# External oil leak at crank shaft 2.5L 2002



## shodan (Aug 1, 2015)

Hi,

I did a complete rebuild of my engine early last year, it's been going great except for a few failed parts I hadn't replaced (MAF, 1 coil, cam sensor, 1st O2)

One thing that the rebuild didn't fix was oil consumption. About 1 pint per 2000KM.

Two months ago the probably eventually got to 1 pint per 2 day and oil everywhere which caused the acc belt to slip off a couple times.

Traced the problem to the front crank seal. I ordered the 5$ seal and replaced it which took less than 2 hours.

Now I'm still getting oil leaks at that location but it's back to the 1 pint per 2000KM rate.

The seal runs against a machined surface on the crank pulley. I measured that diameter at 1.810", my old seal was 1.790" new seal was 1.730".

The issue seems to be that there is a wear groove on the pulley running diameter when the seal lip rubs.

My first question is this, is there supposed to be a groove at that location ? Is it there to help the seal somehow or is it caused by wear alone and really undesirable ?

I have asked used parts sellers, they have pulleys for about 30-40$, they tell me there is a groove there too.

I haven't asked the seller of the new pulley (80$) yet if there is a groove.

I'm looking at other alternatives, I can get repair sleeves of the right diameter called "speedi-sleeve" that just slip on the running diameter.

I might also have it turned on a lathe or apply powdered metallic epoxy to fill in the groove.

Any advice would be appreciated !


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## SPEEDO (Jun 9, 2003)

engine rebuild, did you hone the cylinders & replace the rings??
2nd qusetion, was the new crank seal seated all the way?


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## shodan (Aug 1, 2015)

Replaced rings, bearing and everything in the front cover as well as every gasket. I didn't hone the bores as it was not necessary.

Crank seal was seated properly, the new seal that I just installed too but it's still leaking.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

The groove is likely due to the old seal wearing into the sealing surface of the crank pulley. Redi-sleeve kits work well for this or you could replace the pulley with new. You should have honed the cylinder bores before you installed the pistons with new rings. The problem with the early L31's was that the ECM program would cause the engine to run in a way that would cause the front catalytic converter substrate to break down. The QR25DE accomplishes EGR by cracking open the exhaust valve during the intake stroke via it's variable camshaft timing. This action would suck in the broken bits of substrate into the combustion chamber, putting small scratches into the cylinder walls over time and leading to an oil-burning engine. So, what I would do in your case is perform a compression test and compare to manufacturer's specs. If your readings are lower than what they should be, I would follow this by performing a cylinder leakdown test. This will tell you if you are losing compression past the rings. Or, you could just start off with the leakdown test. You may also want to inspect your PCV system.


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## SPEEDO (Jun 9, 2003)

shodan said:


> Replaced rings, bearing and everything in the front cover as well as every gasket. I didn't hone the bores as it was not necessary.
> 
> bearing.. rod bearings? if so where did you get them? did you know they are graded (slightly different size)??


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## shodan (Aug 1, 2015)

Rod and main bearings. I bought a set on eBay, they were at the nominal diameter, the crank was lightly worn, I did not have it polished.

I checked all journals and bearing with plastigauge at four location each, Max gap was 0.0014" which is 0.003" out of spec for an overhaul. I decided it was good enough for my purpose. 

I had to take the engine apart again after 10 hours of operation due to coolant in combustion chamber. I had not planed the block, only the head and it turned out the block was warped a little.

I inspected the bearing during the second teardown and they showed a very light and even wear pattern. 

I have been running this engine as my daily driver for 30'000KM so far.


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