Major oil leak!!!!!

[jlnewton]

I am taking my car to the mechanics ASAP anyway and it won't be driven again till fixed, but just wondering what it could be??? My 33 is leaking LARGE quantities of oil from behind the pulley on the crank. It took a while to find, as there is oil everywhere under there now. Do you think it could be the crank case seal?? Is there anything there or just above there that has oil pressure?? It doesn't leak while sitting there but as soon as you start it you can see it dribbling out to the floor. Obviously when on the move it sprays the whole underside of the car and man does it stink! This is very uncool, it sprayed about 1 litre of oil out over a 45km journey so it is no small leak. I am a little concerned but I am thinking it should be just a seal or an oil line. What do you think?

You can say the worst, I am already thinking them!

[Guest RedLineGTR]

Yep it would be the crank case seals...

[red900ss]

main shaft seal I think it's called. Hope they can get to it by removing the radiator and not the donk.

Good luck!

[wrxhoon]

front crank seal it sounds like . u can get to it by pulling radiator timing case cover and crank pulley . i'm surpriced it went suddenly though it must have been leaking for a while .

[jlnewton]

I first noticed the oil on the floor about a week ago, but I thought it was left over oil as I changed the oil and oil filter about a week and a half ago and have yet to master taking the oil filter off without dropping a bit of the oil and thought nothing of it. I have hardley driven the car since and have done quite a few ks this weekend and it really became a problem quickly. This has suprised me also as I have had the crank seal go in my Gemini panelvan as well and its was gradual thing over a few months and even them it was only a couple of drop over night. This really flows once the motor is started but doesn't drop a thing when sitting (if you wipe it down of cource). I am hoping it is as easy to change as the Gemini was, but unlike the Gemini I won't attempt it, I will leave it to the pros. Having to remove the donk (shudders) has crossed my mind but hopefully not. Should get it to the mechanics Monday or Tuesday hopefully.

Thanks for the input guys. Has helped to put my mind at ease, a little.

[wrxhoon]

are u sure its not leaking from the oil filter ? its funny that it started leaking when u changed the oil filter. have a bettr look u maybe pleasantly surpriced to find that it leaks from the filter , maybe u havent put the o ring on ? maybe its not done up proply .

i find it hard to believe it leaks from the seal that much so quick .

anyhow u dont have to remove the donk to replace the seal , its readily avail from nissan and its not expensive , like 20 -30 $ .

a full gasket set for the engine is around 300 - 330 $.

i hope its leaking from the filter save u $ , hey its almost impossible to remove the filter without spiling some oil on the skylines . when i change mine in the gtr i put a huge rag under it then undo it so the oil goes on the rag then i quickly try to turn it up so i dont spill it , its hard though , a little easier on the the gtst , u have more room there .

anyway good luck and let us know what the prob is .

[jlnewton]

Yeah, I was hoping it was the filter not done up properly, or just some spillage, but alas, its not. Its completely dry around the filter. I had it up on ramps wiped it down thoroughly then started it, and watched it flow, not pretty. I talked to my mechanic today and he said it wasn't that expensive for the parts, just a little labour intensive and probably do the timing belt while he is there even though it was done 15000km ago. He also said it was quite rare so I am interested for him to see the problem and get his take on possible reasons. Hopefully I will get time to drop it off tomorrow afternoon.

[wrxhoon]

i wouldnt change the belt if u changed it 15 k ks ago its waisting $80 , its still new unless it was a few years ago .

[jlnewton]

All fixed, it was the crank case seal. The whole inside of the seal (the bit with the little spring in it) was gone all together, just the outside was remaining which explains the severity of the leak. New crank seal was $23, and he also did the two cam seals $29. He also put a new tensioner on as the bearing was a little noisey. All is good!