154 rear oil seal and retainer

[sjm32157]

I have my lo boy torn down and just received my reworked seal and retainer from Tim (tst). Fast turnaround and he does nice work. I lubed up the seal and the back of the crank and installed the seal / retainer. Everything lined up and went on snugly. It looks like it deformed the seal a little bit when I installed. Any concerns? It seems snug. The original seal fell out when I tore the tractor apart.....

[tractorgary]

Are you using a R1 rear engine retainer or an R2? it should be stamped on the retainer

[sjm32157]

Not sure which retainer it is, but Tim (tst) did the rework / reseal for me. Got to thinking about this after I saw the seal when I installed. Tore the tractor apart last night and the seal lip had actually rolled over about 1 1/2 to 2 inches. Cleaned up the crank, used a ton of WD40 and now the seal is installed the way it was intended. When it doesn't look quite right it usually isn't ...

[tst]

Yes it is best to grease up the seal before installing just for the reason you have, another reason to grease the seal is to make sure the spring inside the seal does not pop out, did you make sure the spring was still in the seal after you had rolled it over?
Tim

[sjm32157]

Greased/oiled everything on each attempt. I did check to make sure the spring was in place and it had popped out where the seal rolled over. Put the spring back in the groove where it should be, checked to be sure the seal lip didn't tear where it rolled. Everything is back in place and I hope to fire it up tonight.

[tractorgary]

Goodluck! let us know how it goes.

Back to the retainer, the original R1 retainer was notorious for leaking. The R2 isn't very forgiving either but if installed correctly should last years.

-G. R.

[sjm32157]

Fired it up last night. Rebuilt the carb while I had it torn down. No oil leaks and it seems to run a little better and smoother. Real test will be when I get the mower back on and cut some grass. Fingers crossed.

[Fitzp20102]

Did a RMS job on my 154 over the winter using parts and instructions from Hamilton Bob. Worked like a champ. About $25.

[saapgar]

I have previosly replaced oil seals on my riding lawnmowers, so i can use some hand tools. New to 154 however. Does anyone think replacing a rms is a straight forward job? Or should i go ahead and take it to the repair shop? Thanks for any input,
Scott