ridgerun wrote:
When I replace this seal I can leave balancer intact right? Going to start teardown tonight but after looking at service manual looks like I can leave in but just want to be sure. And yes it is the inside seal not the one on the cover with water pump.
May I kindly suggest that once you get the bottom end apart, inspect all bearings and seals for replacement. If you only replace one seal, everything else might go bad later on in time. If it were me, I would do a full rebuild and replace all bearings and seals.
To answer your question about the balancer, the balancer can stay in, but you will probably need to remove the balancer gear. I would actually pull the balancer and inspect it as well. The bearing on the balancer and the bearing on the balancer cover may need to be replaced.
Best of luck and keep us posted, please include some pics once you get started:)