1988 L2550 - Crank seal replacement

[doublekay]

Hi all.
I have a 1988 L2550 with just over 1000hrs on her. Unfortunately I’ve had to do some very cold starts with her this winter. After one of these while moving snow I was engine oil leaking at a pretty good clip. Surprisingly it was only down a quarter on the dip stick, felt like more but…..

I’m fairly confident it’s a crank seal on the front of the engine. I have a WSM manual but surprisingly it does not cover how to replace this seal. I’ve searched here and on YouTube as well to no avail….. Would someone be able to give me some guidance on the steps involved? Also I believe I had this seal replaced in the past but had someone do it. Is this a problem that’s gonna keep occurring?

Any help and guidance would be greatly appreciate.. Thanks so much in advance!!!! Kevin

 

[doublekay]

So now I am very confused.

See pictures for where the leak is. I thought this was the crank, and I need the crank seal but when I look up the parts schematic, I don’t see that balancer at all. It shows the pulley, collar and seal. So. Now I’m questioning what I’m looking at. I need to make sure I order the right seal and figure out how to fix this.

Can anyone tell me what I’m looking at and how to go about fixing the leak??” Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have about a month before I need to start using her.
Thanks again for everyone’s time - Kevin

 

[Runs With Scissors]

I know from experience that oil leaks can be tricky/misleading.

I have replace a few seals that "must be leaking", just to find out that there was something "above it" or "near it" that was actually leaking.

There seems to a lot of oil above that seal? (from what I can see in that pic).

So before loading up the "Parts Cannon",

I would douche it off and clean it real well, and dry it so its super clean.

Then add some of that dye and run it with a black light to make sure that is what is leaking.

 

[doublekay]

I know from experience that oil leaks can be tricky/misleading.

I have replace a few seals that "must be leaking", just to find out that there was something "above it" or "near it" that was actually leaking.

There seems to a lot of oil above that seal? (from what I can see in that pic).

So before loading up the "Parts Cannon",

I would douche it off and clean it real well, and dry it so its super clean.

Then add some of that dye and run it with a black light to make sure that is what is leaking.




View attachment 151116

Thank you. I’ll take the time to do that and double check. . I did have that area right on it cleaned up and saw bright metal of the shaft as it goes into the engine and when we started the machine it started weeping from there.. the rest in the area was what was cast off I believe

 

[Russell King]

So now I am very confused.

See pictures for where the leak is. I thought this was the crank, and I need the crank seal but when I look up the parts schematic, I don’t see that balancer at all. It shows the pulley, collar and seal. So. Now I’m questioning what I’m looking at. I need to make sure I order the right seal and figure out how to fix this.

Can anyone tell me what I’m looking at and how to go about fixing the leak??” Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have about a month before I need to start using her.
Thanks again for everyone’s time - Kevin

That is the crankshaft with the splined end. Here is the illustration from Kubota USA so you can find it there or on Messicks. There are several things that need to be replace - I think 210 should be replaced to make the seal work well but it may be something else.

 

[whitetiger]

You will need #170: collar, #180: O-ring and #250: oil seal

 

[doublekay]

You will need #170: collar, #180: O-ring and #250: oil seal

Okay… thanks to both of you. That’s what I was looking at. I just wanted to double check.

I appreciate the confirmation and information.
Regards Kevin