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I just finished up the crank seal repair (twice!) and wanted to thank mr_malvo and others for the writeup. I wanted to add some bullet points / comments / suggestions for others attempting the repair:
- first, change the belt! I bought an 06 330i fixer-upper for my son, knowing it had a leaky OFHG and bad belt, and it broke on the way home, and a bunch of belt made it's way into the crankcase.
- I do not think the expensive BMW and loctite primers and sealers are necessary. If you look at the notches on the seal and what needs to be sealed, a reasonable application of RTV or permatex black will do the job nicely. It's just a seal
- Buy or borrow the correct seal puller and (more importantly) installer for the job. The install seal allows you to use the white plastic guide / carrier correctly and with even force around the seal.
- During install the correct procedure is: bolt the install tool on the crank, then push (tap with a mallet) the plastic sleeve all the way onto the tool and over the crank nose, then push the seal on by hand and align grooves, as far as it will go, then wrench it in with the large circumference pusher until it's flush.
- The first time I did it, I did not push the white plastic carrier all the way over the crank nose, which allowed the PTFE inner seal to get boogered, and it resulted in a pretty bad oil leak
- Use a thin coat of permatex black on the seal before sliding in and it should all be good. Add a small dollop at the notches to be sure those get filled.
Another note is -- The puller did not work for me the 2nd time I used it. It threaded in and tightened up fine, but then stripped out the contents of the seal and left a barrel of steel with no lip to grab onto. No amount of subsequent threading and pulling of the tool would grab it. If this happens it IS possible to use a screwdriver and hammer to pry up the lip of the seal steel ring and eventually pry it out with a screwdriver. It takes a lot of time, patience, and yes some damage to the outer edge of the block / plate edges. As long as you're diligent to not damage the more internal surfaces of the mating area where the seal sits, you should still get a good seal.
Best of luck!
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