Oil leak advice | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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andrewlcarson

Active Member
Joined
March 14, 2011
Messages
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City, State
Olive Branch, Mississippi
Year, Model & Trim Level
1997 5.0 Eddie Bauer
So my explorer has had an oil leak for a while now. It is coming from the front lower part of the engine. It isn't the oil pan gasket. There isn't any oil in the water so I don't believe it is the water pump. I was wondering if I should just buy some explorer 5.0 off of Craigslist and have it put in, or pay someone to see if they can find the leak. If so, who would be able to find the location of an oil leak?

If y'all wanna see my explorer, here is a link to it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th_EG9mKvZA
 



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why not simply replace the seal? sounds like it is the front crankshaft seal, shoulnt be to costly since not too much has to come off to pull it out.
 






Alright, I'm not the best mechanic but I know a good bit for being 18. If I were to look from under the engine bay, where would that seal be at? The water pump is in the very front so would it be behind it? Under it? Sorry for the questions but its better to ask before I going looking.
 






So if it was the crankshaft front seal. I have would have to pull the entire front part of the engine. Water pump, timing cover, and chain? If I were to do that I might as well replace the timing chain and possibly add a slightly more aggressive cam. Would I have to pull the engine out, or just pull the whole front end of my explorer off?
 






The crankshaft seal is behind the harmonic balancer. In fact, to be exact, it seals the 'nose' of the balancer, not actually the crankshaft itself. The seal can be replaced without removing the timing cover, and just pulling the balancer out. There won't be much room to work around the crankshaft, so a special tool is required (mainly for pushing the new one in). Otherwise the water pump and the timing cover have to come out. The chain can stay, but if it's a high mileage engine, it will be the right opportunity to replace it while you are there. This is a fairly simple task, but it has its tricks, especially when it comes to sealing the bottom of the timing cover to the oil pan. Several people have discussed this before (including myself), so just search this forum details. With the right tools you don't even need to remove the radiator (which is a bit of a challenge).

As for replacing the camshaft, I don't know about the benefits, but it's certainly a much bigger task. With the engine in place, you'll be looking at removing both the radiator and the A/C condenser (which means discharging and recharging later on). You will also need to remove the intake manifold.

So if it was the crankshaft front seal. I have would have to pull the entire front part of the engine. Water pump, timing cover, and chain? If I were to do that I might as well replace the timing chain and possibly add a slightly more aggressive cam. Would I have to pull the engine out, or just pull the whole front end of my explorer off?
 






pull rad, pull fan, pull harmonic balancer, and then maybe water pump....but I dont think you need to.

Rads easy, fan can be tricky without the right tool (count on skinned knuckles), harmonic balancer needs a puller. Its a tight fit getting the puller on there with limited sight to see, but I have done it a few times without too much issue.

Its really not that tough of a job.
 






I had similar issues with my 1997 V8. If you want to know for sure where the leak is, clean the entire underside with degreaser and then add a UV dye to the oil (most decent parts stores have this). In my case the leak, which dumped oil all over the front crossmember had two sources. One of the valve covers was leaking and the oil filter cooler mount was leaking where it mounted to the block.
 












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