How do you replace a front crank seal on a Ford Aspire?

Answer 1

Loosen the 3 water pump pulley bolts.

Take off the drivebelt by loosening the alternator adjusting bolt and the alternator bolt on the bottom of the alternator under the intake manifold.

Take the upper and lower timing covers off.

Put the camshaft at TDC by making sure the alignment marks are at 12:00 and 3:00.

Make sure the crankshaft is also at TDC by removing the 4 small bolts on the crankshaft pulley and removing the two pulleys. You will then need an impact gun to remove the main crankshaft bolt which will let you remove the piece that covers the crank timing gear, so you can see the alignment mark line up in the notch at 12:00.

Mark the timing belt at the two spots on the camshaft timing gear and one spot on the crankshaft timing gear so you will know where to put the belt back in exactly the same spot. If you are replacing the belt at the same time just transfer those same marks the exact same number of teeth on the new belt so there is no problem with the mechanical timing when you put it back on.

Now loosen the timing belt by loosening the bolt the holds the tensioner pulley with a spring attached to it, then using your hand or a prybar, safely push that pulley all the way back and tighten it there so it stays in the loosened position so you can easily remove the timing belt.

Now use a couple small screws that will fit or a pry bar to pop that bottom crank gear off so you can see the seal. Dont' forget to keep track of where the metal dowl pin holder goes in the correct way so it keeps that gear lined up when you put it back together.

Use a small screwdriver or some kind of hook / seal puller to get the old seal out and clean everything up without damaging/scratching anything. Lube the new seal up real well with new engine oil and put it back on the same direction it came off, make sure that the lip does not fold back and allow the spring to pop off or make the seal lip sit in there wrong where it won't seal properly.