1999 x308 4.0
Seems there is an oil leak on the base area of the front timing cover and it may very be emanating from the front main crank.
If indeed it is the main crank, can it be remedied with a new seal around the crank without removing the timing cover?
Best regards
Peter

 

Peter, I hate to see a zero reply to a question. I am certainly not the top authority on this topic, but yes the seal can be replaced without removing the timing cover. Obviously you want to be as certain as possible that the leak is coming from the crank seal. To be honest, getting the pulley off can be a considerably more difficult job than removing the timing cover. That task was a nightmare on my car, so unless there is no debating the fact that the seal needs replacing, I would say "never mind". Obviously if oil is streaming out of there, the job needs doing. Not all cases will be as challenging as mine was. The pulley on my car was literally welded to the crankshaft with red LockTight. Hope yours in not!

The JTIS manual gives a good step by step description of the task.

 

I just changed it on mine two weeks ago. If you see oil on the front cover behind-under the pulley, that is the case. As JWT wrote, the hardest part is removing the pulley. There is a lot of thread about it. Be careful not to push to deep the new seal in the front cover!

 

I just finished my lower chains, guides and tensioners and idler bearings on my '98 XJ-R, and thought I should pass on a couple of hopefully helpful tips for others facing this job.
The thing that struck me as most important: The new "factory" crank seal was so loose in the timing cover that I could push it completely through with my fingers! Needless to say, I had visions of driving along afterwards only to watch all the engine oil spewing out of the front of the engine as the oil seal pushed its way out of the cover under crankcase pressure. My solution was to use Loctite #27100, the strongest one, on the rim of the seal to keep it in place within the timing cover. I was a Jaguar tech for about 35 years, and NEVER had to do that before! The timing cover seal hole was in perfect shape, the seal was a brand new "factory" seal, and yet it was unusable as it was. Apparently the Loctite worked, since the seal is holding very nicely now.
Another thing I did was use the Loctite on all the idler and tensioner bolts, since one of the idlers came loose as a result of the last tech's failure to do so.
My aux. coolant pump had stopped working, so I took that opportunity to rebuild it with new brushes and lube. The only brushes I could find in the Tucson area that were even close to the size were at Ace Hardware, and cost about $4.50 each for two. A bit of sanding and soldering later, and the pump was running perfectly again. It may be possible to find similar brushes at a good hobby shop that specializes in R/C planes, cars, etc. It did take several road tests and venting of the cooling system cap to get my heater working again, though.
To break the front crank bolt loose, I used a 3/4" drive socket of 15/16" mounted to a breaker bar which was the perfect length to rest on the left-side frame rail (which I padded with thick leather). One quick tap of the starter, and the bolt was loose.
I also found a Gates brand water pump with metal impeller for about $45.00 through Partsgeek, an online co. that actually carries a lot of quality parts for these cars at great prices. I hope this info. helps.