j_martin

About a year ago, I dealt with the KDP, and installed a new Victor oil seal on a perfect looking crank. Now that seal has failed. The oil loss is enough to drastically shorten the life of the serpentine belt.

Yes, I put a new cover gasket in at the same time. Had the radiator out so I had lots of room to do things right.

Now what? I need some advice.

jimbo486

Maybe need to sleeve the crank snout? You say the crank looked perfect so I assume there was no grooving that you could see.

j.fonder

replace it with a cummins one? i'd ditch the cover gasket for red RTV as well, since you'll have it off again.

jimbo486

I used a timing cover gasket on mine years ago. I applied a thin film of RTV silicone to both sides.

j_martin

If I need a sleeve, which I cannot discern until I've torn it down, where would I get it.

jimbo486

Cummins has a seal kit with a sleeve to match the larger diameter. I used it on mine and don't have my invoice handy at the moment. Gotta love QuickServe though .

The Cummins P/N for the wear sleeve itself is 3906080.

That number cross references on QuickServe to a front wear sleeve kit. P/N: 3802820. Although, the diagram shows a crank for a 4BT, it could very well be the same for a 6BT.

I would give the parts counter guy/gal the number for the wear sleeve and just tell them you want the kit with the seal as well. See if the P/N for the kit matches what I found. If not, give your ESN to the Cummins parts guy/gal and tell them you want the seal with a wear sleeve. I know a "kit" exists.

j_martin

So it looks like I need to pull it down and access the damage before I order any parts from Cummins.

jimbo486

I would. As you said, there's no other way to know until you can inspect it closely.

j_martin

Got it pulled down. Both the seal and the gasket failed. I put the paper (Victor) gasket in with grey permatex. Didn't locktite the screws, which is why it failed I believe.

Paid over a hundred bucks for a Cummins seal with a sleeve. Install guide came with it, but not a depth gauge/driver.

Also paid over $30 for a paper gasket, and almost $16 for a $5 tube of loctite 5699. Why is my butt sore?

Anyway, how do I put in the sleeve and seal?

For the cover, the Cummins parts desk guy said that the later 5.9's don't have a paper gasket, they just use 5699.

j.fonder

the mechanic I spoke with at my cummins dealer recommended red RTV over the gasket. said to put a nice bead all the way around the cover, install the cover with the bolts just snugged, let the RTV set up for ~30 minutes, and then torque the cover down. I did it this way about 9 months ago and haven't had any problems since!

j_martin

RTV on the cover side of the gasket (by applying to cover) only?

Looked at the shaft again, and the groove can just barely be palpated (felt) and is smooth. I think I can set the seal at a different depth and use a standard seal.

On that note, I picked up a seal at the Dodge dealer, part # 6802 7026 AA. It has a different guide, flat fronted with a hole to center on Harmonic balancer pin projecting from the crank. It must be put in after the cover is on. I think I can make a tool to smoothly set it using the threaded holes in the crank.

jimbo486

Crank your oven up as high as it can get and put the sleeve in it for 30-45 minutes. With a suitable glove (or pair of gloves), remove the sleeve and run over to the truck and slip it on the crankshaft snout. It more than likely won't slip on very far so have a 2x4 and small sledgehammer ready. Working in a circular pattern, 12, 3, 6, 9 o'clock, tap it on to the snout until it's flush or just beyond flush with the face of the crank.

As for the seal, it'll do fine if you seat it flush in its bore of the timing case. Just as you would a wheel seal, with a block of a wood and and hammer, slowly work it in using a circular pattern. The plastic sleeve/guide, stays in the seal temporarily. As you're installing the cover, the sleeve will slip over the crankshaft snout and ensures the lip of the seal doesn't fold forward. I do believe it's supposed to be installed dry, also.

There is a timing cover gasket available. If the later 5.9's don't use one, that's fine, but OUR earlier 5.9's do/did. I just felt better having a gasket even though I placed a bead/film on both sides of it. Gear Cover Gasket P/N: 3914385. Position 11 in the attached image.

j.fonder

Red rtv only, no gasket, no problems!

Always more than one way to skin a cat!

j_martin

The latest Cummins recommendation is LocTite 5699, which is why I bought a tube.

I think I'll do it with that, no paper gasket, and use locTite blue on the screws. I cleaned up and tapped the old seal just barely into the cover to use as an alignment tool. After the cover is set, I can pull it out and put in the new seal.

Last time I did it it looks like I did Permatex black on the cover side of the gasket. Held till a couple of screws loosened up.

I was planning to set the seal pretty deep to get the best part of the seal past the wear mark. I'll look closely, and if the front part of the sealing surface is usable, I'll set it flush instead. No sense in sacrificing good crank metal to rust.

I'm off to get a couple of 125 mm long bolts to make a seal installer out of a bearing nut socket. Pictures to follow if it works. Best part is it shouldn't hurt it's function as a socket.

j.fonder

thank you for that update! i'll change my recommendation from the red RTV to the 5699 from now on!

I think the main thing here is that they recommend some sort of silicone sealer over the gasket. for whatever reason it may be. I know it's easier to clean off than old gasket if you ever need to remove it!