Blown Crank Seal

[pizzamaker]

i would remove the shield on the exhaust side and clean there as well, and as long as the exhaust manifold is off! check the compression again.
the reading your getting is high, a plugged muffler will add to your loss of power! [just a guess]

[sccowboy]

manifold and such is very rusty......odds of wringing off a bolt are?????? I'm going to soak it with PB blaster n see what will happen.

[pizzamaker]

ya, you don't want to make more work for yourself, maybe your better off taking the muffler off at the manifold. it would be know that the muffler is not part of your problem, it's just a idea

[sccowboy]

im going to try that tomorrow and see if i can break it loose.

[sccowboy]

in the service guide it says to use a seal installation tool to install the new seal. do not have one so what is the best way to drive it in?

[ruredy]

BFH j/k, I use either sockets or a small body hammer, if you can find the right size piece of pipe that may work

[sccowboy]

haha.....I may talk to my neighbor who is a pro welder and see if he has a piece of pipe. I hate the cart being down. I am still concerned with why the seal blew out. I had been running semi continuously for about 45 mins clearing some trails at the farm. the engine seemed a little hotter than normal....the grime I found in the fins of the head explain that. We went thru a 8" deep mud hole and climbed a hill, then "chuff, chuff, chuff" blown seal. I noticed that the power and pickup of the engine was dropping off a bit possibly due to the amount of heat. Valves were set that morning to spec. I feel like the carb and original 1997 plug wires were contributing to the loss of performance. The compression test I did, while I did not keep both plugs in while doing the test, which is not in accordance with the manual, showed pretty high readings. Would too much oil cause excessive pressure in the crankcase? I intend on doing another oil change before getting her back online but I sure would like to zero in on the reason for seal failure. Incidentally, I thought about crank bearing failure but if I grab the clutch and try to wiggle it there is no play so I am assuming the bearings are holding up. As soon as I get her running again, I am going to do a hot compression test to see what it reveals. I thought about going ahead and doing Mikes muffler mod while I am in there and see if that helps but I don't want to add too much to the mix yet. Any input or thoughts are appreciated. I just want to cover all angles on this. I also noticed today that there is the number 28 stamped in the driven clutch. I think that means that I have a 28 degree clutch.....correct?

[pizzamaker]

28 degree clutch

[sccowboy]

yaaaaay!!

[COURTESYCART]

what did the plugs look like. were they oil soaked. having excessive oil in the combustion chamber will increase readings. I usually see around 150 or so.

a stopped up muffler will cause excessive press in combustion since it can not escape. the couple I have seen have no power after they have been run a few minutes and everything gets nice and hot.

I spray the crap out of the bolts with BP blaster and let it sit for a minute or so and go real slow. they will come out. Have not had one yet break or wring off.

I have not seen a crank seal blow, but have heard stories of them doing it.