300tdi T-Seal Replacement

Greetings,
Has anyone ever removed this cap held in place with the two 12-point screws and replaced the T-Seals in situ?
I heard a lot about removing the engine and installing the seals with the engine turned up-side down. This is not an option for me at this stage

The attached image (not my photo) shows the cap in question. What do you guys think? Doable?
Cheers.

LeftFoot said:

Greetings,
Has anyone ever removed this cap held in place with the two 12-point screws and replaced the T-Seals in situ?
I heard a lot about removing the engine and installing the seals with the engine turned up-side down. This is not an option for me at this stage

The attached image (not my photo) shows the cap in question. What do you guys think? Doable?
Cheers.

Click to expand...

No image.

mick 1986 said:

No image.

Click to expand...

ah.. sorry. Image added now. Thanks.

LeftFoot said:

Greetings,
Has anyone ever removed this cap held in place with the two 12-point screws and replaced the T-Seals in situ?
I heard a lot about removing the engine and installing the seals with the engine turned up-side down. This is not an option for me at this stage

The attached image (not my photo) shows the cap in question. What do you guys think? Doable?
Cheers.

Click to expand...

I've only done it with the engine out and the engine upside down on a stand. It was a PITA then. Lying on your back, under the Landy, will be doable, but tough on the arms.
What makes you think they need changing?

Al2O3 said:

I've only done it with the engine out and the engine upside down on a stand. It was a PITA then. Lying on your back, under the Landy, will be doable, but tough on the arms.
What makes you think they need changing?

Click to expand...

Oil running down the front face of the bell housing but not coming from the drain hole at the bottom says they need changing. Sump is not to blame as it was recently resealed when I replaced the gasket between the rear of the timing case and the block.
Changing that gasket (ERR4860) resulted in a 60% reduction in my oil leaks and a significantly dryer underside. But this leak from the rear still persists.

LeftFoot said:

Oil running down the front face of the bell housing but not coming from the drain hole at the bottom says they need changing. Sump is not to blame as it was recently resealed when I replaced the gasket between the rear of the timing case and the block.
Changing that gasket (ERR4860) resulted in a 60% reduction in my oil leaks and a significantly dryer underside. But this leak from the rear still persists.

Click to expand...

Do you mean the front cover or the bell housing? If you mean the bell housing, what route do you think the oil is taking to get to the outside if it's not coming out of the bell housing hole?

Common problem is the main crank seal on the 300tdi. Not the seal itself but oil escaping around the seal housing. The cause I recon is mostly to do with poor design, housing not stiff enough/not enough fixing bolts. Lots of videos on the you tube about this problem.

Al2O3 said:

Do you mean the front cover or the bell housing? If you mean the bell housing, what route do you think the oil is taking to get to the outside if it's not coming out of the bell housing hole?

Click to expand...

I mentioned the front cover housing to explain that since I changed that gasket my underside leaks overall have been reduced by a lot.

What this post is really about is the remaining oil leak I have towards the front of the Bell-housing.
The oil is definitely not coming from the bell housing drain hole that is why I do not suspect the rear crank oil seal. It appears to originate towards the rear of the sump just above by the same cap I have shown in my 1st post. The result is that the front side of the bell housing (the side to the rear of the sump) is wet with oil, especially after taking a drive.
That is why I am asking if anyone here has the experience of replacing T-seals in situ.

Cheers.

Re previous post. It is not the crank seal itself leaking into the bell housing. Its oil escaping from behind its housing which runs down the front of the bell housing.
Last T seals I did in situ was on a series 3 [ much the same job ] and not much fun. A small chamfer on the leading edge of the T helps them find their way in. There are special wedges to help get them in but I managed without. I would smear in RTV silicon.
You are also going to need a new crank seal. Stick To OEM parts for this job and look at the video's about warped crank seal housings.
Cheers.






























Cheers.[/QUOTE]

I agree with the forum's view on replacing the T seal in situ; its a PITA. Tried it on a 2.5 NA but ended up having to remove the engine. Took forever to get the main cap off, transmission removal science project. Then I could not get enough steady pressure to properly get it in and seated correctly. Days later had to do it on the stand and it sucked. Next was a 300tdi still a PITA on the stand, I am a rank amateur mechanic so take my opinion as much less then a professional's but those seals provide little joy. NOTE: On thr 300tdi I used the synthetic seals vice the cork. Heated them with a heat gun and with RTV as a short lived lubricant it worked out much better. Might think about trying that for an in vehicle session.