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86-95 Trucks & 4Runners 2nd/3rd gen pickups, and 1st/2nd gen 4Runners with IFS

Your Experience with Speedy/Redi Sleeves?

Old 11-03-2009, 01:59 PM
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Your Experience with Speedy/Redi Sleeves?

When a front crank pulley (harmonic balancer as Toyota likes to call it) or the rear part of the crankshaft where the main seal rides develops a groove from seal wear, a common recommendation is to sleeve it. A thin, hard sleeve is pressed on to cover the groove and provide a nice, flat, smooth surface for a new seal to ride against. Seems like a no-brainer. Just do it.

The argument against sleeving, which I first saw from Marlin, is that sleeves are so hard they never establish a cozy relationship with the seal. The two don't wear in together. Wear occurs practically 100% on the seal itself. No groove gets formed to hold the seal lip in place. When the lip gets worn down to the point it starts leaking, the junction is likely to further deteriorate rapidly.

Without a sleeve, a seal and underlying surface wear in together. The mated junction holds up much better.

That's the general argument against sleeving as I understand it.

Marlin wrote concerning replacing the rear main seal (http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=17150.0):

Originally Posted by Marlin
Do not use a seal sleeve, it will always leak.

I always prefer a Toyota seal.

After the old seal is removed, check for a worn groove on the crankshaft hub.
Always lightly sand the crank hub with 400 sand paper and if there is a wear groove, I belt sand the rear face of the new seal until the metal shows thru the rubber, and then install the seal.
This will allow the seal to sit deeper and contact on the good area of the crank.
But, sleeves seem to be popular, and many use them.

What's your experience with sleeves? If you've used one or several, how have they worked out for you? How long have they been in service?

Last edited by flyingbrass; 11-03-2009 at 02:01 PM.
Old 11-03-2009, 06:15 PM
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I have had sleeves on both front and rear of crank for the past 6 years; no problems.
used one for the rear main on another vehicle as well without issue.

that does sound like a good plan from Marlin, however.
stuff like that never seems to work for me, though.
I would imagine that would have to be a good 2-3mm for the seal lip to not want to suck back into the old groove?
and then you have to know how far in to push the seal, how much is too far, etc.
just seems like a risk for the work it takes to replace a rear main. front's not so bad.

suppose you could always try the Marlin option later if the sleeve doesn't work, but I haven't had any problems using sleeves, and I've used them in three instances.
I'd be more inclined to start with the sleeve since it's more of a no brainer to work it out.
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