I have a good oil leak coming from the front of my engine (4.6L). What are the most common causes of this? Where should I look? I removed the plastic cover so I can get a better look and I can see oil slowly coming down from behind the crankshaft pulley. Obviously it could be coming from above that so I’m not sure. Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

I'd do the front crank seal. I had a similar leak and when I changed the front crank seal it solved 95% of the oil leaking (it's still a 21 year old rover ha). The old seal was rock hard so it made sense why it wasn't doing anything. I'd also look at putting a speedy sleave on the crank pully, mine had some shallow grooves which is probably letting the new seal leak a bit. I got lucky and the whole thing took 30 minutes but it really comes down to if your fan clutch wants to come off the water pump or not. I'd start soaking it in PB a couple days before you start.

 

You might torque the pan bolts/nuts just for kicks first, but a main seal is a likely culprit.

 

Positive it’s not the pan. I cleaned it as much as I could and no seepage there. It’s going in the shop tomorrow for a transmission leak to be fixed. But now I have this going on. Such is life. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Any idea on what a main seal fix will set me back?

 

Make sure you get OEM seal. I got the cheap one and it started leaking after 2 months. I have had the OEM in there for 2 years now and no leak.

 

Make sure you check the condition of the shaft as well. If it's scored, install a speedi-sleeve otherwise it will just leak again very quickly.

 

If you do it yourself it’s cheap, even if you need a speedie-sleeve. If you’re paying a mechanic it won’t be huge either, but it will take him a few hours, mainly getting access. I don’t have anywhere near as much experience on these as some of the guys here, but I think chances are you won’t need the sleeve.

 

Thanks. It’s going in the shop (Austin Rover Works in Round Rock, TX) for another issue tomorrow so I’ll just have them look at it. Was just wondering ballpark.

 

I do this every oil change and am always surprised that at least a few benefit from it. These things just wanna loosen up don't they!