# Harmonic Balancer has a grove



## Azazel (May 3, 2009)

Hey guys I had oil leak today. I pop the crankshaft seal off and notice a grove in my harmonic balancer. What would cause this? Belts being to tight maybe.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

It's the groove that has cut into the crank pulley snout over time where the crank seal rides. You can get a repair sleeve that will install onto the snout to provide a clean surface for the seal. They run about $20-25, usually. You didn't provide any information on the engine, but it looks like a KA24E balancer. If it is, you would need National Parts # 99181 Red-sleeve or Timken # KWK99181. Clean up the old snout with a Scotch-brite pad or steel wool and some brake cleaner and make sure there are no burrs nor nicks on it before installing the sleeve. 

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=257669&cc=1212231&jsn=418


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## Azazel (May 3, 2009)

Thank you for information. Hopefully this will solve my oil leak.


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## Azazel (May 3, 2009)

So I went ahead bought a new harmonic balancer and front oil seal. Got them installed and I still have a leak. It’s definitely coming from front seal area, I guess I’m going buy a new timing case. I can see myself screwing up oil seal once, but twice I don’t think so. Have you guys seen a crack happen in this area before? 

What else would be causing this to leak?


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

Did you lubricate the seal lip edges and the balancer snout surface? If installed dry, then the lip can sometimes get slightly twisted and lose the sealing. Also was the seal the correct one. It's always good to hand fit the two components before installation.


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## Azazel (May 3, 2009)

So was my fault, I didn’t oil the seal lip. Soon as I dropped the balancer off, a piece of the bottom lip fell out. Lesson learned. Lol

Thanks for the tip! Problem solved.


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