At only 65,500 miles, my front crank seal leaks enough between oil changes that the fan blows oil clear back to the transmission bellhousing.

I'm half tempted to try the fix myself, seeing as Advance will loan out the fan puller and harmonic balancer kits I need. The guy at the counter showed me the seal - just a typical steel-body double lip ring oil seal.

Posts on other forums make it out to be a straightforward job. Has anyone here tried it, and if so, any tips?

 

It is supposed to be simple, just be precise and do it right the first time or it will just leak again. Make sure you grease the new seal too.

Mine started leaking at 86k. I had it replaced at the dealer. It was only a $250 job which isnt too bad for a dealer price. It was the middle of winter and I was sick of the oil going all over the place, and at the dealer there is a guarantee on the work

Its not uncommon for these seals to start leaking shortly after they are installed.

 

Thanks rengnath. I searched (yay!) and saw your old post. $250 from a dealer isn't bad, and I trust a local shop to be able to handle an oil seal for less $. I will have them quote me on Monday and see whether the convenience is worth it. I might do it myself, if I can get another set of mechanically inclined hands (and wheels) for a day.

It's been leaking for along time, and I just wipe it down every so often. It seems to be slowly worsening, and it grimes the sh*t out of my otherwise clean and leak-free engine bay and underbody. That is, of course, until you get to the mess that the leaky pinion seal is making.

It's very hard to seal rotating shafts, especially when today's oils are designed to lubricate the tight tolerances of modern engines. I still would have expected a bit more than 65K miles out of the factory seal. My dad's tractor didn't need a front seal for 72 years! The old one was made from cork

 

Yeah, the 1 year/12k warranty was worth the money for me. Its not that I couldnt do it myself, but why do it myself and then if it doesnt fix it, I have to do it again.

Mine started leaking because I put synthetic in. Synthetic doesnt cause leaks, it just finds leaks that conventional oil hid. Now I only run conventional and I havent had any issues. I still have something slowly leaking up there, but I think its the front of the head. I change the oil every 3,000k and I get about 5.75qts out, and Im sure most of it is being burned.

For cleaning (sounds like you already know how to clean it), I use brakleen and/or simple green. Nothing has worked better for me, and both products will turn my block to the shiney silver it was when it was new.

Good luck!

 

i had mine replaced around 90k awhile after i went to synthetic and all it caused was a slight film but when i get in a wreck i had it replaced when the front end was apart and it was only 100 bucks but they had nothing in the way the core support was taken out to replace something else but hell i thought that was high lol guess not

 

Simple Green is good stuff. I'll leave it oily so the shop can see what's up.

 

Well the shop had my truck all day, and couldn't find a definitive leak. They cleaned the underside of the engine and crossmember, ran it, drove it, and put it back on the lift. Nothing...just a really clean engine. I poked around with a flashlight while chatting up the mechanic, and we both agreed that there was no obvious oil leak.

The thermostat was weeping coolant ever so slightly, but that's it.

Shops advice? Drive it, check it weekly, and it may or may not reappear. Walked out for $20 to clean it and have the coolant system pressure tested. Pretty fair, they could have replaced the seal for a lot more, and I wouldn't have known the difference.

Onto other projects for now....

 

Not to be a debbie downer, but it will probably leak again. My front seal drove me nuts when it first started leaking. I would clean it and drive for a week with nothing, look under there a couple of days later and it would be covered. I thought it was the oil pan gasket, but I narrowed it down to the crank shaft seal after about 20 times of cleaning it. Lol.

 

I don't doubt it. They probably didn't get it very hot, wind it up to 5,000 RPM or let it idle for a half hour. But, for $20 and a clean engine, at least I can start making more careful observations. Once I get a feel for the rate of leakage, I will decide how much cleaning I'm willing to do before having it replaced.

Since I detail my truck weekly or bi-weekly in the summer, checking the crank leak will be just another task.

 

If you want, I could probably make the trip there this weekend and give you a hand? I mean it is only a half hour drive