I removed the engine to replace the torque converter oil seal. At the same time, I removed the drive plate – the automatic transmission equivalent of the flywheel – to replace the engine’s main oil seal.

After removing the drive plate I found the hub had a groove worn into by the oil seal. It was not terribly deep, but needed fixing nonetheless.

Rather than have it machined, I used a Speedi Sleeve. This is a do-it-yourself fix, which consists of a ready-made sleeve, which you simply knock on with a rubber mallet. Even though my car is automatic, a similar fix could be used on the flywheel hub of a manual car.

The sleeves are made by Chicago Rawhide, and distributed worldwide by SKF. They are made of metal which is only 0.25mm thick, and thus add 0.5mm to the width of the hub.

Each one comes with an installation tool, which is basically a tin can:

The instructions call for a thin coating of non-hardening sealant to be applied to the inner surface of the sleeve. I used a tiny amount of red RTV, almost all of which was squeezed out when I installed the sleeve, and subsequently wiped off.

Installation is extremely simple, you just knock it on with a rubber mallet, and the end result is very impressive:

Speedi Sleeves come in a huge variety of sizes. The part number of the one I used for the automatic driveplate is CR 99272. This should be the right size for the manual transmission flywheel too, but I recommend measuring yours anyway, and selecting the right size according to the instructions here.