civic vx input shaft seal - how deep?
 

just in the middle of replacing the growling input shaft bearing on my vx trans. all is going well so far but i made the foolish mistake of removing the old input shaft seal without noticing exactly how deep it was installed. does the seal get tapped in until it bottoms out on the trans housing?

thanks in advance. really excited to get this back together and the car on the road. also replacing the half shaft seals, clutch kit, and rear main seal while i'm at it.

Did you do all the bearings or just that one? Im not sure but i have never seen a seal that you bottom out. Just in the housing and square. How many hours in the trans? Not the removal just the disassemble and assemble. Did you do syncros or anything?

just the input shaft bearing. it's the only one giving any trouble and from some online research, it appears to be a common problem on these transmissions. the synchros are a little worn but i don't care. i've lived with worn synchros in all my other cars. the growling ISB was a little worrisome though so i wanted to deal with it. also glad i pulled the old clutch off because it was down to its rivets, and the throwout bearing was way worse than the ISB. funny though because it made no noise.

didn't take long to disassemble the trans. maybe an hour? i used a link that i think you posted in another thread, this one

DIY: Tranny removal and Input Shaft Bearing change - D-series.org

i didn't have any problem with the snap ring though. my biggest problem was the one of the dowels that lines the two halves of the trans housing up was corroded so i had to slowly pry it apart by banging a cold chisel in between them. it was also a little tricky lifting all the gears out but i got it. been waiting for parts forever, finally ready to move ahead. i think i will have to pull that seal back a bit before i put it back together though.

if anyone else is positive about the depth of the seal, please let me know.

update, just checked the FSM (thanks, hondahookup!) and this info is on page 378, or 13-28. it simply says to drive the seal into the clutch housing, and then if you look closely at the diagram in step #3 you can see that the seal is indeed bottomed out. the top edge of the housing where the seal is tapped in is beveled, and in the same diagram you can also see that the side of the seal which faces the bearing is at the bottom of the bevel. this is what i found when i installed this seal today so it looks like i have the seal installed to the correct depth.

here's the link to the FSM for anyone who wants it.

Honda Civic Service Manual 1992 - 1995 - Downloads - Hondahookup.com

I remember it being flush or slightly in from flush.

next stupid question: does the spring side of the seal face in towards the oil or out towards the clutch? now i'm worried i put it in backwards.

thank god i'm not working for anyone else.

Spring is always towards the lube.

dang, that's what i figured but only after i put the seal in. i have another on the way as i type this.

Spring always in take pics it helps. If you do you never need them. If I ever take one apart I will replace all the bearings. They are fairly cheap. Glad it all went well.

finished this job recently. thanks for the 'which way does the seal face' answer, i will never forget that now. i wanted to mention that the seal does in fact bottom out in the housing, or just about.

after getting everything back together, back in the car, and also replacing the clutch disc, pressure plate, t/o bearing, input shaft bearing, machining the flywheel, replacing the axle shaft seals, front brake pads and rotors, and leaky rad, all is running really well.

rusty, i didn't want to bother with the other bearings because at a minimum of $30 each, the cost adds up quick, and i've never had any other trans bearings fail. this was actually the first bad trans bearing i've come across so i figure the other ones will likely last the rest of the cars life. but if i'm wrong and have to do the whole damn thing over again sometime soon, i'll owe you a cold one.

off-topic but holy ****, those brake rotor retaining screws were a nightmare to get out. only got one of the four out in reusable shape. had to punch a divot in the outer edge of the screw face, and then bash a small punch into the divot in a counter clockwise direction. two didn't even come out, i just sheared the screw heads off so i had to drill the shafts out and tap new threads into the hub. couldn't believe how difficult a simple brake job wound up being. you better believe i put some anti-sieze on the new retaining screws.