[rodsnhawgs]

Now we're down to it. With the flexplate (flywheel on standard cars) removed, the offending RMS is exposed. This is the old style seal - if you'll refer to the Renntech link, you can see and read all about these and how the newer Cayenne style seal is the latest replacement. My personal opinion on the seal failures, based on limited knowledge here...:

The material of construction (MOC) appears to have been incorrect for the application. However, this is secondary to the design flaw of the crank support (or lack of) at the rear of the block. I think these two issues are what cause the RMS leak issue. W/ the crank unsupported, the rotating mass and associated harmonics make it impossible to maintain a straight axis through the crank centerline. Lots of heat is generated as the seal "rubs" on the rear crank causing the seal to become less pliable over time. As the seal hardens and the harmonics continue, oil naturally finds a path out. My/our hope, given the fact that Porsche has decided to ignor the unsupported crank issue, is that the new seal MOC will maintain its integrity and thus eliminate/reduce the number of seal failures we're seeing. It's a bandaid fix, but if it works....

OK, on to the show: Here you can see the leaky seal ( 2 pics). With the seal removed, the pics show the wear mark on the crank (please excuse the out of focus pic). In my case, the seal did not wear a groove in the crank, but only left a score mark. My guess is that some failures are a result of an actual groove left in the crank - check this closely. Part of the recommended r & r is that the new seal be set deeper into the block (see thread below). I concur... I also followed the recommendation that the four block bolts and three intermediate shaft bolts be replaced. This is cheap insurance if you're this deep into the project. With the seal replaced, the reassembly is again straightforward. If you go to my first post in this thread (int shaft seal...) you can see the new seal installed in the pic. I replaced all eight flexplate bolts w/ new ones (once again as cheap insurance @ $1 each). Use locktight blue on them as Porsche bolts don't use any type of lockwasher. Please refer to the links below for more details.