My nose is running.

[Metalingus]

My front crank seal is seeping. Has been since I bought the truck. After the shafting from Purvis Ford on the thermostats, I want to do the fix myself. I looked under the truck and thought it could be done from there. Maybe not. I bought the Helms manual on cd and after looking at the pics of the guy making the 08 PSD Excursion, I can just unbolt the entire front end to gain the access I need. The worst part being draining the cooling system to remove the radiator, and not looking forward to refilling it. Is this a logical way to go? I figure all the small coolers can just be moved out of the way. Needs belts, too, so there's plenty to do in there to justify the work. Should save me about $1000000000000000000000 in labor costs. This should be the way to go, right?

[sinner6.0L]

you don't need to remove the rad or any of the coolers. You do have to get the upper shroud, fan stator and fan out.

[WildStyle]

I've never had to remove the shroud or fan to do a front seal on them....Just lock out the belt tensioners and pull the front damper off. There is also some special tools involved for removing and installing the seal.

[Metalingus]

So you are saying there's enough clearance between the rad and motor to place a puller? I figured I'd need a bit more room. What type of tool would I need to dig out the seal or can I use a small pick/hook?

[WildStyle]

Yes, there is enough room to work underneath once the balancer is removed.

The new and old seals have a steel sleeve that is pressed onto the crank snout. You need the tool to pull the old sleeve off and to press the new sleeve on.

To remove the seal I simply drill a small hole into the outer flange of the seal and thread a screw into and use that to pry/pull the old seal out. You still need the tools to install and remove the sleeve on the crank though.