Front Seal Leak

stradt03

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I've had a persistent oil leak on the front of the engine. I finally was able to identify where it was coming from with the help of some dye and UV light. The oil leak is coming from behind the crank pulley so I'm assuming it is the front seal however, it only leaks AFTER the car is turned off which I thought was kind of bizarre. Is this normal behavior for a leaking front seal?

The attached picture shows the crank pulley and the dye coming from behind it.

95e2920d-95b0-4855-acf7-1ceeee1bd343.jpg
 

MG0h3

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Thats odd. Sure you dont have a light film around the accessories or back under the car?

Cant say Ive seen a seal only leak when static. If you wipe/clean that off it comes back just sitting there?
 

stradt03

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Thats odd. Sure you dont have a light film around the accessories or back under the car?

Cant say Ive seen a seal only leak when static. If you wipe/clean that off it comes back just sitting there?

I guess I should clarify, it will only have a static leak after it has been running and was brought up to temp. Once I turn the car off, it takes about 1 minute before enough oil has accumulated on the front lip of the oil pan that it will drip. What is odd is that I will let the car sit and idle for 10-15 minutes and it won't leak a drop but as soon as I turn it off, it begins to seep out from behind the crank pulley.

Nothing back under the car or on the front cover (except from behind the crank pulley.
 

P49Y-CY

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do you think it is worth repairing? i hate leaks, but that one seems like it would be a bitch to do in the car since the valve covers would have to come off to get the front cover off, or at least lifted a little bit
 

hotcobra03

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Maybe try a redi sleeve on pulley..

cover can be pulled in car..I had done it before to check timing..

it isnt fun but doable..
 

stradt03

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This is a twin turbo 01 cobra. I'm not sure that the timing cover needs to be removed. Looking at the Ford service manual it doesn't show any mention of removing the cover.

Seal Replacement.jpg
 
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cj428mach

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Most of the time seals like that can be replaced, while the part is installed.
 

P49Y-CY

fomocomofo
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This is a twin turbo 01 cobra. I'm not sure that the timing cover needs to be removed. Looking at the Ford service manual it doesn't show any mention of removing the cover.

View attachment 56745

oh my bad, for some reason I thought that that seal was installed from the inside of the cover.

in that case, yeah no brainer, go for it! you don't even have to mess with the terminator lower pulley cage lol
 

MalcolmV8

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You don't need to pull the timing cover. Just a pulley removal / install tool to get the damper off. You may need to pull the cooling fan for enough clearance depending on the puller tool you have.
 

MG0h3

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oh my bad, for some reason I thought that that seal was installed from the inside of the cover.

in that case, yeah no brainer, go for it! you don't even have to mess with the terminator lower pulley cage lol

All the lower pullies and balancer need to come off so you just have the crank snout sticking out.

They make some cool seal removal tools but usually a flathead screwdriver and a small hammer can do the trick.
 

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