1989porsche928

My car is still at the transmission shop. But I would like to plan for the next project on it. Finding out where the oil leak is coming from. I am worried that the leak can come from the front or rear main crank seal. What is the simplest way to determine this? Can I see the seals without taking apart half the car? I have a jack, jack stands and tools.

MainePorsche

If it's in the front, on a lighter note it may be from where the dipstick sheath enters the pan. You may just need the small O ring.

ammonman

Get the car safely up on stands and start following the oil. Wherever you find the area above isn't oily and the area below is you've found the right general area. Both the front and rear main seals along with just about every other oil leak source can be replaced/repaired with the engine in the car. Be sure to clean as you go to make finding additional or new leaks easier in the future. How big a leak are you chasing? Oil on the floor? Smoke when running?

Mike

1989porsche928

their was smoke, also their was oil every where, on the liner, in the front of the engine, just everywhere, it was weird.

1989porsche928

also i did clean the engine areas before i towed it to the transmission person, i figured i could make sure the oil level is good then turn the car on to see where oil is leaking out of. I really wanted to see if their was a way to look at the front and rear seals without taking to much stuff off.

MainePorsche

Cam seal, cam cover gasket ?
I took off one time and forgot to put the dipstick back. I had a mess in the front, but no smoke and the liner was wasn't soiled.

ammonman

Are you leaking oil or transmission fluid? There are two transmission lines to the two coolers (one in the RH radiator side tank and one in front of the radiator) that are some usual suspects. Then there are the two engine oil cooler lines connected to the cooler in the other radiator side tank. All of these hoses should be replaced if they haven't been done yet. The transmission fluid is quite flammable and has burnt more than one car to the ground after contacting hot exhaust parts. As far as inspecting front and rear main seals you have to remove everything necessary to do a timing belt change plus remove the rear timing cover IIRC to get at the front main seal. The rear main is easy by comparison only requiring the exhaust to be loosened at the manifold outlets along with the stay brackets so the lower cover on the front bell housing can be removed. A small inspection mirror will be necessary to look thoroughly at the rear main seal.

Mike

1989porsche928

i am sure it was oil

dr bob

The crank seals generally leak slowly and downward. It's possible that oil from the rear had worked its way down to hit the cross pipe. Oil from the rear seal is easy to find inside the inspection plug at the bottom of the bellhousing. Remember that oil leaks on top of the engine that fill the valley will eventually find there way to the top of the bellhousing on the outside, thanks to the drain hole for such things at the back of the valley.

Common leaks: Camshaft seals and plugs front and rear. Cam cover gaskets. Oil filler neck cracks that fill the valley. Cam cover vent hoses to the intake plumbing in the valley. On the front, oil leaks from te front crank seal, often changed as part of a timing belt project. The oil drain plug and filter are obvious under the car, but the oil cooler hoses to the left side of the radiator can leak a lot of oil in a hurry when they fail. Power steering leaks often loose their pink color as the fluid washes through accumulated dirt and other contamination on the way to the ground. Ditto ATF leaks from cooler lines to the radiator, and also those rubber sections over the torque tube.

ATF leaks over the torque tube flow down past the heat shield and end up un the exhaust, lots of smoke and sometimes (read: too often) causing a fire. That also slowly drains the transmission of fluid. Coincidence that the car is at the transmission shop? If the shop has the trans out, it's super easy to drop the torque tube if they haven't already. The tranmission fluid lines are above the torque tube. They were disconnected at the rear to drop the trans, so can be pressure-tested in place along with the cooler. It's a good idea to just replace the rubber sections while you have easy access, even if they aren't leaking now.