replace crank seal on a 1500 ?

[OnaWingandaPrayer]

I have been into all parts of my bike ,but I cant find this in the Honda service manual .
Has anyone replaced the front crank seal on a 1500 ?
I am not concerned about all the things to remove to expose the seal(yes its on my Wing). Can it be tapped/pressed into place easily, or is it meant to be replaced only with the case split?

[John Schmidt]

I have a Wing shop manual, I'll take a look.

LATER:  I looked in the Wing 1500 manual and couldn't find anything either. So since it's basically the same engine, I looked in my shop manual for the Valkyrie and found something on page 11-16. It refers to installing the crankshaft and one of the statements is...."Apply moly grease to a new oil seal and install the oil seal with the lip side facing inside." This is done before replacing the main bearing cap. That kinda sounds like you can't r&r the seal from the outside. But before I admitted to defeat, I'd go on one of the Gold Wing boards and post the question. You might try http://www.goldwingfacts.com/  they cover all years and models. Good luck and let us know what you find out.

[OnaWingandaPrayer]

thanks John . I didnt find seal replacement for the crank , but then sometimes  i cant find my glasses propped up on my forehead 

 i dont have a problem getting the old seal out and tapping the new one in place . My concern , is the seal made to be installed as the case halves are bolted together.  I am probably over thinking this.

[John Schmidt]

Go back and read it again.....it appears the seal has a lip that it to be on the inside before installing the main bearing cap. If that's the case, you wouldn't be able to simply pull it and press a new one in. However, I just looked up the parts breakdown on Service Honda for a '98 Wing and that seal is only $8.86. I'd order one and see what it looks like, take a gamble on less than $10. JMHO 

It's possible the lip referred to may be the center of the seal that comes in contact with the crank. I know some seals are like that. If that's the case, I'd sure give it a whirl.

[Pappy!]

The service manual reference to a lip on a seal usually does mean the flexible seal lip and not a lip on the housing of the seal. Am betting there will be no housing lip on the seal when it comes in.
Just for an additional reference, outboard crank seals are installed before the crankcase housings are joined. The upper and lower seals on them can be changed without splitting the halves. Not the easies job but doable.