88 22re 147k

I have searched for a thread with the same problem but no luck. I have a steady drip from I think behind my crank pulley. At first I had thought it was the front of my oil pan so I replaced the gasket but the leak is still there. There isn't any oil being slung around just blown back by the fan. Could it be the front main? Or possibly a bad pcv valve?

 

I had a similar prob. it ended up being the front main seal leaking slowly. possible cause of leaks in the front could be the half moon from the valve cover, oil leaking from a missing screw from the oil pump or timing chain cover. crank shaft pulley seal, those are the most common. i doubt its a pcv valve since you can see it clearly if its leaking or not

 

I would start by buying a can of degreaser and taking that bad boy to the car wash for a good cleaning then you should be able to see whats going on.A clean engine runs cooler anyway with out all the caked on grease as insulation

 

i have the same problem, i replaced my valve cover gasket and the half moons and stuff. and cleaned the top of the block and now its still dry there but my whole front timing cover is covered like from half way down. im pretty sure it is the oil pump though because its only on the front cover and if it was coming from around the front cover then the block would be wet on the sides tooo.

 

Yeah, I'd clean it up and then see where the leak really is. As a side note, I had a slow leak near the front that I couldn't find, and replacing the valve cover gasket didn't stop it. Further digging found that the distributor O-ring was shot, split right thru, and hard. Replacement was 4 bucks (at dealer) and easy to do.

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It's much easier to find if it's clean. agreed.

If its not being slung around, it's not likely to be the shaft seal.

going from rear to front check
pan
timing cover
shaft seal, (gets every where given enough time)

drivers side smear..
distributor

top down
upper timing cover
valve cover

*I think that covers most of them, anyone feel free to copy and insert more*

 

Oh and don't forget the lil nub that sticks out of the front timing cover at the top these are known to crack on each side of the nub it the bolt trough the head into the timing cover was over tightened during pulling a head or pulling the timing cover.i found mine cracked so I ground it out with a dremel tool and jb welded it as others have done With theirs and so far it's held up fine no oil leaks.you would be surprised how much oil can leak out of there had oil from the front of the block all the way to the back a few months after degreasing it.a little inspection mirror makes it easy to see if its cracked pretty hard to see without one .it also helps to spray the area down with brake cleaner since the recessed area is hard to get at with degreaser

 

Hey if you figure out what the main problem is let me know because i am in the same boat you are i am almost positive it was the oil pan gasket but i don't want to just throw money at it, and its leaking in almost the exact same place you said i see a little bit of oil on the front side of the motor (closest to the radiator) and i think i may have a Rear seal leak and was wondering how common that is on these truck

 

@timothy47129 i'm wondering if this might be the oil i'm seeing close to the alternator and back down the side of the block?

 

That is exactly how mine was leaking on alternator and down the side I agree on the distributer Oring too I replaced that at the same time so that might have been part of it too mine broke into pieces getting it off the dist.

 

I will check that out did yours leak down past the pan to ?

 

Yes it was everywhere it even made it to the back of the pan and looked like the rear main was leaking. I guess it was blowin all over the place with the fan and driving down the road

 

my alternator is soaked too, i may have to try that distributor o ring deal

 

Here's the area I was talking about on each side off this nub I don't have a pic of the crack just the jb welded spot .i know it's still dirty but too cold here for a serious degreasing.but as you can tell in the 2nd pic it is pretty clean

 

Hola friends- how did this one resolve? My alternator is wet and nasty with oil, too. Here are a couple pics from today. I pulled off the power steering for a clearer look at everything.



And here's an alternator close up, taken tonight. Looking down at the alternator.



Looks like my front 1/2 moon is leaking, also. What do you guys think? Think this small amount of a leak could get oil slung all over the alternator? Any feedback is appreciated.... Seems like every little new discovery is a learning experience (which I like), but frustrating.



At least one of our leaks appear similar-- hope you got yours resolved. If mine gets plugged, I'll add solution notes back to this thread.

I've been away from working on the truck too long. It's good to be back.

 

It very well could be your 1/2 moon plug in the front.I replace my 1/2 moon and valve cover gasket then degreased my engine and it was a grease ball again in 2 months and my alternator was soaked again.But i replaced my dist. o-ring the same time I repaired the nub that was cracked so I cant say for sure which one was soaking the alternator.hopefully you can figure it out for everyone.Oh and there wasn't anything special about the dist o-ring it could be matched up at a local hardware store instead of the dealer if the dealer is too far away for you.

 

the half moons tend to leak with time, all depending how hard you pound on the engine (high rpms) and when it heats up, you bet it is going to soften that rubber grommet of a half moon and that oil is going to try and escape. If you want to make sure were exactly an oil leak is coming from, first clean the areas that seem to be leaking and areas affected by oil by degreasing(car wash . Then drive the car hard in high rpm for a while !!! that will do it and you should find your leak. I personally change all gaskets and seals to be on the safe side. Good luck bros !! hope you find it

 

Another side note... My 3vze had a massive oil leak. Upon inspection the bottom outside of the passenger head was wet with oil and all down the block. (I'm positive it wasnt coming from the valve cover) I tore it down and sure enough the oil was seeping past the head gasket from the 2 main oil drain ports that return oil from the head to the block. Replaced head gasket and no more leak!

 

Oh and dont forget to apply rtv to the head surface the 1/2 moon plug goes into and to put a dab on each edge of it on the top.i didnt know this the 1st time since you dont usally apply rtv to rubber since it makes it slick and it could pop out while tightening it down but factory service manual calls for it.actually it calls for oem seal packing sealer but black rtv worked just fine for me.

 

yup thats right the book calls for it !!! another note is also how tight you tighten down the valve cover gasket, with time the nuts slowly get loose so be checking on them