The flywheel located in the center at the very bottom of my engine has a very interesting situation going on. this flywheel or pulley ( what ever ) has a gasket within the perimeter and is bulging out . Does anyone know what this centered and lowest flywheel is for besides spinning the serpentine. There is no fliuds around this wheel. Obviously it is alarming, has anyone dealt with this before? Caleb

 

Caleb - you're looking at your crankshaft pulley. Yes it has a seal, don't think they bulge too much ???? but if it's not leaking, dont worry about it. They can leak a little and the drips fly all over the place making the leak look much worse than it really is. Worst case scenario - $200 inc seal to replace at a good independant shop. Gary.

 

Britabroad is correct that you are looking at the crankshaft pulley and the seal in question is the front main seal. Eventually it will start leaking oil. Degrease the engine really well and keep an eye on it for when it starts leaking if it hasn't already. I would replace it as soon as possible to eliminate the possibility of getting out on or off the road away from home and having to deal with it then. I prefer to be proactive in stuff like that rather than waiting fr it to be a problem.

 

Are you talking about the "gasket" ON the pully or behind the pully?

 

I am talking about the gasket within the pulley. Not the main seal on the engine. ALso known as the harmonic balancer, from what i hear. When i say bulging i mean about 1 1/2 inches is sort of popping out. The engine runs great and there are no vibrations.

 

Ok, you need a new harmonic damper, that is a rubber seal that is sticking ouit, that is what "dampens" the vibrations from the engine, if/when that rubber seal fails you are toast.
It should give you plenty of warning before it does...but who knows.