I can't seem to get a seal to work on the timing cover where the shaft is that drives the water pump.
I've put in a new seal every time I changed out the opti a few times recently and it never seems to work and continues to leak oil.

Does anyone know a seal that works or a way to fix this?

 

What I did is install the cover without the seal for the water pump drive. GM makes a little cover for the splined end of the shaft, some guys use a sharpie cap without the pocket hook. I used small sockets to orient the two seals correctly and slightly enlarge them, and then installed the seal. I have screwed up more than one myself and have bought enough felpro kits that I have a good supply of cover and water pump gaskets The p/n for the seal only that I have is 10217886 but have never tried to source one.

 

I'll put up with the oil leak if I have to take the timing cover off to fix it.
Changing out an opti is pain enough.
So you say the Felpro seal is good if we were to change it out.

 

You have to install it correctly. A Felpro timing cover gasket set is less than what you would pay for the one seal from GM.

 

Timing cover stays on. Pry bad seal out; install new with timing cover on. I have never been able to install the seal and then install the cover. the pictures in the link shoebox posted is how I did it as well; wish I had those at the start.

 

Ok so I use a tool to slide it on to the shaft gently after the gear teeth so as to not rip the tiny seal surface.
What did you make your tool out of.
Looks like some kind of thin walled pipe or part of the case from a Sharpie marker.
I guess I should buy a new seal and work backwards from there.

 

I just use a socket.

 

Great
I'll just do that.
Thanks for the help.

 

Hey guys, I bought my 96 z28 in February and it had an oil leak. The previous owner told me it was the intake gaskets, but with some investigation it turned out that my waterpump was spinning out of round and the drive seal is shot. I replaced the seal using the socket method, got it all back together and its still leaking from the same seal. It doesn't appear that the seal was folded over, is it possible that the shaft spinning out of round has ruined my timing cover? Should there be a close tolerance between the waterpump drive shaft and the timing cover?


-Tim

 

Not possible for a bad seal to ruin your timing cover.

When you installed the seal did you add a small amount of sealant to the outside sealing ring? And you're absolutely sure the seal didn't fold over?

I have heard of a few instances where a worn drive shaft will leak regardless of the condition of the seal. That may very well be the case here.

 

If the w/p driveshaft is spinning out of round, that is your problem. It will distort any seal, new or old, as it moves.

 

I got a new waterpump which spins true but it still leaks.

 

When you say the sealing ring do you mean the outside diameter of the seal? I did not put any sealant there.... The w/p driveshaft spinning out of round will not mess up my timing cover?

 

Some people put sealant on the outside of the seal, some do not. I always like to put a thin film. It's not necessary but it helps.

The seal is between the drive shaft and the timing cover. It will only ruin the seal first - the timing cover is aluminum and doesn't come anywhere near the shaft.

 

The "red" coating around the diameter of the seal is a sealant.

Are there ANY nicks, scratches, or gouges on the water pump drive gear seal surface(maybe you scratched it with a screwdriver removing the seal)? If so, you will never get any seal to work. You would need to replace the drive gear.

Have you checked the end play of the water pump drive gear(long shot with this one)?