Hey Mike, welcome to the CVC I'm not in Calgary and probably have less mechanical skills than you do so you're going to have to wait for the board gurus to chime in on your request, although you're in good hands here.

I am on the verge of getting my first project car as well so looking forward to you're progress. So once again welcome to CVC, stay tuned help will arrive shortly.

Hi Mike,

The rest of the guys must be out in their garages...I'm just in for a warm up. The proper tool for seating an oil seal can be purchased at Princess Auto for a few dollars. I've never had a B230 apart, but if it is anything like all the rest of the Volvo engines, it will have an aluminum seal housing. This can be removed and the seal pressed in with the above mentioned tool. Removal of the seal usually involves unspeakable things like pliers or screw drivers through the metal rim. If you don't want to remove the seal housing, then getting the seal in place would be hampered by the length of the crank / intermediate shaft snout. You can fashion a press from any piece of pipe that will fit over the snout and only contact the steel face of the seal. Carefully push the seal in place and give it a few gentle taps with a dead blow hammer - it has to go into the housing straight. Tap it home, but no further. Any dents or dings on the sides of the seal will cause leaks and seal failure.

I often use sockets, pipe or even blocks of wood to tap seals in.

Craig

I concur...I just have a few random pipes and exercise moderation with a hammer. 850 rear main seals I have the tool for. Everything else can be done with bits from the hardware store or stuff lying around a house or garage and with a little patience.


If you leave the seal housing in place, there is nothing to prevent you from driving the seal in crooked or too far or whatever, so pay attention whatever tool you use. A little grease on the seal lip and a little toyota black on the outer on split housings (like the camshaft on a SOHC or DOHC volvo) makes things stay dry. Make sure to get the updated brown/gray viton elring brand or black OE volvo. I think the elring are actually superior to even the late volvo ones and less prone to blowing out (not that you should be pushing out seals anyway). Avoid the cheapie red seals. Though, seals don't seem to leak as much on canada cars as they do on cali cars where they shrink up and go soft in the heat and leak a ton.


Toyota is kind enough to have tabs around the whole seal housing whereby you drive the seal in until it hits the tabs and call it good. No ambiguity about straightness or depth really (unless you do something really unspeakably savage or foolish). They sell you a different thickness seal depending on how many times the seal has been changed to make sure it rides a new part of the crank or cam or whatever it rides. Pretty slick. If only volvo had been so bright.

Be thankful it isn't a jag or some other "charming" british POS where you get to pull the oil pan to do a front main. :barf:

Kudos to Valentine for loaning tools out, never thought they would do that. Nothing against them, just surprising to me for a big city import dealership to do that.

In all honesty its not like we are really ever use them. Im a little surprised too though haha