loose the crankshaft nut; it's kinda musical.
I always apply a thin film of Hylomar blue / some kinda RTV to the outside of seals before installing; lube and additional seal
Cheers
I always apply a thin film of Hylomar blue / some kinda RTV to the outside of seals before installing; lube and additional seal
Cheers
Not as much of a ping as I’d hoped! I’ve owed the bav for 15 years and there is evedance of a engine rebuild prior to my ownership so maybe that helped.Did it go 'ping' when you broke loose the crankshaft nut; it's kinda musical.
I always apply a thin film of Hylomar blue / some kinda RTV to the outside of seals before installing; lube and additional seal
Cheers
Yeah I usually put a thin layer of RTV on the outside when replacing lip seals. I figure it’s just worth the peace of mind after all the hassle it usually takes to get to them.
New seal installed I’m confident it will work out ok. Just like to say thanks for all the input and tips everyone. Made the job a lot easier knowing what I was getting into.
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Hi all , sorry to bring up an old post but Im a bit curious. I replaced my front main a while back but instead of using a torque bar I went at it with an electric impact gun.
I don't typically drive the car much to notice but recently I noticed a winding/squeaky noise that was never present till I replaced the front main. It tends to get louder as the car gets warmer so I suspect that I over tighten the crankshaft bolt.
While this might not be the best method but how many treads in or how many mm should the bolt be turned in or what torque spec should that crankshalf bolt be? Im going to take it all apart to loosen the bolt hoping it fixes that winding/squeaking noise.
Any help will be appreciated thanks
I don't typically drive the car much to notice but recently I noticed a winding/squeaky noise that was never present till I replaced the front main. It tends to get louder as the car gets warmer so I suspect that I over tighten the crankshaft bolt.
While this might not be the best method but how many treads in or how many mm should the bolt be turned in or what torque spec should that crankshalf bolt be? Im going to take it all apart to loosen the bolt hoping it fixes that winding/squeaking noise.
Any help will be appreciated thanks
That center bolt is a MF to tighten to torque. The specs are available in the Autobooks manual here on page 150.
They list it as flat nut 180 ft/lbs, nut with a shoulder 325 ft/lbs. Unless you have a beast of an impact you probably did not over torque it. I have found that it is best to have a crankshaft tool to hold the crankshaft in place while you use your torque wrench.
They list it as flat nut 180 ft/lbs, nut with a shoulder 325 ft/lbs. Unless you have a beast of an impact you probably did not over torque it. I have found that it is best to have a crankshaft tool to hold the crankshaft in place while you use your torque wrench.
Hi there,
It is mucho ft-lbs. I recall in the mid 200s. To tighted it, I used my weight over the length of a flex bar (200 lbs x 1.25 ft = 250 ft-lbs, if I recall correctly. You can see how I braced the crank to loosen it when I began the engine refresh. I used the same method to tighten just opposite.
Cheers,
Bill
It is mucho ft-lbs. I recall in the mid 200s. To tighted it, I used my weight over the length of a flex bar (200 lbs x 1.25 ft = 250 ft-lbs, if I recall correctly. You can see how I braced the crank to loosen it when I began the engine refresh. I used the same method to tighten just opposite.
Cheers,
Bill
I remember running my impact to remove it (took a while) and did the same to install it.
I ordered the Ireland engineering tool and will be trying it with an torque bar this time.
Hopefully that fixes my problem with the winding/squeaking
This sounds more like the chain tensioner isn't bled or installed correctly
I never touched the chain tensioner ( i didnt remove the chain cover ) when I replaced the main seal but I'll look around when I take off the pulleys and hub
Thanks
BMW had 3 special tools for holding the M30 crankshaft, with the engine in the car.
The flywheel could be locked with tool 6069 (11 2 100), or 6069-1 for automatic transmissions.
At the front, tool 7025 (11 2 200) could be slipped over the vibration damper bolts. The tool numbers changed to 6 digits in the mid 1970s.
A small flywheel lock was also available, for use with the engine removed.
There was a factory puller for the timing chain sprockets, but not specifically for the front hub.
Jon B.