well put my cover togethetr with the seal in it and tore it all to pieces sliding it over rhe shaft . So then I go buy another and it tore while installing! Any tricks to this that may help?

 

The dealer has a tool. In place of that use the connector for the 2 shafts to hold the seal while you seat it on the shaft. You may need to tuck the inner lip in with a small tool as you get the connector in place. Lubricate it too.

 

Thanks

 

use peace of a coke can..roll it up into a little /\ and use it to slide it on there.

 

wrap a piece of camera film around the shaft, lube it up, and itll go on no prob (i did it that way, but it wasnt my idea, so dont go giving me an academy ward for it )

 

You will see a shaft that connects the water pump gear to the water pump. This shaft is the secret to getting the new O-seal on without ripping. Pop the old seal out with a small flat tipped screwdriver. The new seal is $8 at O'reilly's. Take the water pump connecting shaft and sand down one end a bit. I used a dremel and took me about 30 seconds. Now slide the new seal over the sanded edge of the shaft. It should be a very tight fit, but this helps you line up the seal onto the mounting gear and is the same size as the gear itself. Slide the shaft over the gear like it would normally sit and place a large deep socket over the shaft. Now use a hammer and tap the end of the socket so it taps the new seal into place. No problem with ripping seal and has worked everytime I have done a seal fix. If you try and just place the seal into place, I can almost guarentee that you will rip it. Now, just place everything back on and you're done. Good luck, and if you have any other questions, let me know,

Kyle

 

Listen to vodoo-chile, it works pefectly don't forget to lube it up !

 

Does anyone have a pic of the o-ring? Mine is leaking after I replaced the water pump. I'm not looking forward to going back in there and tearing everything apart. Is it on the shaft?

 

Don't have a pic but it is about the size of a half dollar, has a hole in the middle about the size of a dime, about as thick as 4 quarters, and is painted red on the outside face. As you can tell, I'm stuck on the change theme lol. It is not on the shaft but in the timing cover. It is the seal that keeps the oil in the timing cover but allows the water pump gear to connect to the shaft. It's not that hard. It only takes me about 1 1/2 - 2 hrs to do a complete Opti replacement, start to finish. Good luck,

Kyle

 

When I did mine someone suggested slipping a deepwell socket through it thats the same size as the shaft. I did this and it worked well. Slid it off the socket onto the shaft.

Aaron

 

Vodoo,
Yes I just realised I tore mine going on, the oil is leaking out!

I like your idea, but what about the groove on the wp driveshaft (towards the engine side on a 93) what happens when the seal is being slid down the shaft and it hits that groove?
Is this were the film comes into play?

I am hoping I can use my old gaskets, I only ran the car for 20 minutes (cam change and RR's) so there's no gasket sealer on the 'fit' side only on the engine side.

Thanks,
Jim

 

The small groove will not hurt it the hard part is getting it over the shaft just take it slow and it will work fine. It is easy once you see what you have to do. matt

 

Thanks again guys ordered three seals yesterday surly to god I can get one to work

 

The shaft is the same on both sides. Just sand down the other side of the shaft and put that end towards the timing cover and water pump gear. I aasked myself why GM put that groove in there and cannot come up with any conclusions. The inside gear on bothe ends is the same so it doesn't really matter which side you put towards the gear. Don't worry about tearing anymore if you do this. You will not believe how easy it is. The first time I did one, I was hesitant and tried twice to just place it in there and tap gently without using this method. Let's just say I created some curse words. I found this method on the net, tried it and had it on in about 15 seconds. No problem. Good luck,

Kyle

 

Does this seal have to be changed during the waterpump change?