MY 88 240dl has been leaking oil and it has gotten worse and worse over the last month. I cleaned the flame trap and then cleaned engine. A few days later I noticed that the leak was coming from the harmonic balancer area. I am thinking that this could be the crank shaft oil seal as there is no oil on any other area of the engine. I have done a few timing belt changes on the b230f engines even on this 88. Can someone give me a rundown of changing this seal once I have removed the timing belt. I hear that the lip of the seal folds under and I want to get it right the first time. Let me know your techniques and tricks. Does the housing that holds the seal around the crankshaft just unbolt and remove from the engine? I probably need to replace the gasket behind this while I am at it.

Hi Panzer82,

Shoot me an email at 87245swedishbaklava aTgeema ildoot kom I will send a copy of John Clay's write up.

"Does the housing that holds the seal around the crankshaft just unbolt and remove from the engine?"

Yes, that's how he seal carrier comes off. But I wouldn't recommend it because:
1-It's not necessary. The seals can be levered out with a thin screwdriver.

2-It can be hard to get the carrier off the 2 locating dowel pins, and getting all the old gasket material off can be a PITA too.


--
Bruce Young, '93 940-NA (current), 240s (one V8), 140s, 122s, since '63.

How hard is it to carefully tap in the oil seal with a short section of pvc pipe and a hammer without rolling the lip of the seal that is what I am concerned about?

If you are tapping in a gray or orange seal the answer is yes. Pack the inside groove of the seal with axle grease to keep the spring in place. Clean the crankshaft surface thoroughly. Work the seal on to the crankshaft by hand--I use a little twisting motion. Have a tool handy for slipping under the seal lip of the seal--work it all the way around to be sure the seal is seated. Tap gently--use a bar across the pipe so the taps act on two spots. If in doubt you can run the thin bladed tool around one more time.
If your seal is the dark brown type from Volvo with the built in lip holder I'd use a seal press--they are easily deformed. -- Dave

Even though you've cleaned the flame trap, you should make sure you now have negative crankcase pressure.There are other places that can be clogged. Did you run a wire through the little fitting on the intake manifold to make sure it was open? Do a "jiggle test" with the oil filler cap if you haven't already.

I ran a wire through the manifold, and I have the new style plastic cap.

Since you have a plastic cap, instead of the jiggle test try the following to test whether your breather box is clogged. Remove the flame trap including the hose that attaches to the nipple above the breather box. Attache a long, clean hose to the nipple. Take the oil cap off. Put your hand over the oil cap opening then blow on the end of the hose. If you feel air on your hand at the oil cap then you know that breather box isn't clogged. May still be the problem though especially if it is original with a lot of miles.

Did you replace the 2 flame trap hoses too? If not, check and make sure they are clear. If they are old and hard but clear consider replacing them anyway with new ones (very cheap!).

Another easy test for positive crankcase ventilation is to drive the car for at least 10-15 minutes then pull the oil dipstick with the engine idling. If is is smoking at idle then you have an issue somewhere...:)

--
95 855 GLT Sportwagon 218k, 90 244 DL 300k - after 11 years has a new home

Hi,

Check out the 700/900 FAQ on here for additional info.

When I did the crankshaft oil seal a few months back (it was leaking) I used a B230F crankshaft oil seal tool that I picked up on ebay previously. It was about $36. IMO it pays for itself the first time as there was no re-do. I used one of the regular orange Elring seals. I did not remove the carrier, therefore no gasket replacement.

I think there is info in the FAQ about making a tool out of PVC pipe which you could do. Either way make sure you clean everything and lightly lube the seal. You'll probably have more trouble removing the seal than anything else-putting screws into the old seal as stated in the FAQ works well.

Travis

Check the top and be sure its not coming down from the cam cover?The aftermarket cam cover gaskets are so thin they are all just useless crap even with modern silicones. The 240 engine seals are pretty robust and last a LONG time

I am sure it is not the top even when engine was dirty it was clean at the top half

you should do a search here on the BB...methods...subsititute seal driver...etc

even pictures of the process...have been well covered