I have an engine oil leak at the front of the crank. After getting under the car to confirm or deny my suspicion of the crank seal (front) being the culprit. I found traces of oil sprayed onto the drivers side of the lower parts of the engine bay but what concerned me was that when under the car the back snout of the crank pulley appeared dry. I am really happy to change the front crank seal and that isnt too hard but i am worried now that the sump gasget may be leaking at the front around the timing houseing. Can any one let me know their opinions and experiences relating to this? Also if the gasget is to blame what are the options?
The best thing i can suggest is give it a really good clean and get rid of all the mess . Take it for a couple laps around the block, get the engine nice and warm. Then park it up, and have another look under the car for the leak. Then you can better assess the severity of the leak and properly identify where it is coming from. Hope that helps a bit. -James
If the sump does need resealing you'll need to drop the crossmember to get it off. Not too difficult but takes time and you'll need an engine support brace. Theres a couple of tricky bolts to get to where the engine and transmission join. Will you be doing the work yourself?
Martini I will more than likely tackle it myself. As for the cam seals, I've prettyvwell decided that if I'm gonna do the crank seal I may as well do the cam seals aswell. I'm gonna degrease the undercarage and see if I can see the leak before it gets too messy to pinpoint. I scimped on the cam and crank seals in the 100K service and it seems I'm paying for it now. Any heads up on those tricky bolts if it is the sump?
ok i just craweled under the Zed and found a more accurate point for the leak. I found oil dripping off the steering rack, it is engine oil not steer fluid. I know there isnt much cleerance in Zed bays but it looks like the engine mounts have sagged and i fear the sump may be rubbing somewhere on the rack, having caused a small hole in the sump. I cant actually see the leak just that it is dripping of the steering rack!
