Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
This method might be the "trick" to install front crank seal and not have a leak...
Art,
I feel your pain with this crank seal install = you don't know if it's going to leak or not until after it's all back together! @#$!%*!
That said, I had the same thing happen after I installed the KDP tab kit from Geno's about 5-7 (?) years back. I decided, even though the original seal wasn't leaking since the gear cover was off I might as well install a new seal, premeditated PM = Yes? Well at least that's what I thought until I saw a small (quarter size) spot the next morning! I drove with this leak as mentioned for about 5 - 7 years or so and fortunately, although ever present was the leak, I never had to add oil between oil changes = excessively I change every 3k miles.
I recently had my truck painted and the typical body rust issues remediated. The frame however needed some attention so I went about that and in the process I decided it was a good time to resolve the crank front seal leak issue - hopefully...
I'm going to try to post some pictures and describe things I did this time that I didn't previously.
Old Seal - note inner edge folded outward - this I believe happened upon removing the plastic guide.
Seal installed in cover and guide inserted. Here's what I did that the instructions in the Dodge Shop Manual doesn't describe in their "Install crank seal alignment special tool to seal" directions. There's a lip that fits over the leading edge of the crank to help not damage the seal upon installation: the first time I did this job I just slid the tool into the seal up to the point where the larger diameter on the tool started to enter the seal area and apparently upon completion of bolting the cover on and removing the tool it fought me every step of the way and must have pulled a portion of the inner seal forward - see 1st picture above. What I did this time was to utilize the seal installation tool (metal ring to set correct depth of seal in cover) to set evenly and deeply into the seal area the plastic tool/guide so the larger area of the plastic tool/guide that when installing cover makes the seal align with the crank snout was actually and "evenly" already into the rubber areas (inner and outer) of the seal. See next 3rd & 4th pictures for a better idea.
Note the metal depth tool was used to help guide the plastic tool evenly and fairly deep into the seal areas.
To further display what the end result of this "trick not included in the instructions" yielded see next 5th picture below showing how much the plastic guide/tool protrudes "outside" the front of the cover.
The next 6th picture displays my hopeful anticipation for a leak free installation once all completed and back together - a little humor during a painful task...
A few more pictures of the actual cover installation with notes of other things "I tried" to help this installation actually work! I'll let you know when I finish all the other work I'm doing (probably in about 3 weeks or so) if the "tricks" actually yielded leak free results, or not....
Shot from below aimed up - note "all" the cover bolts are just threaded in a smidge.
I started threading in, "a little at a time", maybe 3-4 full turns, the 2 bolts at the bottom of the seal and one by the water pump and then one at the top right by the "TDC" mark. I continued this method on the previously mentioned bolts only until the cover was pulled in snug = not yet torqued to the required 18 ft. lbs.
This is the result before I snugged up the other bolts - note that the tool guide slid out of the seal as the cover was pulled towards the gear case and that it still is sitting squarely and equally as it "pushed" thru the seal. Also note the larger diameter of the tool/guide did "not" slid further back on the crank snout and stayed with the end of the snout as the seal "slid" thru and over the tool/guide. I'm hopeful this will not leak!!!
Last picture displays completely torqued cover and tool/guide removed, which by the way when I went to remove didn't fight me in the least bit = I grabbed the outer edges of tool/guide at two opposing edges 180 degrees from each with a finger and thumb of each hand and "gently" pulled outward - it actually slid right off evenly and with very little effort! I'm pretty positive I got it this time - I hope...
I hope this helps you and although not mentioned earlier I'll bet after you tear down again you'll see the same thing I did with the old seal happened - see very first picture.
Happy wrenching. Oh, if there's any light in having to do this job twice it's that you've already done it once and it should go a bit quicker for you.
Joe Mc
Art,
I feel your pain with this crank seal install = you don't know if it's going to leak or not until after it's all back together! @#$!%*!
That said, I had the same thing happen after I installed the KDP tab kit from Geno's about 5-7 (?) years back. I decided, even though the original seal wasn't leaking since the gear cover was off I might as well install a new seal, premeditated PM = Yes? Well at least that's what I thought until I saw a small (quarter size) spot the next morning! I drove with this leak as mentioned for about 5 - 7 years or so and fortunately, although ever present was the leak, I never had to add oil between oil changes = excessively I change every 3k miles.
I recently had my truck painted and the typical body rust issues remediated. The frame however needed some attention so I went about that and in the process I decided it was a good time to resolve the crank front seal leak issue - hopefully...
I'm going to try to post some pictures and describe things I did this time that I didn't previously.
Old Seal - note inner edge folded outward - this I believe happened upon removing the plastic guide.
Seal installed in cover and guide inserted. Here's what I did that the instructions in the Dodge Shop Manual doesn't describe in their "Install crank seal alignment special tool to seal" directions. There's a lip that fits over the leading edge of the crank to help not damage the seal upon installation: the first time I did this job I just slid the tool into the seal up to the point where the larger diameter on the tool started to enter the seal area and apparently upon completion of bolting the cover on and removing the tool it fought me every step of the way and must have pulled a portion of the inner seal forward - see 1st picture above. What I did this time was to utilize the seal installation tool (metal ring to set correct depth of seal in cover) to set evenly and deeply into the seal area the plastic tool/guide so the larger area of the plastic tool/guide that when installing cover makes the seal align with the crank snout was actually and "evenly" already into the rubber areas (inner and outer) of the seal. See next 3rd & 4th pictures for a better idea.
Note the metal depth tool was used to help guide the plastic tool evenly and fairly deep into the seal areas.
To further display what the end result of this "trick not included in the instructions" yielded see next 5th picture below showing how much the plastic guide/tool protrudes "outside" the front of the cover.
The next 6th picture displays my hopeful anticipation for a leak free installation once all completed and back together - a little humor during a painful task...
A few more pictures of the actual cover installation with notes of other things "I tried" to help this installation actually work! I'll let you know when I finish all the other work I'm doing (probably in about 3 weeks or so) if the "tricks" actually yielded leak free results, or not....
Shot from below aimed up - note "all" the cover bolts are just threaded in a smidge.
I started threading in, "a little at a time", maybe 3-4 full turns, the 2 bolts at the bottom of the seal and one by the water pump and then one at the top right by the "TDC" mark. I continued this method on the previously mentioned bolts only until the cover was pulled in snug = not yet torqued to the required 18 ft. lbs.
This is the result before I snugged up the other bolts - note that the tool guide slid out of the seal as the cover was pulled towards the gear case and that it still is sitting squarely and equally as it "pushed" thru the seal. Also note the larger diameter of the tool/guide did "not" slid further back on the crank snout and stayed with the end of the snout as the seal "slid" thru and over the tool/guide. I'm hopeful this will not leak!!!
Last picture displays completely torqued cover and tool/guide removed, which by the way when I went to remove didn't fight me in the least bit = I grabbed the outer edges of tool/guide at two opposing edges 180 degrees from each with a finger and thumb of each hand and "gently" pulled outward - it actually slid right off evenly and with very little effort! I'm pretty positive I got it this time - I hope...
I hope this helps you and although not mentioned earlier I'll bet after you tear down again you'll see the same thing I did with the old seal happened - see very first picture.
Happy wrenching. Oh, if there's any light in having to do this job twice it's that you've already done it once and it should go a bit quicker for you.
Joe Mc
