crankshaft leak?!!

kucharskimb · 10-13-2004, 07:59 PM

okay. i'm stumped...

replaced both crank seals this weekend. originally, the flywheel seal was in too far. no problem. sealed like a champ this time when i went flush with the flange. (thank you for the previous posts on the subject)

however, the pulley is still wet. i used curil-t on both seals. the casing halves are sealing fine and the end cap for the oil pump shaft is dry, too.

when i disassembled the pulley and bolt, the seal looked okay and sealed all the way around. however, when the bolt came out, oil came out of the threaded hole. it appeared that the hole only went as deep as to accomodate the bolt. this bolt doesn't also act as a plug, does it? is there pressure behind it?

next step is to warm up the engine, take off the pulley, wipe everything down and start it up and look for oil. once warm, it only takes about a minute before i start seeing oil coming from behind the pulley washer and spreading radially onto the pulley.

anyone have similiar problems. is this really just the crank seal leaking? appreciate any help....

matt

Porsche_monkey · 10-14-2004, 04:37 AM

2.7?

racing97 · 10-14-2004, 06:51 AM

There is a drill plug made out of aluminum inside the bolt hole and one also at the other end of the crank. If the crankshaft has had any heat treatment done to it the plug will lose it's interference and leak.

Kindest regards

kucharskimb · 10-14-2004, 08:00 AM

thank you for the reply. yes, the crank was turned and treated. can i just use some curil-t around the bolt when i put it back together? maybe some teflon paste?

it's a 2.4

thanks
matt

racing97 · 10-14-2004, 10:52 AM

I am sorry to tell you this, but there are probably seven similar plugs on the crank pins inside the motor. Now this being said it is generaly an item replaced by the Crank repair facility. These companies will shine on the front pulley and the rear seal as they typically drill and tap the holes for pipe plugs, and these two holes are an inconvience for the tapping process. If this is the case then go down inside the hole with a blunt punch and swedge it a bit then your sealant 574, hylomar. etc. should do the trick.

Kindest regards

kucharskimb · 10-14-2004, 10:53 AM

okay, the experts agree... there is a plug behind the bolt that has come loose after nitriding.

going to pull off the pulley, clean everything, put 564 on everything and crank it down... wish me luck!

cstreit · cstreit's Garage

Go with the "574" instead.

You might also check the layshaft end-plate (the small plate with three bolts in it) and make sure it is not leaking. Additionally when you pull off the old seal, check that the crankshaft isn't scored where the seal sits on it.

tref · 10-17-2004, 05:48 PM

I have a similar problem, I have some oil leak around the pulley,
the oil mist gets in the air flow and I get fresh oil deposit on the
fan blades (and housing). I took the pulley off (to change the
seal, did not fix the leak) and I also noticed oil on the pulley bolt.
I'll check the ??plug?? at the end of the crank.
I have a 72 2.4E.

F.

kucharskimb · 10-17-2004, 07:55 PM

background: crank was ground and nitrided prior to rebuild. either the aluminum crank plugs were not replaced, or they were not seated correctly after the heat treatment...

1 put the jack and blocks under the engine.
2 removed the muffler, engine mounting plate, and engine tin.
3 removed the fan belt, bolt and pulley.
4 cleaned everything with brake/parts cleaner several times.
5 with everything clean and a flashlight, you can clearly see the aluminum plug in the back of the bolt hole. pounded it in with a punch a few times.
6 using loctite 574, put some on the inside of the bolt hole, wiped it into all of the bolt threads, front of crank, back of pulley, front of pulley, and both sides of washer.
7 once everything was seated, flush and hand tight, used the impact wrench to tighten everything down tightly.
8 wiped down the excess 574.
9 reassembly of steps 1-3
10 allowed to dry for 48 hours, just to make sure...

i'll let you know if it start leaking again. seems to be holding up after one short drive. hope this helps anyone else with this problem.

matt

tref · 10-18-2004, 03:48 AM

I'm very anxious to find out if you still have a leak, I have a
strong smell of warm oil from the engine even 24 hours after
I used the car (read my previous post in this tread). The oil
smell is bothering me a lot more than the actually leak.

Did you have the oil smell with this leak ?
Did the procedure you went through fix it ?

I manage to change the oil seal without removing the muffler
but i will have to remove it to look at and fix this plug.

Thanks,
F.

kucharskimb · 10-18-2004, 07:51 PM

tref

yes, it worked. drove about 50 miles today. held pressure up to 100psi and averaged 75psi on the highway.

hope it does the trick for you.

thank you for all who helped.

matt

tref · 10-18-2004, 07:58 PM

Matt, when you had the leak, did you have the oil smell ?
oil being trown in the air by the rotating pulley and then
sucked in by the fan. Or did it just dripped ?

F.

kucharskimb · 10-18-2004, 09:15 PM

tref
same as you. the lower pulley would fling oil into the air, and the fan would pull it in. after a half hour drive, the fan and shroud would be coated. yes, the oil would get pulled into the cabin heating system, cook on the exhausts and smell inside the cabin. additionally, oil would coat the inside of the front mounting plate and drip out of the bottom "drain" hole...

matt

galwaytt · 02-28-2005, 12:31 AM

tref......maybe overstating the obvious, but after a look-see at my engine recently due to a couple of small leaks, I too noticed an in-cabin oil smell. Very faint, but I reckoned it was coming through the heater system.

I was sick as a pig about it really, and so, lifted the engine lid on Saturday to start looking, putting in new cam oil lines, etc, and guess what - there was the oil filler cap sitting on the r.h. rear engine mount............fumes were off the oil tank running open............ooopps!