Oil Leak

[dfw240_EE]

1992 Nissan 240SX with a KA24DE.

The engine is leaking oil, but I can maintain it by throwing a quart in twice a month. This however is getting annoying.

During the last oil change, I noticed that the splash guard was pretty nasty, mostly torwards the passenger side but close to center. So I removed the splash guard to examine closer. The lower front of the engine is covered in oil. The oil stain is all over the lower front cover, but the crankshaft pulley appeared to be clean. It only seems to be the whole front cover around the pulley.

My suspicion from these observations is that it's the front oil seal, which according to the FSM is a simple (ha!) job of removing the crankshaft pulley and replacing the seal. What else could be wrong? Am I wrong in thinking it's the seal?

[Ubernoober]

Sounds like the seal. Without pictures its all guesswork.

Sure, of course its an easy job. And we all own car lifts, pneumatic tools and all the one-off custom Nissan removal tools. In other words, plan on taking your time.

[dfw240_EE]

Well, I have a hydraulic jack and jackstands, torque wrench, rachet and open ended set, you know the basics. I just need to get a puller and a breaker bar.

So all I have to do is remove the radiator fan shroud, all accessory belts, the crankshaft pulley bolt, then remove the pulley to expose the seal. Then remove the seal with a screwdriver, dress the new seal in oil and tamp it in. Sound like the procedure? Probably should change the belts while I am at it.

[Ubernoober]

Sounds to me like you have everything well under control.

[dfw240_EE]

Right, and this is where things go wrong

With cars, I do all my homework, learn what to do, try it, and it all goes horribly wrong. Happened when I tried to replace shoes and drums on my Civic. Why can't cars be like electronics? Same thing happens to me there, but I know how to handle it, lol.

[xung]

Maybe the placement of the oil filter is different on the KA24DE, but doesn't everyone have trouble changing the oil filter without completely spilling all of it's contents over some of the engine, frame and splash gaurd? I'm mean it's the only oil filter that I've seen that goes on upside down. There's nothing to wash the old oil away. My engine doesn't leak oil but there's definitely a 16 year build up of old oil on certain frame parts. Is this new oil that you're seeing?

[Lt.Mike]

What seal is this that you are talking about? Is it the Oil Pan Gasket?

[Red coupe]

DFW is talking about the o-ring in the lower timing chain cover that goes around the crankshaft to keep oil in the engine

[dfw240_EE]

I think I am going to hold off on it for one more month. I have some major bills to pay, but I will get alot back from selling my Civic, and hopefully a fairly fat income tax return, plus some other money I should be getting back. If I can find a job within that month, I think I will definitely go ahead and just bite the bullet and do the whole timing chain job.

I bought the car in late September, and the maintenance record isn't complete. So I intend to do as much maintenance as I find sensible to put it on a clean slate. Plus fix all the things wrong, like the oil leak and interior electrical.

[Ubernoober]

Good plan.

[dfw240_EE]

Bump. Things have not gone to plan, I am now graduated but with no job. However, my timing chain appears to be fine for now. I have decided though that I can no longer go on nursing my car along like this. I have found that with 10W-30 Oil the leak is acceptable, but I need to fix it. So next weekend I will start the repair to change the front oil seal. I am going to take this in a meticulous fashion. This is part of my preparation. I am going to post here pre repair pictures and detail my procedure for performing this. As I have a job interview this Wednesday, I will do this next weekend. I do not want to monkey with the car until after that.

My major questions I will list here so they are easy to find.-Is the front crankshaft pulley bolt 27mm?-The timing chain install in the 240sx.org installs says to use a 3-arm 6" pulley, but the FSM shows a 2 arm one used. Should either work? What spread is acutally needed?-What is a "suitable tool" to install the new front seal?

Procedure:1) Jack up car by the front and remove the splash guard.1a) Clean up engine bay best I can (any recommendations?)

2) Remove radiator fan.2a)To make this easier, remove air intake tube between MAF and TB. Place clean tissues in the openings to keep out dirt.2b)Unscrew and remove radiator fan shroud2c)Unscrew and remove the radiator fan from fan coupling2d)Unscrew and remove fan coupling from fan pulleyNow I should have enough room between the radiator and the engine front to work

3)Remove all drive belts to free crankshaft pulley.3a)On each of the three belts, loosen their adjusting bolts, and loosen the pulley until the drive belt is freed.

At this point I should have The crankshaft pulley clear and standing alone, with plenty of room in front to work.

4)Remove crankshaft pulley4a)Loosen 27mm nut (is it 27mm?) with a breaker bar.4b)Use a gear puller to remove the crankshaft pulley.The timing chain install in the 240sx.org installs says to use a 3-arm 6" pulley, but the FSM shows a 2 arm one used. Should either work? What spread is acutally needed?

