The front crankshaft seal located in the front of your car's engine and is designed to hold oil from leaking as the engine is running and the crankshaft is turning. Riding against the harmonic balancer this seal is prone to failure as engine heat and vibration will take its toll. As this seal fails it will allow engine oil to leak onto the engine front affecting the serpentine belt which will cause squeaking and alternator performance issues. If the problem is further neglected oil will begin to saturate the cooling hoses and cause a coolant leak which will cause engine overheating. Once the engine oil level in the oil pan has gotten to a low point oil pressure will begin to get compromised which will lead to the engine locking up due to lack of oil pressure which causes bearing failure. An oil leak will stain your driveway and garage floor as well.
To detect a front crankshaft seal leak raise the car up using a floor jack and jack stands. Get under the car and use a flashlight and inspect the lower part of the engine front. You are looking for engine oil that is leaking between the balancer and the timing chain cover or front seal housing. If a leak is detected check above the seal to make sure oil is not leaking from a higher point and making it look like the seal is leaking. If no oil is leaking above the seal the front crankshaft seal has gone bad and needs replacement.
Got Questions?
If you have any front crankshaft seal questions please visit our forum. If you need car repair advice, please ask our community of mechanics is happy to help you and it is always 100% free.
SPONSORED LINKS
We hope you enjoyed this guide and video. We are creating a full set of car repair guides. Please subscribe to our 2CarPros YouTube channel and check back often for new videos which are uploaded almost every day.
Article published 2022-03-12
