Tranny Oil Seal Removal

[zao]

Hey, guys.
I am replacing the oil seal, which is right behind the throwout bearing, around the main drive shaft, but I am having a heck of a time removing it.
I consulted with the Bentley and all it says is to "carefully pry out the damaged seal," Uh... easier said than done. It is not budging any.

Any ideas of how to pop this thing out would be greatly appreciated. I've already bent a couple screwdrivers on it as it is, but still no go.

[glutamodo]

Use a seal puller, you can get them at Sears or most Auto Parts stores, I got this one at a Checker. I usually pound the longer hook into the seal, then it'll lever out.

[zao]

Thank you for the advice, glutamodo. I've never even seen a seal puller before... Off to the parts store.

[ed stanley]

Dr Darby's method is to run 2 small sheet metal screws into the seal and yank it out with 2 vise grips. Then use a peashooter tailpipe with the baffle removed to push the new seal in, letting the beveled side of the tailpipe contact the seal.

[xatex]

It's good to just have a seal puller around, they're only like $20, plus you can't always use sheet metal screws on the seals if you don't want metal shavings to get in whatever you're working on.

[zao]

Thanks for all the tips and advice everyone. After an hour of frustration I managed to get it loose. I used a cat's claw plus the seal puller to remove it.
Who ever installed it the first time used a sealant which pretty much welding the seal in the housing.

It was no fun getting the new seal to seat either >< I hope it's a LONG time before I replace another oil seal.

...Now on to the front tranny mount.

[DrDarby]

#1 the puller is a pain in the ass to use on the mainshaft.

#2 the seal is normally tighter than hell and you risk gouging the hell out of everything using a variety of tools to get it out.

#3 the whole idea of the seal is so it seals, you wont get any metal shavings into anything as
A) there wont be any becayse you are not drilling a hole into the mainshaft seal you are inserting a sheet metal screw and
B) if anything at all got in there it would be trapped within the seal

The screw into the seal method will have the seal out in less than a minute.
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Midwest Autosavers, Inc. Woodstock, IL

[stand by your van]

I have a van and the Bentley manual shows a similar seal puller being used without the shaft in the way. It seemed very difficult to use a prying tool with the shaft in place. Without reading this, I carefully drilled a tiny hole in the seal and set a small screw in place; pried out easily. So ditto here for the screw tap method when the shaft is installed.