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Sun Nov 27, 2011 1:30 am

After installing my new CPR/Chico motor,it developed a leak at the pulley sand seal. I was bummed this happened on a new motor,and I looked at the seal and it was some generic Chinese single lip dust seal,it did have a spring on the inside and I guess some get lucky and it may actually seal against oil,but I was not taking a chance.
On the AutoLinea case,the case i.d. right around the crank snout had a small "pimple" on it and this slightly crushed in the sand seal housing and made it rub on the o.d. of the pulley and made metal-metal contact,as well as a leak around the seal housing.
Basically I had to buy a another new SCAT sand seal housing/seal,which I immediately trashed the seal and installed a CR/SKF Viton double lipped seal which is a rare size and at $16.95 was not cheap.
I ordered 2 seals just in case,and installed one in the SCAT housing with a small amount of Permatex grey on the o.d. of the seal.
Then I razored off the aluminum "pimple" from the case i.d.,and smeared some Permatex grey on the o.d. of the aluminum seal housing,and tapped it in the case,I smeared a little Moly grease on the seal lip,and inmstalled the pulley.
Afetr drying I fired it up,and after driving it still had a small amount of oil coming out of the dipstick tube and small amount out of the seal.
I was a little bit perpelexed since everything was done with care & precision.
I proceeded to look at my Bugpack breather box and realised that there was only a very small air gap allowing crankcase gas to exit,so I added one washer on each side under the lid which raised the lid up approx 1mm higher allowing more breathing action.
Sounds hokey,but guess what? 200 miles later and no leak/drip/drops!!!
The breather box was not venting enough and the pressure was blowing out some oil when I was revving to 5K+,now it can flow and not allow enough pressure to blow out the oil. I love it when it is a simple solution,2 washers! :D
Here is the crankcase where the "pimple" was,it is at approx 4o'clock.

Here is the CR seal,compared to the SCAT "seal",the cheap seals are at the right,and if you look closely you can see the double lip on the CR seal on the box

Sun Nov 27, 2011 8:15 am

Just wondering, but why did you have your case machined for sand seal if its in your porsche kit car?

Sun Nov 27, 2011 10:12 am

some of the auto linea cases already come machined for sand seal.I know mine did and another case i used for another build

Sun Nov 27, 2011 10:58 am

I use silocone on the sand seal,no problems or leaks, the last few I have gotten are a lot better seal than the older type you have there. think about total seal rings next time you go through it, they will reduce the blow by a lot if you have too much.

Sun Nov 27, 2011 5:30 pm

This is a bolt in sand seal,no machining so I could use a stock pulley,however Chico built it this way and recommended it with a big engine. Still nice & dry so far.

Mon Jan 02, 2012 8:38 pm

How's the CR seal holding up? I'm considering going this route myself.

Mon Jan 02, 2012 10:22 pm

Completely and utterly perfect. I now have 1600 miles on this motor and with the new seal and CB breather box mod,it is absolutely dry around the seal and dipstick. Very happy I do not have to see any drips on the engine now :D

Wed Jun 27, 2012 4:16 pm

8) I just recieve the wrong size replacement sand seal
from a dealerd and it did look very cheap anyhow so I'm glad you shared this with us. I just ordered the CR instead and returned the others.

Thanks for the tip.

Chanc

Wed Jun 27, 2012 10:21 pm

808OvalGreasemonkey wrote: Completely and utterly perfect. I now have 1600 miles on this motor and with the new seal and CB breather box mod,it is absolutely dry around the seal and dipstick. Very happy I do not have to see any drips on the engine now :D

Pics of the CB breather box mod?

Thu Jun 28, 2012 1:49 am

Chanc,I hope you have the same good luck I did. I did use a LIGHT smear of Permatex "grey" around the seal O.D. as well as some on the seal housing O.D.,just as a little extra insurance.
MPM,it is so slight of a change,if I took a picture it looks like a CB breather box! :lol:
Just take the 2 screws out,and remove the cover,then install 1 washer under each hole in the lid at where the bolts enter,this effectively "raises" the cover slightly depending on the thickness of the washer,it really helped my engine vent better and stop leaking,since it just allows the breather box to breathe better,since the cutouts are so shallow it barely vents IMO.
My next thing is to replace the foam element in there with a copper scouring pad or something similar.

Thu Jun 28, 2012 2:11 am

I just replaced my leaking seal with this recommendation, prob 150 leak free miles. thanks 808 oval. Also I bought mine at NAPA NOS18536. Took a chance and it was the same seal in the same box. Part number altered for their computer system.

Thu Jun 28, 2012 2:21 am

Sweetness! 8) You really scored to be able to get it from NAPA,I tried my local store and they had none available in their warehouse,was it less than what I paid? I also had to pay shipping to Oahu,so I am glad it worked/fit since it was not a cheap seal! :lol:
I am stoked you are seeing good results so far--just keep your fingers crossed! :D

Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:29 pm

Yesterday I had the seal on my CB performance pulley spin free after the first drive.
Oil everywhere!
I asked them to replace the retainer so I can try to install a good CR seal. We'll see how that goes.
Anyway, the CB Santana pulley should use a CR17240 seal. Also available at NAPA but for less money (NOS 17240).
If they send me a new retainer I'll try that seal and post the results.

Aftermarket VW parts are cheap but so much of it is crap. I'd pay a little more to get good stuff.

Thu Jul 12, 2012 9:10 pm

I've said this before and I'll say it again. A sand seal is designed to keep sand out of the engine and not to keep oil in, and are totally not needed on a street driven car. Get a good quality steel pulley and you'll never have a leak. All I've run for 35 years are the stock pulleys or the Berg pulleys and I've never had a leak. I turn my 175 HP race engine to 7300 RPM's with no leaks. A Gene Berg pulley is still cheaper in the long run then buying a cheap aluminum pulley, 2 or 3 $15 sand seals and a tube of silicone goop to make it all work.

Thu Apr 25, 2013 11:56 am

Still no leak at 4K miles!! 8)

Thu Apr 25, 2013 1:41 pm

vwracerdave wrote: I've said this before and I'll say it again. A sand seal is designed to keep sand out of the engine and not to keep oil in, and are totally not needed on a street driven car. Get a good quality steel pulley and you'll never have a leak. All I've run for 35 years are the stock pulleys or the Berg pulleys and I've never had a leak. I turn my 175 HP race engine to 7300 RPM's with no leaks. A Gene Berg pulley is still cheaper in the long run then buying a cheap aluminum pulley, 2 or 3 $15 sand seals and a tube of silicone goop to make it all work.

I would consider my Autocraft pulley not a cheap pulley, and high quality. That said, mine leaked. I fail to believe that a berg pulley will cure all.