Timing Belt and Seals

Resurgam said:

I'm about to replace the timing belt in my 200Tdi. Should I replace the camshaft oil seal, crankshaft oil seal and the one in the timing cover while I'm at it? There's no obvious oil leakage from them, except maybe a small amount around the crankshaft seal. The engine has only done around 120,000 miles but hasn't been run for over ten years.

If I do replace them, is it as straightforward as the manual suggests? I'm suspicious after the simple instruction 'remove the crankshaft pulley' took an hour of ever increasing violence and the eventual destruction of said pulley.

Finally, do I need the special tools or will the seals drift in easily enough?

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lynall said:

Normally I would say dont touch, but standing for ten years would make me say change the crank one at least.
The cheap timing kits off of ebay come with the puller plate, you just need three longer bolts to suit the holes in the cambelt pulley on the crank.

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Resurgam said:

I did get it the pulley off in the end, but it wasn't pretty. Rust had formed a lip which the pulley couldn't get past, and despite using a soft faced mallet the repeated battering eventually damaged the pulley edges. It needed replacing anyway, but not quite as desperately as it does now! I used the puller plate to take off the damper but didn't have long enough bolts to get the pulley off at the same time.

The seals are cheap enough so if it's an easy job to do them I might as well. I just need to know if it will be an easy job or not!

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