Replace Rear Main Seal

Ron(Ont)

Member
I have just completed an overhaul on my TEA 2080. Everything seemed to be going well. Started quite easily, good oil pressure. But, the rear main seal is leaking like a sieve. :( :oops:

Anyway, has anyone changed their seal without removing the crankshaft? I understand in principle how to do it, but just wondering if there are any tips or caveats?
 
Sounds like the seal was put in backwards, did the same thing myself. You still have to split the tractor, but, no you do not need to remove the
crankshaft. Or the TE is like the TO's there are two small bolts on the inside that are part of the five that hold the seal holder. When replacing
the seal make sure the side with the open gap faces the engine. Open end always faces the oil source, this goes for axle seals too.
 

Thanks for the reply. How much of the engine did you tear down? Did you work from underneath or lay the block on a bench?

I did the overhaul on an engine stand, but I would like to make this as simple as possible. I do not look forward to working form underneath. :wink:
 
Tea-20 Engine S # 251639:

Poor picture of area that was leaking OIL:

Side SEALING STRIPS were NOT sealing:
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Ron(Ont) Quote :
How did you determine that it was the felt strips and not the rubber main seal?

Ron,I have always placed all TEA-20 Engines that have had bottom end or major parts replaced in a Test Stand and RUN them to verify any problems before they are installed in / onto the tractor.
.

I had a Neighbour who was concerned with OIL leaking from the FLY WHEEL area of a TEA-20.When the CAP was removed from the ENGINE block (were the Engine oil is added) the crankcase pressure was excessive. On my daily TEA-20 I can add oil to the Engine and NO oil is blown back out
There is a metal tube that is connected to the Engine block with a Banjo fitting.The other end of tube is connected to the Air breather / Air cleaner. The air cleaner/breather must be clean/no restrictions as well as the tube, as well as the passage inside the engine block.

The last TEA-20 I Tested (fresh overhaul, zero time operating)had an OIL LEAK from behind the FLYWHEEL. When I removed the flywheel and cleaned the aft of the engine block the oil was evident to have been leaking from the two sealing strips in the bottom half of the rear cap. I then placed the front of the engine and stand 12" higher than the flywheel end and yes oil was passing by the sealing strips in the rear Cap.

Here is my spare TEA-20 engine (yes the bloody water sprayed on the engine) in the Test stand. I use this engine to check the MECHANICAL advance of the Distributor and test all fresh carbs. Timing marks are on aft of engine block.

Bob..
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Hey John Deere D, can you post a few pictures showing where that smaller line from the air filter inlet goes to? none of my fergusons have that, was it a year specific item, or has it just been lost on my te20s.... Was it only for the z120 engines or did the standard 80/88mm have it too?
 
Good evening Thomas(AB)

I only own TEA-20 Tractors (No TO or TE) thus, yes the TEA-20 has the line in question, as per pictures:

The line in question attaches to the engine block behind the carburetor with a Banjo fitting:

Bob...
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(quoted from post at 23:25:26 09/29/17)

I got the tractor torn apart again and got a bit of a surprise. It turns out the rear main seal is not the problem, the core plug at the end of the camshaft is missing, thanks to a boo boo by the machine shop. I will talk to them tomorrow. :evil: :D
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(quoted from post at 06:00:07 10/02/17)
(quoted from post at 23:25:26 09/29/17)
Sounds like a depressing, disheartening reaction, but whenever there is something absolutely not right 'after' a rebuild, then it might as well ALL come back apart. At least everything is clean and easy to 'eyeball', just repeating all the wrench work. And it is all still fresh in your mind. Cause something else might be wrong too, might as well double check, triple check, the whole bowl of noodles at this point.
See? You were second guessing your own workmanship, and it was the 'professional's'. 4 or 5 hours now might get you 4 or 5 decades.
 
Agh, another long term sentence in ..gaol... is that how you spell it down there? Wasn't so bad. PCP was in the next cell. We could play cards between the bars... a few cards short of a full deck... that goes for both of us.... the Norfolk Island gaol library has all 4 Mad Max dvd's.... actually didn't have any thing else in it..... so that was fine.... hey the hammer was sharp and the rocks were soft, so wasn't so bad.... Bob's yer uncle!
 
(quoted from post at 06:58:35 10/02/17)
(quoted from post at 06:00:07 10/02/17)
(quoted from post at 23:25:26 09/29/17)
Sounds like a depressing, disheartening reaction, but whenever there is something absolutely not right 'after' a rebuild, then it might as well ALL come back apart. At least everything is clean and easy to 'eyeball', just repeating all the wrench work. And it is all still fresh in your mind. Cause something else might be wrong too, might as well double check, triple check, the whole bowl of noodles at this point.
See? You were second guessing your own workmanship, and it was the 'professional's'. 4 or 5 hours now might get you 4 or 5 decades.

Thanks for the moral support. :) I was bummed out for a couple of days while I tried to decide whether to do it now or next spring. Anyway, while it was apart I discovered a failing bolt on the flywheel.
On closer inspection, I noticed that when the tractor was into a farm dealer for a new clutch years ago, the mechanics only used cat 5 bolts. When I went to torque them up, the steel started to fail. They have cat 8 bolts now. So, a small bonus for my trouble. :D
 
I can finally bring this thread to an end. In the last 6 years, the tractor has been apart twice more. Gluing in the rear main seal did not solve the problem. I did get a new welch plug in behind the cam shaft, but the real issue was the threaded welch plug with the hex socket drive. That was replace by the machine shop but never screwed home. It took about 5 turns to close it. :oops: It is so nice to not lose a cup or two of oil every time I warm it up. :D
 

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