Oil leak, looks like front crank

[snowwolf]

I was changing the oil today and while I was under the truck, I noticed that there is oil seaping along the bottom and it looks like it may be from the front oil seal.
There is no evidence of any oil on the pully as you look from the top of the engine down, but there is some oil on the belly pan, not to much, I dont seem to get any patches under the truck when it's been standing.

What I would like to know is, is this likely to suddenly get worse with bad results? I am planning to go on a little trip of 800 miles tomorrow, is it likely to fail or just seap for years, it seemed to start seaping when I put semi synthetic oil in on the last oil change.

Should I be worried or not?

 

[TX_TLC]

I would switch back to a non synthetic and see what happens. There are many cases here where people have switched to synthetic and a seep or consumption increased.

Of course then there was Dave Connors who switched to Rotella and blew a seal...although that seemed to be a very issolated case.

 

[Jason Andrews]

My front and rear main have been leaking for 5+years now and havent got any worse. Just a drip or two every now and then on the sway bar and ground. Seems like it leaks more on short trips than long ones. I dunno why. You should be fine

 

[landtank]

Think crank sensor!

 

[snowwolf]

Crank sensor?

I did notice an oval lug about 40mm long and oval with a screw at each end, was near the crank pully end, is that the sensor? seem to be coming from that area.

 

[landtank]

that's the guy and the O-Ring is just over a 100.00 here in the US, but you do get a new sensor with it.

 

[Rookie2]

First, I'd start by clean the area good and then keeping an eye on it. In that area, it could be serveral different things. I switched to synthetic last oil change (approximately 5500 miles) and noticed that I started getting a leak in the seam at the oil pump cover, which is right by the region you're talking about. Cleaned it and am keeping an eye on it. It's a very slow leak, that's not much more than a sheen at this point so we'll see.

I believe what Rick is referring to is the failure that C'Dan went through a couple of years ago and when it blew he was pretty much dead in the water.


Rookie2

 

[snowwolf]

mmmmmmmm I will take a better look when I get back from my trip, going camping on mount Snowdon in Wales, which is about an 800 mile round journey, I will take some pics when I get back, or even when I am out on the tracks, and inform you as to what may be wrong

 

[scottm]

My 40th had a leaky front main, it was pretty gradual, I put up with it for about a year. My other '97 seems to be leaking a little now.

 

[snowwolf]

Thanks for the post Scottm I will have a closer look when the weather gets better here in the UK, was going camping for the week, but s***e weather here now, so not going :-(

 

[scottm]

Thanks for the post Scottm I will have a closer look when the weather gets better here in the UK

I've spent many summers there, that could be a while I did the front seals myself, not a bad job, good opportunity to replace the belt idler and belts.

 

[CJBury]

Mine also leaks. Some what comforting to hear that this is common. It is a very slow leak but it still annoys me.

 

[Zane]

I had a very similar leak up front. I also didn’t have any noticeable oil on the crank pulley so I narrowed it down to the Oil Pump Seal. I documented a step by step process to replacing your oil pump seal a while back and it can be found in the FAQ section or you can click here to see the post.

Note while I was in there I replaced the front crank shaft seal as well for good measure. Hope this helps!

Cheers

Zane

 

[spartan]

Originally thought mine was the crank sensor. Took off the skid plate, cleaned and watched. It was the oil pump seal. You should do the same before throwing away money on the crank sensor. Easy fix as opposed to a difficult one, but better to fix the real leak.

 

[snowwolf]

So is the oil pump gasket easy to do?

 

[Bear80]

the oil pump gasket in it's self is pretty easy, however there is alot of steps to ge get to it. The radiator has to come out, the crank pully has to come off along with some other minor details. Those are just what comes to mind, and breaking the bolt on the crank pulley can be pretty hard.

 

[Rookie2]

the oil pump gasket in it's self is pretty easy, however there is alot of steps to ge get to it.

FWIW, based on zjz's thread, apparently it's not necessary to remove the radiator.


Rookie2

 

[Gumby]

Blew out my front main too. it's not uncommon. Lots have done it. There's been a few threads about it. The hardest part is breaking loose the crank bolt.

 

[Zane]

FWIW, based on zjz's thread, apparently it's not necessary to remove the radiator.


Rookie2

That is correct! You DO NOT have to remove the radiator to remove and replace the oil pump seal. Again see my first post in this thread for link to my FAQ write up for a step by step how to for this job.

Zane (zjz4476)

 

[Bear80]

Well pulling the radiator helps get an impact wrench on the crank bolt, otherwise you'll have a hell of a time trying to get it off. And honestly the radiator isn't as hard to pull as a few recent post made it out to be.