Hey everyone,

First things first, I am no mechanic and this is my first post so thanks in advance for any information. I have been reading through threads for the past month prepping to install a new HB and now ther time has come. I just removed the balancer with no issues, and was going to replace the crank seal while I was replacing the balancer. Cannot get the seal out! I have gently used a flathead screwdriver to try to pry out the seal (only succeeded to pull out bits of rubber, but the face , hard plastic, of the seal is not budging) as well as Needle nose to try and move the seal. Does anyone have suggestions to remove?

 

Will likely need a seal puller similar to this one pictured.

 

Welcome to the forum!

When I did mine the seal body (steel) had bonded to the cast aluminum timing chain cover.

A screwdriver was driven into the side of the metal seal body at several locations to persuade the seal that it was time to be free.

 

Dont dislodge the crank key into the oil pan, or nick the crank. That would be bad.

 

Thanks everyone,

I found a video on youtube describing something similar to what wingless was saying....
I was hesitant to take a hammer and screwdriver to the seal (especially because the face and sides are metal, making me think that I could be damaging the actual rank area) but I ended up doing that. The seal eventually folded over on itself and I was able to replace it with the new seal. Thanks for the replies! Now on to the power steering pulley......

 

Glad to help!

This image shows the beginning of removing my seal.

 

Yes! That was very helpful. After realizing that I could bend the face of the seal, I was good to go. I wrapped the balancer, then tackled the power steering pump install and tomorrow is going to be the new water pump and thermostat install. It's been a big learning curve to tackle these projects and a big thanks to the community for all the info.