Fabricating A Metal Sleeve To Fix Wear On Crank

[patto1234]

I'll try and explain as best as I can. I hope it makes sense.

On my car's crankshaft, where the rubber seal is, there is a slight sign of wear. I believe its in the form of a groove being worn in the metal part of interest. Now my mechanic and numerous others have told me that instead of pulling the entire engine out and fixing it the hard way it is now possible to fabricate a metal sleeve which slips over this section of the crank, thus eliminating the problem. I have been told that this is a very simple and relatively inexpensive way to fix it. However I have been quoted by one place $800, whereas a friend of mine reckons it should only be worth $300. I guess my question is whether anyone on here has had a similar problem and how they went about fixing it. Where did they get it done and how much should something like this be worth?

[James_03]

There's 2 seals for the crank man, rear main seal and front main seal.

Also I don't really understand how its possible for the seal to do that. rb30's that I have taken apart with 450,000 ks on them do not have any signs of wear around the front or rear main seal area, just doesn't happen.

So yeah more info, and even then if it is worn for some obscure reason, I would recommend fixing it properly, and if that involved motor out, then so be it.

[GTRgeoff]

unlesss technology has changed the crank will have to come out so the area can be machined undersize and the sleeve then loctited on. You can't just slip an oversize sleeve on as the seal then will be too small.

Plenty of cars wear the groove. It just depends on how much grit is at the location and how long it runs to wear down.

[QWK32]

you can get these sleeves called speedy sleeves. they are designed for this type of problem. its quite common for seals to wear down shafts like this. they are really thin and come with the tool to knock them on with. then you just remove the lip that the tool sit's on with a pair of pliers.

be carefull when you knock it on that it doesn't damage the seal. you can get them from any bearing shop. and i'm sure they aren't too expensive.

[AWD2Go]

you can get these sleeves called speedy sleeves. they are designed for this type of problem. its quite common for seals to wear down shafts like this. they are really thin and come with the tool to knock them on with. then you just remove the lip that the tool sit's on with a pair of pliers.

be carefull when you knock it on that it doesn't damage the seal. you can get them from any bearing shop. and i'm sure they aren't too expensive.

I was racking my brain trying to think of the name of them.... Yep Speedy Sleaves are the simple cost effective way of fixing this exact problem check it out before giving a mechanic a fortune.

[SS#eater]

use speedy sleeves all the time rebuilding hydraulic motors on sugar cane harvesters and various shafts were seals run found them to be very useful and a good result have not had one fail yet...

have not tried them on a crank shaft before though would be interesting...

my 2 cents

[Adriano]

Used them on heaps of cranks, and they work fine, just remove the seal first(youd want to replace it anyway)and you need to measure the crank before you order it, they aren't that cheap though, considering waht they are, probably about $80, just be carefull fitting it, or youll have to get another one.Most bearing shops can supply them.

[GTRgeoff]

Brilliant stuff. Used to be they needed a light machine and could be slid on with loctite. So now I assume they just need loctite? They must be down to what? 3-4thou thick?

[dontfeelcold]

I just did this to the RB30 in my R31. Did the front and rear crankshaft seals and the camshaft seal. No more leaks hooray. Squeaky clean engine bay.

Around 4 thou thick. I didn't use loctite as they are such a high interference fit. To be on the safe side you can loctite them, maybe some gasket goo. now you have me worried.

Edited January 17, 2007 by dontfeelcold

[GTRgeoff]

How much heat do they need? No heat, then they aren't a real interference fit and need super bearing mount or such.

[Adriano]

They only recommend loctite if there is heaps of wear, supposedly you are meant to use a loctite sealant to prevent leakage under the sleeve

[dontfeelcold]

So what would the fit be callled?

I was a bit worried about how I was going to get the front crankshaft sleeve on, ended up using the cam belt gear thingy.

Edited January 17, 2007 by dontfeelcold

[GTRgeoff]

So a light press fit then. Sounds better and better.

[dontfeelcold]

To anyone who has used speedy sleeves, do you get a burr when you remove the tear away part?

Edited January 17, 2007 by dontfeelcold

[discopotato03]

Don't quote me but some of HP's books on rebuilding popular engines show these thin walled sleves , they are a slight press fit and seem to work ok .

The insitu seal removeal can be tricky but you can grind a flat piece of steel into a slight hook shape to get them out . It gets gently punched into the seals flat section and expands the steel inner part enough to get it out easily . A gem of an idea for crank seals .

Cheers A .

[patto1234]

Thanks for all the responses! Yeah it was a speedy sleave. Thats what I meant. In my situation my mechanic knew a particular guy that manufactured them for particular models of engines. Think it's applied with some sort of adhesive. Supposed to be a good fix. But i guess I wasn't sure, since I'd heard so many conflicting opinions. Didn't wanna fork out a heap of cash for it to not fix the problem and leave me with the expensive task of getting the motor pulled out and the problem fixed the hard way.

[Adriano]

I think you could call them an interference fit, although they are so thin that the sleeve stretches over the metal, like all interference fits?Some require heat, as the interference is tighter, and the outer part is too rigid