polecat702

Wouldn't the crankshaft or oil pump seals puke oil when the engine is running, as opposed to when it's off and sitting?

I've got an oil leak at the front of the engine, but can't seem to see where it's coming from. Oil is accumulating on the top front of the pan, and dripping on the floor. It looks as though it's being flung up on the timing belt covers too.

Any ideas appreciated.

dr bob

Pull a TB cover and look for oil inside. Front crank seal will get oil on the belt. Oil pump seal/o-ring are pretty obvious with the driver's side cover off. You have cam seals up high to look at. Down near the pan the dipstick tube o-ring and the oil level switch are candidates if the oil is local to that area only.

Leaks are fun.... Not!

dr bob

Also...

Since you just added Jeff's SC, look at the oil filler neck area and the valley to see if more intake pressure translated to more crankcase pressure. Tired hoses that held before may not be up to the job. Supercharging demands good vapor hoses and connections.

polecat702

Thanks Doc! I'm checking.

Mrmerlin

most likely the front main seal has come out,
drive the new seal a little bit further into the bore

soontobered84

Joe,
I replaced the front main seal on my 89 last time I did WP/TB. I also resealed the oil pump. I also believe that mine is leaking as well. Almost everything I did to replace the TB has to be removed and redone with the addition of the crank gear and the TB back plate and the small rollers under the crank gear. I'm hoping to get into it this weekend to know for sure.

It'll be nice if I can just drive the seal a little further into the bore and that works!

Mrmerlin

take a look at the removal cut on the seal bore make sure the wall on the girdle is not deformed as this will cause a leak, a small jewelers file will fix it

SeanR

Joe, not sure how deep you guys went in that short span of time to swap stuff over but there are a few things that definitely should be done when boosting, one is the oil baffle that Greg makes under that oil filler neck and some venting of the crank case.

Take a look and see if you have a front valley full of oil under your thermostat, if it's full it's going to over flow and run down the front of the engine landing right where you speak of. Clean it out and keep an eye on it.

Mrmerlin

Doh forgot about that Sean, I had an 86 that was flowing oil down the front

polecat702

I went thru 2 cans of brake clean, and cleaned as best I could. Put it up on the lift, and let it run for an hour. No oil. We'll see what's under the car tomorrow morning.

The crankcase is vented, no oil in the valley, just dirty. Need to do a top end refresh, and motor mounts. Got most every thing here in boxes already. Really don't want to tear it down in the heat, it's getting warm here.

Thanks for all the replies.

One thing I did find out. My ABS light didn't come on while the car was on the lift with the rear wheels turning, and I put the power to it too. Guess my problem is in the front, narrows that down.

dr bob

Joe -- That ABS symptom might push me to look in the rear rather than the front.

Thought process: If rears work but fronts don't, you get ABS light for rears turning but fronts not turning or failed. With the rear sensors failed, there's no indication of them turning and with fronts not turning, no failure light.

polecat702

I'll do that, thanks Doc.

Speedtoys

When did this start??

polecat702

The car sat for about 14 months, before I swapped out the transmissions. Got that sorted out, drove it very little. Took it the long way around Vegas in March. Noticed oil on the floor, not a big puddle. Put it on the lift, and noticed it was all the way across the front of the pan and dripping on the floor. After sitting all night.
Checked the oil level, still on the full mark. Parked it back in the garage, and it sat till this past weekend, when we installed the supercharger.

I had a coolant leak, after the first test run, and we fixed that Sunday morning, before we Sharktuned the car. Of course we wiped the oil, and coolant off the pan when we took care of the coolant leak.

I noticed oil on the floor this morning. Put it back on the lift today, cleaned every thing I could get to, and that's where I'm at tonight.

FWIW, this car has never leaked a drop, nor does it use oil between changes.

Rocinante

Oil leak resolved? What was it?