[White]

Has anybody put a new crank shaft seal in a acclaim 2.5 4cyl before. It has about 215,000 on it,has been a great car for the last 14 years. Just wondering if the oil pan has to come off,pulleys and timing belt and all that good stuff.

 

[135SoHc]

The timing belt has to come off and the timing belt sprocket has to be removed from the crankshaft along with all the other parts that have to be removed to access that stuff. You will need to use or make a version of the factory tool to pull the sprocket off as its a very tight fit. The usual harmonic balancer pulling tool will not work on one of these engines.

 

[AllanC]

The AC compressor, AC bracket, alternator, belts, right side engine mount, right side engine mount bracket, belt pulley, timing belt have to be removed to gain access to timing belt crankshaft sprocket. That sprocket has five holes evenly spaced around the side of the sprocket. You will need a special tool with that 72 degree hole spacing to pull the sprocket. Typical harmonic crankshaft pulley pullers do not have that spacing.

While you are doing that level of removal and repair, you should remove the camshaft sprocket and intermediate shaft sprocket and replace those seals.

 

[White]

Ok thanks for the quick response, kinda figured it was going to be a pretty big job but it will give me something to do on the weekends.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

The 5 bolts hold the crank pulley, not the timing belt sprocket. The center bolt is what holds the timing belt sprocket.

 

[135SoHc]

Its going to take some time but its really not a huge job IMO. Granted I say that having done it several times now and having most of the factory tools at my disposal but chrysler really designed these engines with self servicing by the owner in mind. Removal/installation of the crank sprocket is going to be the most involved portion of the job.

The 5 bolts hold the crank pulley, not the timing belt sprocket. The center bolt is what holds the timing belt sprocket.

Yeah and those 5 bolts are what your using to grab the sprocket and pull it off.

 

[John Wood]

Finding the 5 hole puller can be a challenge, but you can make your own by using the disc type (older) steering wheel puller and drilling the disk to match the 5 holes where needed. You can use 1 or 2 of the slots/holes already cut. This is a picture of that puller:

Use the vehicle belt pulley that you remove first to mark the 5 hole pattern for drilling the disk. I just loosen the crankshaft center bolt about 1/4 inch and tighten the pullers center bolt against it. Then by tightening the puller's center bolt, you can pull the sprocket off, but you'll probably need to remove the puller a couple of times and back out the crank bolt some more. This is a poor man's 5 hole sprocket puller but it gets the job done. I have used it at least a dozzen or more times and beats paying $75+ for the official tool.

Note that you will need 5 longer metric bolts that thread into the crankshaft sprocket since those in that kit are not metric. I found 5 suitable bolts in my junk bolt collection.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Yeah and those 5 bolts are what your using to grab the sprocket and pull it off.

Or, use a gear puller and grab the edges of the sprocket with the jaws, cranking into the center bolt.

 

[AllanC]

Or, use a gear puller and grab the edges of the sprocket with the jaws, cranking into the center bolt.

There is minimal space between the crankshaft timing sprocket and engine block. Jaws of a puller that you describe will not fit.