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Rear main seal puzzle

W

WellWorn

Member
Perkins 6.354 with about 4800 hours. It sits far more than it's used. We replaced the seal about 60 working hours ago and put a speedysleeve on the crank due to some grooving, and it recently started leaking badly again. Pulled the engine today and found the seal lips melted with a layer stuck to the sleeve.

Just for curiousity I put a mag base indicator on the back of the block, lifted the crank with a pry bar and got .004 vertical movement. Seems excessive to me, yet the oil pressure is good.

Yes, the likely cure is a full rebuild, and that was already on the list as a winter project, but we'll need it in 20 days (or less), oil on the clutch was an issue, and the prospects of finding a good engine shop with quick turnaround isn't looking good. Toying with just buying another tractor, but can't afford new junk, or desire to go 800 miles to get someone else's problems.

Opinions? Advice?
 
i would say well worn brgs. u have. plus the sleeve taking up space . think u were better off just using a new seal. also have u verified
you used the correct seal? them perkins have a lot of different variations. i dont even try to understand them. nice sounding engines though.
 
Roll in the the two rear main bearings and a new seal
and go. I would see if the the OD of the crank journal
with the sleeve installed is within the tolerance of rear
main seal per its manufacturer.
 
I also suggest rolling in new inserts the same as what comes out, then using a different thinner seal so 2 can fit. Put wheel bearing grease between them and
both will stay healthy. Jim
 
Jim, I doubt you could find a seal for an application like this that is thinner so you can use two. But I am sort of shooting off the cuff because I really do not know what kind of dimensions the seal bore has in this case. I would not be a fan of a double seal in a higher speed application like this. I really have no justification for this opinion but just sort of a gut feel. I would be more inclined to not seat the seal totally say short an 1/8 or 3/32 of an inch so it rides in an un-grooved part of the journal. I would probably want some idea of how much blow by the engine has under load to recommend this. However if it has a steel or not rubber coated OD a Loctite product would add some confidence that it would stay in position.
 
If you're going to do engine work this winter I would just put a new seal in and go. if you could put a rope seal in and pushed it in hard it would close up .004 pretty easy for a seasons use. Though I doubt the retainer is designed for a rope seal. I would worry about just replacing only a couple of the back mains. If it is worn enough to make that much slop ad replaced just 2 it would put a strain on the crank I would think. pressing the seal short so it rides in a different spot would also work for short term.
 
Thanks, gentlemen.

It's my nephew's tractor, and the only one we can make usable for his dry bean harvest without a lot of hours of fab work, changing wheel spacing, etc.

After reading your replies we've decided to do all the main bearings to snug things a little (after all, they usually come as a set and aren't that expensive), remove the sleeve as it's possible it slightly exceeds the seal tolerance, and try a new seal on the crank, moved a bit so it isn't riding on the worn spot.

From what I can see in the AGCO parts book, the rear main seal was the same for all builds of the 6.354, as well as the 3.152, and others.

Again, thanks for your input. Much appreciated.
 
(quoted from post at 12:07:35 08/21/22) Perkins 6.354 with about 4800 hours. It sits far more than it's used. We replaced the seal about 60 working hours ago and put a speedysleeve on the crank due to some grooving, and it recently started leaking badly again. Pulled the engine today and found the seal lips melted with a layer stuck to the sleeve.
Click to expand...

Don't use a speedi sleeve this time. Replace the bearings and seal and go. The seal fused because there was too much friction between the seal and the sleeve.
 
Sounds like the seal got hot, from lack of lubrication at the seal area. Getting hot is the only way for the seal rubber to transfer to the shaft. Did
you lube the seal with grease before installing it? That is the way I see it. Stan
 
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