I've searched on the forum and have not been able to find any info on changing the crankshaft seal. Has anyone done this? I'm in the process of changing the timing belt on my car and noticed a good bit of oil from around the crankshaft. I've been loosing oil since I've owned the car but the other typical leaky spots (valve cover gasket and camshaft seals) seem ok. What is involved once you remove the crankshaft bolt then pull the pulley off? I can live with the oil leak but was just wondering how difficult this was. I have a 98 A4 with the 2.8. Any help is appreciated!

 

Removing the oil seal is not hard at all...

Though I have a 1.8T I think it's the same thing. Here's how I did it. I assume you've already taken off both the harmonic balancer and the crank sprocket.

There's a special tool that "should" be used to remove the seal but I tried it and never got it to work. The work-around is actually much easier... Get some small screws (I used 1/4" but I think any will work, as long as they're skinny) and CAREFULLY drill them into the seal diametrically opposed. Do not to drill them all the way in, just enough that they anchor themselves in place because you will be pulling on both of them. You will probably need to grab them with pliers and pull with equal force, it might be a little tough at first but eventually the seal will just slide off.

Now before you do all of this, note how far into the hole the seal is, because the new seal has to be inserted just a little bit deeper (1 or 2 milliliters). The best way to insert the new seal is to get a piece of PVC pipe or a big enough socket and lightly tap the new seal into place with a rubber mallet.

Hope this helps, post back if you need more help.

 

Thanks for the response! That doesn't sound too hard to replace the seal. I have not pulled off the harmonic balancer or the crank sprocket yet. How difficult is that to do? I assume you need to lock the crank in place somehow to loosen the nut that holds the sprocket on. My camshaft locking tool is a homemade wooden one so I doubt it will withstand the stress of trying to get the crank sprocket off. Is there another way to lock the crank in place? What is the harmonic balancer?

 

Yeah, there is a tool to lock the crank. On the 3.0, it's on the driver's side behind the motor mount and directly above the subframe. It's an allen head cover and you thread the "tool" into that hole. I'm not sure if a basic bolt would work or not - the tool is rounded at the end and the first 1/4-1/2" of it is smooth and the first 8 threads are flat (look stripped - not well defined) and then the rest of the threads are normal. I'm not sure the purpose of this, but I'm sure there is a reason. Anyway, this is all 3.0 talk, but figured it's a descendant of the 2.8, so not sure how different (if any) it is. The torque of the crank bolt is 148lbs for the 3.0, so yeah, I wouldn't trust your wooden camshaft locks either.

The harmonic balancer is the crank pulley

 

Sorry on the late response...

What I used to hold the sprockets in place was a strap wrench. Kind of like an oil filter wrench but with an adjustable rubber strap, they have them on any auto parts store. You torque one way with the wrench while (preferably a helper) holds the sprocket in place with the strap wrench... Eventually the nut will give.

The harmonic balancer is the "gear" that goes in front of the crankshaft, where the accessories belts run off of.