mep 005a front main seal replacement?

So I thought id throw this one out there and see if anybody has done this. My 005 is leaking oil from the front main seal. How big a job is this? Do you have to pull the whole motor to do this or can you just leave it in place and maybe lift it a bit to get the job done. Ive personally never replaced a crankshaft oil seal before but have swapped several motors in vehicles and swapped a motor into another 005 in the past.

Or perhaps Ill just throw some pig mats down and keep adding oil, its down a good quart to quart and half after running for about 18 hours making a huge mess in the bottom of the genset.

Thanks in advance

You can do this without compleat removal. Just take out the hold down bolts, and Jack it up a bit. Better yet, use a hoist. Use pleanty of lubricant on the new seal.

Having wrote this, in my experance, And I have lots with this engine, if it were me, I would pull the engine and do both front and rear. I love White engines. If they have one weak point, it's the front and rear seals. This drove me mad in Patriot. We had close to 50 of the white engines in every Battalion. I know we changed them all at least once in the first year. After you have done it once or twice, you can have the engine out, seals changed and engine back in, in a day, with lots of time to sip a cool one afterwards. It would be a shame for you to change the front, and 100 hours later the rear starts.

We discovered that due to the fact that the engines had been around a long time, and rebuilt several times, that the seals called out in the parts TM were just a tad too small. We would change seals, and 100-200 hours later they would be leaking again. If this happens, you need to pull the crank and mike the shaft. Then get a larger seal. We found many cases were you could not just feel the groove, but see it on the shaft.

Oh, do not forget that when you take the pulley off, its left hand threads. Yes, I have seen this done wrong.

Hum sounds like it could be a quick job or a royal pain in the ass depending how far I take it. When you say the seal is to small are you saying the crank surface is smaller in diameter Than original and thus the seal does not fit tight enough around it?
And if one were to pull the crank and mic it would you just order a custom set of seals? Perhaps I need to talk to a mechanic all uncharted territory for me. Tempted to just trow another stock size seal in the front and call it good for now and see what happens. Have to procure oil pan gasket set as well as the front seal gotta dig through the tm and find the parts.

Thanks for tremendous knowledge you are willing to share here.

Lee

leedawg said:

Hum sounds like it could be a quick job or a royal pain in the ass depending how far I take it. When you say the seal is to small are you saying the crank surface is smaller in diameter Than original and thus the seal does not fit tight enough around it?
And if one were to pull the crank and mic it would you just order a custom set of seals? Perhaps I need to talk to a mechanic all uncharted territory for me. Tempted to just trow another stock size seal in the front and call it good for now and see what happens. Have to procure oil pan gasket set as well as the front seal gotta dig through the tm and find the parts.
Thanks for tremendous knowledge you are willing to share here.
Lee

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Exactly. The crank is worn and is smaller in diameter.

I would always ways try the stock seal first. No point going all the way in, without reason. Only if you put a stock seal in and it starts to leak real soon.

If I remember right, there is three kits. The engine rebuild. A oil pan kit and a short kit for oil pan and main seals. Can't remember, it's been 25 years since I ordered one. For a while, we could get only the oil pan kit, and special ordered the main seals, and the seal for the front mail seal holder. When you do the oil pan take your time putting the two rubber gaskets on the front and rear of the oil pan. I think that's all the gaskets you need, but look at the TM to be sure.