Oil leak from behind water pump pulley?

[mikelbeck]

I've recently replaced the timing belt, balance shaft belt, lower timing cover, oil pump sprocket, crank position sensor and crank position plate after the timing belt broke and took out a bunch of parts. I've got all it back together and running but it was making some noise, I thought it was coming from the water pump. After shutting it down and taking a better look I saw a bunch of oil near the water pump then looked under the car and there was a decent sized puddle there. It looks like it's coming from behind the water pump pulley. There's an oil seal somewhere in that area, right? Where is it and how much work is it to replace it?

[galantlvr34]

is it leaking oil or antifreeze?

[mikelbeck]

is it leaking oil or antifreeze?

Oil.

[galantlvr34]

Oil.

ok does your car have a sohc or dohc?

[mikelbeck]

ok does your car have a sohc or dohc?

Sheesh, sorry I should have included this info in the 1st post.

Its a 2000 2.4L SOHC.

[galantlvr34]

ok there is a oil pump seal and a camshaft seal.

[mikelbeck]

ok there is a oil pump seal and a camshaft seal.

If it looks like it's leaking from behind the water pump pulley that would probably be the camshaft seal, right?

How big of a job is it to replace that?

[galantlvr34]

If it looks like it's leaking from behind the water pump pulley that would probably be the camshaft seal, right?

How big of a job is it to replace that?

yeah it would probabaly be the camshaft seal.i would make sure your valve cover bolts arent loose,check your oil filter, and also the drain plug and the oil pan and make sure they are all tight first.then go from there.

[mikelbeck]

yeah it would probabaly be the camshaft seal.i would make sure your valve cover bolts arent loose,check your oil filter, and also the drain plug and the oil pan and make sure they are all tight first.then go from there.

I pulled off the top timing cover and it's not coming from the cam seal. I checked the valve cover, that's tight. I'm gonna pull off the lower cover tomorrow and have a look in there.

[galantlvr34]

I pulled off the top timing cover and it's not coming from the cam seal. I checked the valve cover, that's tight. I'm gonna pull off the lower cover tomorrow and have a look in there.

did you check the oil filter,oil drain plug,and the oil pan bolts?

[mikelbeck]

did you check the oil filter,oil drain plug,and the oil pan bolts?

Yes, they're all tight. I also looked at all of those things and there's no oil dripping from them, I can see a trail of oil on the lower timing chain cover coming from up higher (near the water pump), that's what led me to that spot in the first place.

[galantlvr34]

Yes, they're all tight. I also looked at all of those things and there's no oil dripping from them, I can see a trail of oil on the lower timing chain cover coming from up higher (near the water pump), that's what led me to that spot in the first place.

yeah it has to be coming from the lower area then.check the bolts that are around the oil pump and see if they are tight.and take the lower timing cover off and let it run and see if you can see where the oil is coming from.how bad of a leak is it?did you check the oil pan for any damage?

[mikelbeck]

yeah it has to be coming from the lower area then.check the bolts that are around the oil pump and see if they are tight.and take the lower timing cover off and let it run and see if you can see where the oil is coming from.how bad of a leak is it?did you check the oil pan for any damage?

Yeah, I checked the oil pan, it looks ok to me and doesn't look like it's leaking from there. I'm going to pull it apart (again) tomorrow and will see what's going on in there.

If it is the crankshaft seal, how much work is it to replace? Is it just pulling it out and putting the new one in or is there more involved?