Deadly Oil Leak . . ., Please Help!! Options

[Nor.Cal.914]

So I just picked up a used engine in hopes of temporarily getting my 914 back on the road since it had been sitting for 2 years and it turns out that "temporarily" is exactly what I got. I have a heavy oil leak coming from the front crankshaft seal and it's causing me to lose about a 1/2 quart in about a 50-60 mile trip.

All I really want to know is: is it possible to replace this seal without splitting the case or is it going to require splitting the case??

Any help would be great! Thanks!
-Chris

[SLITS]

Front seal can be replaced without splitting the case. It is, in fact, installed after the case is put together.

[Nor.Cal.914]

Front seal can be replaced without splitting the case. It is, in fact, installed after the case is put together.

Perfect! I was really hoping it could be done without having to split the case. Thank you for your help!
-Chris

[Mark Henry]

Are you sure it's the pulley seal and not the pressure switch or cooler seals?

[aharder]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) It could be something other then the front seal
What ever it is (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) it still Sucks ! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/hissyfit.gif)

[Nor.Cal.914]

Are you sure it's the pulley seal and not the pressure switch or cooler seals?

I'm about 90% sure it's the front seal just based on where the oil was initially coming from. I know that when laying under the car and looking up at the engine the oil cooler is offset to the left and from what I could see, the oil was coming from the center of the engine roughly in the area of the front crankshaft seal. It seemed too high to be the little cam plug so I'm pretty sure it's not coming from there either. I will have to clean the engine off again and run it to try and pinpoint where the leak is coming from before I dig into replacing that seal. Where exactly is the pressure switch though? I am not entirely familiar with where that is on these engines. I will try and take care of this sometime this weekend though. Thank you guys again for the input!
-Chris

[Dave_Darling]

Cam plug is on the other end of the engine; the oil pump is on the front end of the camshaft.

The oil pressure switch is up on top right by the distributor. Look for a single wire disappearing into a ~2" hole through the engine tin.

--DD

[Nor.Cal.914]

Cam plug is on the other end of the engine; the oil pump is on the front end of the camshaft.

The oil pressure switch is up on top right by the distributor. Look for a single wire disappearing into a ~2" hole through the engine tin.

--DD

Oh ok, I forgot that the oil pump is on the front end of the engine. I'm doubting it's the pressure switch partially because of the amount of oil that's leaking out, but also because of the location that I first noticed the oil leaking from. Again, I will be looking into it more this weekend and I will let everyone know what I find. Thanks!
-Chris

[Mark Henry]

Switch is the easy check so it only makes sense to try that first.
Oil switch is right in the main oil galley, so are the cooler seals, both are high pressure.

[bandjoey]

oil filter seals? up high on the passenger side but makes a mess when they leak..also easily replaced in the car.

[bigkensteele]

The front main seal isn't hard to replace, and there is probably someone here who has managed to do it with the engine in the car. However, dropping it would make a lot more sense.

You will need to pull the fan, and the fan hub. To pull the hub, you will need to find some plate steel about 1/8" thick to place between the 3 factory bolts and the case. I bought a piece from Lowes that is about 3/4" wide and welded it up in a U shape.

This thread was useful to me:
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...p;hl=front+main

Do a search on "front main" in quotes, and you should find everything you need to do the job.

VERY IMPORTANT - there is an O-ring on the crank, behind the impeller hub. You must replace it as well, or you are wasting your time.

[Nor.Cal.914]

I took out the pressure switch yesterday and found that there was no copper washer under it. I put a new copper washer on and put a thin layer of form-a-gasket on both sides of the washer to ensure that it wasn't leaking. At first it seemed as though that fixed the problem because I let the car idle and get up to about 140 degrees F and all I saw was a quarter sized drop of dark oil (which I assumed must be residual oil coming off of the engine), but I drove it for about 65-70 miles last night and found myself with the exact same size puddles of oil underneath the car that were there before I touched the pressure switch (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) I am going to crawl back underneath it and wipe the engine down once again to see if I can pinpoint this leak! I was watching the front main seal as I let it idle yesterday and couldn't see anything coming out of it, but I will have to check again. Maybe I will just do the oil cooler seals as well since it was said that they are easy to do also with the engine in the car. Thank you guys for your advice so far and I will keep you posted!
-Chris

[type47]

Oil pressure switch does not take a copper (or any other) gasket. No thread sealant either. OP switch is a slightly tapered thread. But on the other hand, it might not be the threaded junction but the OP switch itself; I've heard of them leaking at the seam btw the metal and plastic.

[ClayPerrine]

You can also check to make sure you don't have the crankcase vents blocked. If there is no where for the blowby to go, the pressure would build up and force oil out a seal.

[TheCabinetmaker]

I've not seen an oil pressure switch leak and run down the front center of the engine as he describes. Always to the passenger right, running down the oil cooler and filter area. From your description, I would look at the front seal or the pump itself which is directly below it. Maybe you can see it with a good light and small mirror like a dentist uses. Personally, I would pull the engine before I pulled a shround in the car. I think I tried it once, gave up after several hours, and pulled the engine anyway.

[Nor.Cal.914]

I just wanted to post a late update to the situation and let everyone know that the front seal was in fact the problem and it was actually a very easy and stress-free process to fix it! I am now very much enjoying being able to drive my 914 again after having it sit for 2 years!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Thank you all for your input and advice!
-Chris

[rwilner]

Nice looking car and cool photo!

[jimbot2000]

When I was working in the car fixing industry many moons ago, we would clean the engine as best we could, then add a die to the engine oil that would show up under a backlight. I think Napa might sell it, then you just need to find a black light. Then just go for short drives, and check with the backlight. You should be able to pin point it this way.

[TheCabinetmaker]

I think you mean blacklight. All us old hippies have on of those! LOL

[jimbot2000]

Indeed! Blacklight! The auto correct on my iPad is something I really need to keep an eye on. But I've used this method several times to find small leaks. Infact I would put this in the engine after a rebuild, just I case there was a small leak. It's harmless to engine components and you're probably going to drain it out after 600 miles or so anyway.