XJ XJ6 / XJR6 ( X300 ) 1995-1997

Oil leak at front of engine how to tell if crankseal?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Jul 26, 2022 | 03:42 AM
  #1  
Spud Maat's Avatar
Thread Starter
|
Veteran Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 1,389
Likes: 565
From: Sydney
Default Oil leak at front of engine how to tell if crankseal?

ok so, i have noticed an oil leak coming from the front part of the engine.
hard to see where it is coming from due to everything in the way in the engine bay.
i know it is not the valve cover, i have recently re done that and it is sweet as.

what i have noticed is it seems to leak a lot more when actually driving v just idling the motor.
and the drip pattern makes it look like it is spreading out after dripping onto the sway bar and whatnot.

when i had my car idling in my driveway for over 1 hour i did not notice too many drips on the ground so thought it wasn't much of a leak.
but i have noticed after driving to work (30mins) there is quite a large amount more oil dripping.
so it seems it is leaking more under higher engine load/speed.




after being parked for a while that becomes quite a larger puddle.
 
Reply
Old Jul 26, 2022 | 05:01 AM
  #2  
GGG's Avatar
GGG
10 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 120,439
Likes: 17,009
From: Durham, UK
Default

You don't see much of the front seal area even with the suspension and oil sump removed because the crankshaft damper and timing ring are in the way.





There's a lot of oil spread over the front of your engine and finding the source will be impossible without thoroughly cleaning it. However the distribution of the drips in an almost straight line beneath the front of the vehicle suggests seal, cracked timing cover or cracked oil sump but seal would be my bet.

Graham
 
Reply
Old Jul 26, 2022 | 07:22 AM
  #3  
Spud Maat's Avatar
Thread Starter
|
Veteran Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 1,389
Likes: 565
From: Sydney
Default

thanks, its certainly what i am thinking.
believe it or not it was not all that long ago i cleaned all under there after i did the valve cover.
 
Reply
Old Feb 27, 2023 | 04:15 AM
  #4  
Spud Maat's Avatar
Thread Starter
|
Veteran Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 1,389
Likes: 565
From: Sydney
Default

Just going back to this as i got the crank seal replaced the other day.
and now no leaking.
the mechanic said when he took it out it had been replaced with a non genuine one and he showed me, half the seal was just straight up missing.
364800km.

just looking through some old paperwork from the car, there is very little from previous owner however this stood out from 2020, @346000km.

”new harmonic balancer, new crank seal”


 
Reply
Old Mar 1, 2023 | 01:23 AM
  #5  
SleekJag12's Avatar
Veteran Member
10 Year Member
Community Favorite
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 2,058
Likes: 1,076
From: Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Default

And those retail prices were pre-worldwide runaway inflation!

How's that expensive new harmonic balancer doing? I hope it wasn't a "cheap" new aftermarket.

Shouldn't $125 AU buy the best front crankseal made? Or was it the workmanship? The engine probably would have leaked less oil if that seal had never been touched back then.
 
Reply
Old Mar 1, 2023 | 01:59 PM
  #6  
Spud Maat's Avatar
Thread Starter
|
Veteran Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 1,389
Likes: 565
From: Sydney
Default

Originally Posted by SleekJag12
And those retail prices were pre-worldwide runaway inflation!

How's that expensive new harmonic balancer doing? I hope it wasn't a "cheap" new aftermarket.

Shouldn't $125 AU buy the best front crankseal made? Or was it the workmanship? The engine probably would have leaked less oil if that seal had never been touched back then.
yeah prices are steep there.
genuine crankseal is $80 so i dunno what this guy was smoking.
The harmonic balancer seems to be good. The mechanic checked it obviously just having it out now.

Amazing how quickly the part failed
 
Reply
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
ExcelsiorZ
XJ XJ6 / XJ8 / XJR ( X350 & X358 )
15
Sep 14, 2024 08:57 AM
Jason Holman
X-Type ( X400 )
1
Jul 27, 2021 02:47 AM
Catfan01
S-Type / S type R Supercharged V8 ( X200 )
0
Dec 21, 2019 11:38 PM
Steve W
XJ XJ8 / XJR ( X308 )
3
Apr 21, 2017 02:11 AM
daboss085
S-Type / S type R Supercharged V8 ( X200 )
8
Aug 31, 2013 06:35 PM

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:42 PM.