Front seal leak ?

[og556]

Over the past two years I've owned my 2004 Crown Vic Sport I have noticed what I would assume is oil leaking or seeping and spreading over the lower part of the front of the engine (right above the crankshaft pulley and to the right of it and all under). Every single time I take this thing to a dealership they tell me nothing is wrong and its probably just stuff from the road. About 2-3k miles ago I went all over the engine with a damp towel and the engine was pretty damn clean all over. I recently did an oil change with Mobil 1 5w20 as I have been doing every 3k miles on this car and I still see the oil in the same area. How the hell do I get these assholes at the dealership to fix my car before its too late ?

[baravelli]

While at the dealership, ask to talk to the Regional Service Manager's office. Be adamant and animated, preferably on the showroom floor on a busy Saturday afternoon

[og556]

I think I'm going to go back to the lincoln mercury dealership and be very polite tomorrow. I'm going to leave my car there which I'm sure they are going to keep for a week to "diagnose" and call me up after replacing something stupid like the oil filter gasket and tell me thats the only problem. If I hear that theres no problem from them again when I go to pick up my car I will do as you tell me to.

[Bonedriver]

If it's the seal on the timing cover, that is easy enough to change... just lots of small things to do to get to a point to where you can get the cover off and change that seal.

I replaced mine when I rebuilt the engine. Of course I found some other things when I pulled the cover... like worn chain tensioners... :ugh:

When you go to the dealership, tell them your losing oil pretty quick now.

[og556]

Thanks. I doubt that they will mention any thing about other issues they notice if they do end up fixing this problem.

[og556]

Sorry to doublepost but I just got back from the cherner mercury dealership off route 7 in NoVa. The service advisor brought me to this rude mechanic and my car was sitting outside. The mechanic said "I cant find a single leak or any thing on this engine" I asked him what that stain was across the bottom of the front seal all around the crank pulley and belove the valve covers was. The techinicians response was "I dont know". Basically the fuckers told me that they can't do any thing for me because they dont see any thing wrong. I asked them if it was normal for these cars to have oil seep through any thing in the front of the engine and the tech told me the water pump has a bleed hole and it lets oil escape but there was stain is spanning all across the bottom of the front of the engine. They told me to come back in a few months after the next oil change and they'll take a look at it again. The problem is my warranty will be up in may. What the hell should I do to get these shitbags to fix this problem ? I dont want to be rude or any thing but they keep saying theres nothing wrong and it just doesnt make sense. I am generally a very polite person when dealing with people I try to be understanding and forgiving. I'm just at my wits end with this shit and I dont even know what to do. If I take this thing to a regular shop mechanic I'm sure I'll be charged to get this problem diagnosed. At this point I am very tempted to trade in this car for something else. It doesnt help that its only worth at the most $13k at this point and the only cars I want are still going for over $22k used (05+ mustang gt). I need your help guys. Where do I go from here ?

[Bonedriver]

Take it to another dealership, or call Ford direct:

Ford Motor Company
Customer Relationship Center
P.O. Box 6248
Dearborn, MI 48126

Phone: 800-392-3673
800-232-5952 (TDD for the Hearing Impaired)

Hours of Operation:
8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Local Time (Monday-Friday)


You may also want to take it to a local mechanic and have him "look" at it (may cost you a little $) and get his opinion. If he says it's leaking, take it back to the dealership. Try to get the local mechanic to give you a written estimate as proof.

Good luck man...

[steevil]

go to a snap on dealer and get some leak tek dye to put in the oil. the dye will seep out with the leaking oil and will be visible under ultra violet light. the fact that the dealership you went to did not do this test proves that they indeed are shitbags.

[Chevyguy]

The favorite code for a shitbag dealer is NPF no problem found

Go to another dealer


BTW why are you wasting the Mobil 1 with 3,000 mile change intervals. Heck, that aint even long enough for Dyno oil. It's your money but hopefully your used oil gets recycled (good for the wallymart oil guys) and not burned. Heck some guys would take your 3K used oil and run it straight up in their cars :rofl:

[starshooter10]

tell them that its leaking aqt every 1k and gob on some random grease and road grime

to be honest if you want it to look REALLY nasty do what i did..

get a TINY leak on your tranny cooler line (but im sure you can rig a bottle of fluid with a pin hole leak....


but like said above a secone look might be a better option...

[og556]

For some reason the tech said the dye wont work. I'm going to take it in for an oil change next week and let them do all the work and then tell them to put in the dye. Should I have the existing stain cleaned off ?

[steevil]

yes clean the surface, put in the dye with or without an oil change. the dye will puke out with the leaking oil and leave an undisputable streak of ultraviolet detectable oil the front of the motor . any body who says that is not proof is a moron. by the way , the front seal is the easy one to change . i still dont see why they dont just do it. the dye does work!

[og556]

Should I use mobil 1 5w20 with the dye or regular motorcraft ?

[steevil]

it matters not what kind of oil . any oil that can get through a seal will bring the dye with it. leak tek is also used to find freon leaks in air conditioning systems. works good .trust me .

[og556]

How much leak tek should I use when I refill the oil ?

[steevil]

the instructions are on the bottle. if you like you can also get the inexpensive U.V. flashlight to confirm the leak your self. you might find more than one.

[og556]

I tried the Interdynamics fluorescent leak detector dye for oil and fuel systems which is comprised of petroleum distillates and organic dyes. Tonight I took it outside and it was pretty much pitch black and i used this little 12" portable florescent light. All I could see is a relatively large drop on the top of the sway bar but couldnt really fit under the car to see every thing. From the top of the engine bay all i could see is a slight hint of the UV oil near the bottom but nothin obvious. Would it be ok to use more than the recommended 1/2 ounce of this stuff in my crankcase ?

[steevil]

give it some time . remember that the dye is also used to find leaks in the air con system. if you see U.V. dye on the a/c compressor ignore it . some U.V. lights are stronger than others. beg borrow or steal a good one. if at the end of a week or two you still dont see any dye on the front of the motor , then the leak isn't there.

[05Stang-GT]

You are using a UV light not a Florescent light right?