Remove oil seal retainer to install rear main seal?

Doing a clutch job, I decided to replace the rear main seal.

When I was putting the seal in, it went in crooked and got stuck. I had to destroy the seal in order to yank it back out.

So I'm going to try again with a new seal. But it looks like it would almost be easier to remove the oil seal retainer and install the seal on the bench, especially since I have to recess the seal a little bit to avoid the groove the old seal cut on the crankshaft. Doing it on the bench would allow me to get a nice even recess.

Has anyone done it this way? Is there any reason I shouldn't pull off the retainer?

You should be fine. Just make sure everything is cleaned well and siliconed properly before installation.

Jackie chan said:

You should be fine. Just make sure everything is cleaned well and siliconed properly before installation.

Click to expand...

Thanks. In the end, I didn't remove the retainer due to the difficulty of prying it off with all the gasket material holding it on.

But now I have another question/problem. I carefully installed the seal with the good old wooden block, keeping it as square as possible, and seating it flush with the outer surface of the retainer. I pushed it on so that the lip didn't fold over. But there is a noticeable gap between the crankshaft and the seal lip on different places around the shaft.

Looking at it straight on, you can't see it:



But from the sides, the gaps are very visible:





This is a Felco seal, but it's supposed to be the right one (BS 40667).

Anyone know what's going on here? Is the seal a lost cause?

OK, to bump one more time. I had a look at the old seal here on my desk:



...and it appears that the lip seal at the front (the one showing the gaps in the above photos) is not the main sealing interface. That would be the thick ring at the rear of the seal, as indicated in this photo.

So, unless I hear "Don't do it!" from anyone here, I'm going to assume that the seal is probably fine, and go ahead and reinstall the transmission. Cross fingers.

Don't do it! Haha. Just kidding. Looks good.