5)Replace front oil seal.5a)remove old one with a screwdriver as said in FSM5b)install new one with a coating of fresh motor oil with a "suitable tool" as said in page EM-20 of the FSM. What is a suitable tool?

Then go back out reverse of installation. Edit: I should also mention that I intend to go ahead and replace the drive belts while I am at it.

Have I missed anything?

[dfw240_EE]

Forgive me, the photos are too large for the board. I will work on this later.

[Red coupe]

to big? just upload them to members ridesIt automaticly resizes them to a decent, but still pretty big size.

[dfw240_EE]

to big? just upload them to members ridesIt automaticly resizes them to a decent, but still pretty big size.

Thank you, here they are.

In this view you can see the gunk gathered around the base of the crank pulley.

In this view you can see that the top of the engine appears fairly clean. Sorry, the rest of my engine bay shots turned out quite poor. I am afraid I make a bad photographer.

Finally this one is very confusing. The camera was sideways, as I was on my side. You can see the dirty oil pan at the bottom left, but as the oilpan goes torwards the back it gets cleaner. Here you can also see som oiliness around the crossmember.

Hopefully this will be remedied soon. And who knows, I have an interview on Wednesday, so perhaps I will have a job by the time I get to this

[book-ends]

Hello!

The crank pulley bolt IS a 27mm unit. Here are a few tips for you:

1. You don't need to get a puller. I used the crank handle from the jack (OEM unit in the trunk) to slowly pry it off via leverage from different angles. Popped right off.

2. To actually unscrew the bolt, make sure the E-Brake is on and the car is in 5th gear. Have someone step on the brake pedal just in case while you turn that bolt. You see, you're spinning the crank and thus the drive wheels, so having the clutch engaged and the brakes on will keep the entire assembly from spinning. (place the car in reverse when tightening the bolt when you're done)

3. When you remove the seal (using a small sharp tool) be sure NOT TO GOUGE THE MATING SURFACE ON THE BLOCK!! If you do, consider yourself done because no seal in the world will keep oil in there.

4. Replace the seal, with the internal spring facing the block. Lube the outside of the seal and gently tap it in place. It's going to travel about half an inch before it seats flush, so don't be afraid to pound it in there. HOWEVER.......

Because you want the seal to seat flush, I recommend making your own seal-pounding tool like the picture in the Nissan FSM. In this case, I purchased a 34mm (maybe? it's been a while) socket because it was the same circumference as the seal itself. Place a towel over the socket and hammer the seal in, that way you get even surface area pressure.

There you go. I've done this several times and it only takes about 30 minutes total. I ruined the seal the first time, that's why I know.

Send an e-mail if you need any additional help. [email protected]

Good Luck!

[dfw240_EE]

Good advice, thanks. Actually, I am missing the OEM jack tool, and Nissan want $116 for it. So I am just going to get a set from Sears, and it will probably wind up being cheaper.

Get a bar, pry it off with "gentle force", I assume you don't HAVE to use the OEM jack handle. I found a good $50 puller from Craftsman, I may go with that.

[GrilledCheese33]

my method to find an oil leak is to wash the engine bay, let it dry, then go for a 30 minute- to an hour drive. Then park in your garage and jack the car up. Then look for fresh oil, and bam! there is the leak.

[dfw240_EE]

Well, from everything said here, a bad front oil seal is probably the safe money.

[FliMSiCaL]

i agree with the oil seal. Here are a few more tips: get some emory cloth and sand the front of the crank where the seal sits, it'll remove all that crap that stands a good chance of damaging the seal on the way in. When u install the seal, be VERY CAREFUL to make sure the crankshaft lip doesnt flip backwards when u go in with it, which will also ruin the seal. My "suitable tool" is a block of wood paired with a small rubber hammer,and some stable hands. just tap very lightly around the seal and make sure no lips on the seal bind, and knock it flush. good luck with it.

[dfw240_EE]

"As I have a job interview this Wednesday,"

Interview went great. I got a job offer!!!

[dfw240_EE]

Bump. Just got off the fan, fan coupling, and power steering belt. The belts are turning out to look fine. I already bought new belts from Courtesy Nissan so I will put the new ones on, but I will keep the old ones handy if anyone needs a free belt.

I did discover that my belt fan is cracked in about a half dozen places, so I am going to go order a replacement now.

Edit: Done for the day, jeez the alternator is stubborn. Courtesy Nissan had a new radiator fan in stock, set me back $70. For everyone out there, this may be an Autozone item. I have managed to get all the belts out though, except for the alternator belt which is totally slackened now but won't come over the pulley. It's frustrating, only needs to come in probably 1/4".
Modified by dfw240_EE at 6:07 PM 7/2/2005