Balancer Shaft Seal Failure - Expert Advice Needed

[jmontanus]

I had the unfortunate experience of having my balancer shaft seal fail
on my '93 Accord. All the oil ran out of the engine and I was stranded
on the side of the road. The dealer installed a new seal, along with
new timing and balancer belts, a $600 service. That was at 192,000
miles. Well, unfortunately, at 236,000 miles, it looks like oil is
slowly leaking out of the bottom of the timing belt cover again. These
are the same symptoms I experienced before the seal blew out the last
time. My brother helped me remove the upper timing belt cover so we
could try to spot the leak. It's hard to see where the oil is coming
from by removing just the top cover, but the inside of the top cover
looks like it's been getting oil slinged on it by the timing belt (see
pics at www.rochesternet.com/accord), however the timing belt itself
appears fairly dry. Also, as you can see from the second and third
photos, the outside of the lower timing belt cover is completely
saturated with oil as if it had been leaking profusely. Again however,
the inside of the timing belt area is relatively clean, so we're a
little confused about what course of action we could take.

- Based on the photographic evidence provided
(www.rochesternet.com/accord), should we assume that the leakage is
coming from the balancer shaft seal and simply install the balancer
shaft seal retainer clip only (assuming the dealer didn't do it when
they reinstalled the seal), and leave the timing belt alone because it
doesn't appear to be saturated with oil?

- Should we tear everything apart and determine with 100% certainty
where the leak is coming from, and if it is the balancer shaft seal,
completely replace the timing and balancer belts, seal and install
retainer clip?

Thanks,
Jim Montanus
Rochester, New York

 

[Eric]

I had the unfortunate experience of having my balancer shaft seal fail
on my '93 Accord. All the oil ran out of the engine and I was stranded
on the side of the road. The dealer installed a new seal, along with
new timing and balancer belts, a $600 service. That was at 192,000
miles. Well, unfortunately, at 236,000 miles, it looks like oil is
slowly leaking out of the bottom of the timing belt cover again. These
are the same symptoms I experienced before the seal blew out the last
time. My brother helped me remove the upper timing belt cover so we
could try to spot the leak. It's hard to see where the oil is coming
from by removing just the top cover, but the inside of the top cover
looks like it's been getting oil slinged on it by the timing belt (see
pics at www.rochesternet.com/accord), however the timing belt itself
appears fairly dry. Also, as you can see from the second and third
photos, the outside of the lower timing belt cover is completely
saturated with oil as if it had been leaking profusely. Again however,
the inside of the timing belt area is relatively clean, so we're a
little confused about what course of action we could take.

- Based on the photographic evidence provided
(www.rochesternet.com/accord), should we assume that the leakage is
coming from the balancer shaft seal and simply install the balancer
shaft seal retainer clip only (assuming the dealer didn't do it when
they reinstalled the seal), and leave the timing belt alone because it
doesn't appear to be saturated with oil?

I agree with part of your analysis of the pictures. It looks like the cam
seal is leaking (though other seals could be leaking as well). The cam seal
should have been replaced when the timing belt was done at the dealer. If
this was not done, they could be liable and should do the current repair
work at no charge. However, they could likely argue that the seal looked
fine at the time the belt was originally replaced and also that it's been
44K miles. While this may be true, timing belts are very sensitive to oil.
It softens the rubber and leads to the belt's premature failure. It is
common to have all the seals replaced when a timing belt is replaced. This
would include the cam seal, front crank seal, front balance shaft seal and
holder, and rear balance shaft gear set seal, and valve cover gaskets (new
tensioner bearings and water pump should also be installed depending on the
age of the originals). Replacing all of these seals does increase the cost
of replacing the timing belt. However, it's analogous to buying an
insurance policy for your motor and ensures that the new belt will last
another 6 yrs or 90K miles (the recommended replacement interval).

- Should we tear everything apart and determine with 100% certainty
where the leak is coming from, and if it is the balancer shaft seal,
completely replace the timing and balancer belts, seal and install
retainer clip?

Yes, with this much oil present I would recommend completely redoing the
timing belt as described above. Moreover, both belts should be replaced
since they have been exposed to oil and their cost is low compared to the
labor involved and the potential high cost of their failure.

You can find a factory service manual at http://www.helminc.com which is
recommended if you're going to do the work yourself. Though be forewarned
that the tensioning procedure for the balance shaft belt likely won't work
(unless it's been modified from the one given for the '90-93 model series
with which I'm familiar). After you tension the belts according to the
manual, you'll need to go back and lock the rear tensioner, loosen the
tensioner bolt, push down on the balance shaft tensioner to manually tension
the balance shaft belt, tighten the tensioner bolt, and then remove the
small 6mm lock down bolt you used on the rear tensioner.

You'll also need either an impact gun or the pulley holding tool in order to
remove the crankshaft pulley bolt. The pulley holding tool is made be SP
Tools (Schley Products Inc) #60100.

Eric