[SableOHC]

My Duratec is leaking oil and I'm having a difficult time localizing it. The leak only occurs while running. There is no puddle under the car, or at most, one drip. I can tell it's leaking because it's blown all over the oil and transaxle pans and the exhaust.

I put it on stands, cleaned the oil off and ran it for 15 minutes or so. I could not see any leaking.

My best guess, based on the place with the most oil before clean-up, is on the rear/firewall side of the engine at the crank/passenger end. I've attached a photograph. The red arrow points to where I see the oil collecting. The yellow arrow points up into the abyss. I poke a light and mirror in there and can see oil up above the oil pan line. I can't tell whether it comes from something "up there" or from the pan line, but thrown up by air.

This looks unpleasant in any case. I may bail on the repair and have a garage do it, but am up for suggestions.

 

[diesel600]

I think I have a small leak at my power steering pump. It looks wet around the pump area, and I'm pretty sure it runs down to the area you are describing, so you might want to check that out.

 

[tmonster]

As we are discussing in another post, on the Duratec the oil pan sits above the cat. converter and i think the heat damages the seal, so if you've got oil on your cat, its probably coming from you oil pan. as for the upper leak, it may be power steering fluid, but on my Duratec I have a coolant hoose around there thats leaking...

 

[SableOHC]

I had checked the power steering. It's OK. Thanks for the suggestion.

My last chance for home repair is to pull the pulley and damper so I can see if the front main crank seal is leaking. If that's it I can fix it. If it's the oil pan gasket, I'll probably give up and have a garage do it. It looks like way too much grief to pull the Y-Pipe.

 

[W96GRN]

My car had a similar leak, only while running, and the oil was redish, if you got that leaking, your transmission casing may have cracked (it cracks on the passenger side of the car. It pools at the top of the transmission and leaks all over the rear of the engine and exhaust.
CHeck the picture, its lookin in through the rhs wheel arch, with the engine lowered, the crack is to the left of the pen.

Hope that its not a crack in teh casing
Julian

 

[diesel600]

Originally posted by SableOHC@Apr 18 2004, 08:56 PM
I had checked the power steering. It's OK. Thanks for the suggestion.

My last chance for home repair is to pull the pulley and damper so I can see if the front main crank seal is leaking. If that's it I can fix it. If it's the oil pan gasket, I'll probably give up and have a garage do it. It looks like way too much grief to pull the Y-Pipe.

If the problem is indeed the oil pan, don't let the y-pipe scare you out of doing it yourself. I had to change the oil pan gasket on my '93 last summer, and I was suprised to find out that even after 10 years the y-pipe came right off. I was even able to reuse the nuts and bolts for it.

 

[maceslin]

By your picture and the fact that not much is leaking while stationary I would guess that the front crankshaft seal is leaking. The replacement part is about $10 at Advance. I am getting ready to replace mine. The job appears relatively easy.

Remove right front tire and wheel well cover to access cracnkshaft pulley

Loosen the crankshaft pulley bolts with the serpentine belt in place.

Remove the belt (might as well replace it for $17 while it is off)

Remove the crankshaft pulley, carefully not to turn the crankshaft as you work it off (it is keyed on)

Pull and replace the seal, make sure not to damamge the bearing surface

I will rty to tak epictures but not sure when I will et to it, probably in 3 weekends

 

[SableOHC]

Agreed. I checked this morning and when I found out how cheap the seals are I ordered one (I ordered a FoMoCo seal from Ford Parts Network.) Seems easy enough if the bolts will come loose.

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. As always, I'll post the results

 

[SableOHC]

It turned out to be the oil pan gasket.

 

[maceslin]

a few posts ago i this thread aI said it looks like any easy job.

I tried to do it last weekend and got no where. You really do need a special tool to hold the Crankshaft pulley in place to break the retaining bolt free. Several of us in the neighborhood tried coming up with something to no avail. Even if we had gotten it off putting it back on would have been more difficult becusae of the CCW tightening of the bolt for which there are all kinds of warigins in teh repair CD.

I checked all the local stores to see if tehy had the tool requried, no one did.

Any ideas on how I can get the pulley off?