Take a close look under the engine at the front of the oil pan. If there is
wet oil (not the cakes on dirt that accumulates there) clean it off and
drive it for a few days...then recheck it. If the oil reappears, crank seal
or front timing cover seal is leaking - you'll have to look closer to find
out which though.
No, over heating won't cause the seal to leak but age will. If you're using
1qt/1K miles...check the plenum gasket also. At 120K miles...and if you're
going to change out the crank seal (if it's leaking)...think about replacing
the timing chain as well. They're really loose around 80-90K miles and, if
there's no factory tensioner, they can jump very easily without notice.
If the fan clutch is leaking, there will be some thick fluid around the
clutch seal.
Without actually seeing the vehicle, it's hard to really say what is
leaking....just going by what you're describing and experience at the shop.
- Bernd
-----Original Message-----
From: Jamie Calder [mailto:JCalder3@cfl.rr.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 18, 2007 10:56 PM
To: dakota-truck@dakota-truck.net
Subject: Re: DML: Crank Seal
You're right Jon, I'm not exactly sure where it's coming from. I pretty
sure it's engine oil. The power steering level stays the same while I need
to add 1 qt per +/- 1000 miles (however it's a 120,000 mile motor).
At the same time, the leak started after I replaced the radiator, water pump
and fan clutch. The truck overheated several times before I did the work.
Is it possible the overheating caused the crank seal to fail? Or perhaps
the new fan clutch is defective and leaking, however it's had to judge how
much oil is in that fan clutch and how much is slung around. It looks like
much more has leaked than what the clutch holds but I guess slung oil could
look like more than what's really there.
--------------------------------------------------
From: <jon@dakota-truck.net>
Sent: Tuesday, December 18, 2007 8:46 PM
To: <dakota-truck-moderator@bent.twistedbits.net>
Subject: Re: DML: Crank Seal
>
> "Jamie Calder" <JCalder3@cfl.rr.com> wrote:
>
>> My '96 has been leaking oil. It seems to be coming from the front
>> crank seal because it's being slung around by the fan creating a
>> splatter pattern on the overflow bottle, battery and underneath the
>> hood above the radiator.
>> Many more places but this is where it's most prominent.
>
>
> I'm certainly no expert in this area and haven't had the crank seal
> go on either of my Magnum engines, but in order for oil from the crank
> seal to reach the fan, it'd have to get by the harmonic balancer, then
> the crank pulley, and then up to the fan somehow. It seems more
> likely to me that a leaky crank seal would just drip down the front of
> the oil pan. Before ripping into it, I'd definitely check things out
> closer to find the exact cause of the leak. I suppose its possible
> that it is the crank seal, but if its being flung around by the fan, I
> would suspect something higher on the engine, like a valve cover
> (though that tends to drain off the back of the engine) or the timing
> cover possibly, although that would have a circuitous route to get to
> the fan as well. Are you certain that its oil? It might be power
> steering fluid, oily antifreeze, or even the fluid from the viscous
> clutch on the fan itself. If you aren't absolutely certain it is oil,
> it might be worthwhile to dump some UV dye into the crankcase. Even
> if it is oil, using some dye and carefully examining the engine every
> day may help you to determine exactly where it is coming from.
>
> I only mention the above since it would really suck to tear into
> the motor and replace the crank seal, only to find out that it was
> something else and then have to go into it again. :-(
>
> --
> -Jon-
>
> .- Jon Steiger -- jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com -.
> | '96 Kolb Firefly, '96 Suzuki Intruder, Miscellaneous Mopars |
> `-------------------------------- http://www.jonsteiger.com --'
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