Bad Oil Leak

[Z32man]

I was driving on the highway and noticed that the oil pressure dropped to 0 PSI so I immediately pulled over and noticed a lot of oil was leaking out from the front of the engine. I haven't had time to look under it yet but what should I look for and what would this most likely be?

[Ace2cool]

Uh, it could be anything. Any orifice on the front of the engine is possibly the cause. Only way to figure it out is to look for yourself.

[Z32man]

Okay well how should I start? should I be able to see the leak by taking the timing belt cover off?

[Ace2cool]

Hopefully, yes. I mean, an oil leak is a pretty straightforward troubleshooting fix. If you can't see where it's coming from, take stuff off until you can.

[Z32man]

Okay well I have taken all of the timing belt covers off. The timing belt isn't covered in oil. Does that mean it has to be the oil pump seal/gasket? Would that cause oil to be on the alternator as well?

[itsa300zx]

Check the oil cooler rubber lines also. They run along the pass side frame rail.

[Z32man]

I finally got the crank gear off and it turns out it was the front main seal that was causing the leak (thank god). Just in case anyone else buys a front seal from oreillys you have to tell them it's a cam seal because if you tell them it's the crank seal its the wrong part.

[evildky]

A bad front main won't cause oil pressure to drop. Was the oil leak only from the front? I once did an oil change and the oil filter seal stuck to the plate so when I put the new filter on the new seal sat on top of the other one and all the oil leaked out around it when I fired it up. TT's have a thermostatic "oil Tree" that bends oil to the cooler when it reaches a certain temperature and the fee and return lines would be another possible source of leakage and pressure drop along with the seals on the "Tree" itself.

[DCaff300ZX]

Okay well I have taken all of the timing belt covers off. The timing belt isn't covered in oil. Does that mean it has to be the oil pump seal/gasket? Would that cause oil to be on the alternator as well?

When you mention the alternator having oil on it, are you SURE it's engine oil and not ps fluid (trans fluid)? When the PS reservoir leaks it will usually dump on the alternator as the lines and connections encourage this.
I agree about the front seal should not have caused a massive oil pressure loss or dump, I'd be sure to check the oil lines to the front cooler as mentioned and even oil feeds to the turbos.
Also, be sure that you actually ARE losing oil as the OEM oil pressure sender is notorious for "0" readings, especially when old and especially out of the blue or intermittently in my experience with both NA and TT.

Hope this helps!

[Z32man]

So it turns out that it was not the seal that was leaking the oil. I replaced the bad/poorly installed seal with a new one and when I started it, it was leaking still. I just took it back apart and the new seal does not appear to be leaking any oil. When I started it, I looked under the car and the oil is coming from right under the crank pulley. Does that mean the oil pump gasket/seal is the culprit?

[Z32man]

Also, if it is the oil pan gasket that runs under the oil pump, how bad would it be to take the pump off without removing the pan and replacing the gasket like that. I would still clean the mating surfaces and apply new gasket make of course, but what would this do to the other part of the pan if it isn't removed? I would really rather not drop the cross member.