Cam/Crank/Balance shaft seal hell

[ACCORDianate]

Okay, I have searched thru this site for the answer I am looking for, and found one single thread on this, but it seemed to have been hijacked.

This is for a 1993 Accord with the F22A1.

So I'm going to ask the following question:

How difficult is it to change out the cam seal, balance shaft seal, and cam seal? I spent about 2 hours tonight poking around the engine area of the car trying to figure out where crap comes off. I understand that I need to:

-take off the belts
-take off the crank pulley
-take off the top and bottom timing covers
-remove timing and balance shaft belts
-carefully remove seals
-sloob up the new seals and install
-replace timing and balance shaft belts
-replace timing covers
-replace belts

BUT:

1-Does the engine need to be at TDC to do this?
2-How the F are the belts loosened? I see the adjuster bolts and the retaining bolts for the alternator and ac compressor, but they don't move after loosening all the bolts; is there a way to get these loosened to be able to move to get the belts off?
3-Is it necessary to get something to keep the engine from turning/rotating while taking off the crank pulley bolt?
4-Is it necessary to remove the engine mount to access the timing belt covers/timing belt?

Finally:

5 Would it be better to have the vehicle towed to a shop to have the seals replaced, (its not drivable (well it is drivable, but very risky), as it leaks about 1/2 quart/min from the timing cover) or should I undertake this in-depth repair? I have little experience in this field of car repair and I feel that I may be getting in way over my head.

Suggestions? Comments?..... Since its in my in-laws' garage on ramps, I need to get this done in a reasonable timeframe, and it cannot be sitting there for more than a week.

Help!!!

[ACCORDianate]

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

[cb7-R]

yep the engine should be at tdc. after you loosen the bolts for the ac and the alt they shold move freely if not then just give em a little push they may be stuck. its not hard to do at all,but if your not sure of your self then shop is the best bet.

*make sure you loosen the bolts that are holding the ac and alt to their respective brackets.

[Slateboy]

I did my timing belt, water pump, and camseal.

Yes, you have to remove the engine mount. I tried not to, but it's so much nicer when it's gone. You just need a jack to support the motor and adjust its attitude.

Its best to use an impact gun to loosen the bolt on the camgear. Otherwise, yes, you'll need to leave the socket wrench on the crank to hold it while you loosen the bolt on the camgear with a wrench.

The auto-looseners are the pointless round things. Just loosen the nut in the middle of the tightener, and tap on the tightener to loosen. It's best to yank that little spring off of both tighteners to make loosening easy.

I have the whole thing in a PDF from the Honda Manual. E-mail me at slateboy@cox.net if you want it. Comes with diagrams....ooohhh.

[mrhonda]

Dude, I work at Honda Cars of McKinney. We sould meet up sometime, I can show you everything you need to know. I also have my very own set of Honda seal drivers.

[ACCORDianate]

Slateboy and mrhonda, I'm sending emails your way.

[CB9]

Re: Cam/Crank/Balance shaft seal hell

Originally posted by ACCORDianate
[B]
2-How the F are the belts loosened? I see the adjuster bolts and the retaining bolts for the alternator and ac compressor, but they don't move after loosening all the bolts; is there a way to get these loosened to be able to move to get the belts off?
3-Is it necessary to get something to keep the engine from turning/rotating while taking off the crank pulley bolt?
4-Is it necessary to remove the engine mount to access the timing belt covers/timing belt?

I found this thread when I was hunting for help on my own timing belt swap issues, but anyway, I thought answering this might be helpful for anyone with a squealing alternator belt too.

There are three bolts that you need to loosen/adjust for the alternator belt. There is a 14 mm main fixing bolt on the side, a 12 mm bolt (also on the side, but almost directly below the alternator pulley), and a 10 mm bolt on the front that you tighten to tighten the belt and vice versa. The 10mm adjuster bolt is connected the the 12 mm bolt. It's the 10 mm bolt on the RIGHT.

For the power steering, it's the same mechanism. The main fixing bolt is a 14 mm, right up top (the access to the bolthead is partially blocked by the power steering fluid line), there is a 12 mm fixing nut underneath, and another 10 mm tensioning bolt (it's the one on the LEFT for the P/S).

If I were you, I'd get access to a really strong 1/2" or 3/4" impact to remove the crank pulley bolt. I would recommend you not entertain any notions of removing it some other way, unless you have the dealer tool that fits inside the hex-shaped recess inside the crank pulley to hold it still why you torque against it.

I have no idea how you'd change a timing belt without removing the driver's side mount (actually, in reference to the engine, it's the front mount) because the timing belt goes around it. You could cut off the old one, but then how do you install the new one? Call David Copperfield?