Crank seal leaking on 09 Jetta twin charger

[fillmore]

Had service completed at local independent and advised of leaking crank seal. 78,000 km on odometer. Is this common with low mileage?

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[Umai Naa!!]

Rubber tends to decay with age, not distance travelled.

[fillmore]

Thanks for the quick reply Umai Naa. I must have a bit of rubber in myself.
Does $280 for the seal and 2hrs to fit sound like a fair enough ballpark figure?

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[Lucas_R]

Had my rear main seal replaced at 85,000km on my Mk6 GTI as it was leaking. VW reliability.

[fillmore]

Thanks for chiming in Lucas R. Nice to know I'm not alone, and at similar k's.

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[hugh.venables]

$280 for the genuine VW seal is about right but there's no way Superman could do it in 2 hours. You've got to remove half the front end, the gearbox, clutch and flywheel to get at it. Are you sure they didn't say two days?

[Umai Naa!!]

Depends if it's front or rear.

[VW Convert]

Thanks for the quick reply Umai Naa. I must have a bit of rubber in myself.
Does $280 for the seal and 2hrs to fit sound like a fair enough ballpark figure?

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$280 for a crank seal? That's theft!

Cheers

George

[Umai Naa!!]

Depends how the seal comes.

Not many come as a seal on their own anymore. It's usually part of a seal plate.

FWIW T5GP BT front crank seal plate is just under $400 retail, R36 Passat front seal plate is around $300.

[blower]

2 hours labour - this will be the front seal, i.e. the pulley side.

That seal is about $50 AUD from VW, and is separate part no. 038103085E - it fits into the timing chain cover and can be renewed without taking the cover off (which is just as well as that's a fairly big job on this engine).

[VW Convert]

Depends how the seal comes.

Not many come as a seal on their own anymore. It's usually part of a seal plate.

FWIW T5GP BT front crank seal plate is just under $400 retail, R36 Passat front seal plate is around $300.

Understand that these are a seal within an (I assume) alloy housing but 40 plus years in the truck and bus spare parts business, many of those spent dealing with major German OE and aftermarket suppliers tells me that there is an enormous profit margin built into these items at that sort of price.


Cheers

George

[Umai Naa!!]

Not for me there isn't, especially when in most cases it's genuine-only, from the dealership.

Trade price there is retail minus 10%.

[VW Convert]

Not for me there isn't, especially when in most cases it's genuine-only, from the dealership.

Trade price there is retail minus 10%.

Yep, the profit is raked in by VW.

[fillmore]

2 hours labour - this will be the front seal, i.e. the pulley side.

That seal is about $50 AUD from VW, and is separate part no. 038103085E - it fits into the timing chain cover and can be renewed without taking the cover off (which is just as well as that's a fairly big job on this engine).

That's correct, driver's side. Actually been done again since then as it had the dreaded piston failure shortly after at 78,000 km. When doing the rebuild the dealership supposedly put another new seal in which leaked. Returned car to have diagnosed and had to return again another day to have a sump gasket renewed. Still leaking so returned car again to find that they had misdiagnosed, so had to return again another day to have another front seal fitted.
Also when I got the car home after the rebuild, I discovered that they managed to lose one of the grommets holding the engine cover on and pushed the front of the right hand front guard where it folds over the headlight, leaving a slight crease. Thankfully, this was all fixed during my many visits and all the work was covered under warranty. I just worry about their work I can't see.
The first seal replacement was done at an independent, which I will continue to remain with after this experience.

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[blower]

The seal should be replaced with a special tool - if not it is easy to damage and hence leak.
Also the crankshaft surface must have no oil or grease on it when it is inserted into the seal - as again if it does have oil it will cause the inner part of the seal to expand and again leak later.