Balancer seal saver....

Anyone ever use one?

I had to pull my rad yesterday due to a burst seam and thought I should pull my waterpump and thermostat for inspection. Then I thought maybe I should pull the timing cover to inspect the timing set and fix that pesky leak behind the balancer. Well, the seal is dried and cracked in about five places and there is a groove worn around the mating surface on the balancer. My neighbor said I should look into a seal safer kit which consists of a thin sleeve to put over the balancer shaft and a tool to drive it on for around fifty bucks. Does this work for the long run, or should I put out the extra cash for a new balancer? How much does a balancer cost anyway?

Oh, and the timing set was so loose it looked like I was seconds away from catastrophic engine failure.

Well I went with the seal saver. I didn't get the kit, I just bought the sleeve with locktite for thirteen bucks and drove it on with a mandrel. Looks like it did the trick.

I also put a new timing set in and cleaned and painted all the covers, brackets and water pump.

The one piece oil pan gasket I recently put in sure made things easier. You don't have to drop the pan or use those hokey gasket ends that come with the timing cover gasket kit.