Possible front engine seal leaking

[bkahler]

First post and I'm looking for advice

A few weeks ago I bought an L2550 3 cylinder tractor that was in overall pretty good condition. However it had one problem that helped me knock the price down some. It has a pretty good oil leak from somewhere on the front of the engine. It was really hard to get any view of where it might be coming from. I did hot pressure wash the tractor to remove as much grease and oil as I could and that helped a little.

My first thought was from the location and from what I could see when it was running that the leak was likely at the front of the oil pan gasket. I ordered a new pan gasket and yesterday I removed the oil pan. Using my CSI skills (or lack there of) I'm thinking it probably wasn't the oil pan gasket. At least there wasn't any smoking gun indicating where the leak was.

While lying under the tractor and using a bright flash light I saw indications that the leak could be coming from the front crankshaft seal.

My questions are: can the front seal be removed without removing the full gear case cover? The service manual (just purchased new from Messick's) doesn't give a lot of detail about the front seal. If it can be removed from the outside that would be great. With my luck however I'm betting I have to remove the gear case cover.

Assuming I have to remove the gear case cover, is there a way to keep the crank from turning while removing the nut holding the pulley on?

Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Brad

 

[bkahler]

Here's a follow up to my question about replacing the front oil seal. It is definitely possible to replace the front crank seal. What is involved is removing the battery tray, pulling the crank pulley, removing the old oil seal, removing the collar that goes on the front of the crank shaft. This collar is what the seal actually rides on. However there is an o-ring that goes inside the collar. This o-ring needs to be replaced also as it seals the collar from leaking. Hard to explain but easy to see when looking at the parts.

However, this didn't solve all of my oil leak problem. I still have a small steady drip from the right front corner of the block. The drip ends up dripping from the right front oil pan bolt, however it definitely comes from somewhere above that point. I've been able to confirm my crank seal no longer leaks by using a mirror to check that area.

So my problem now is trying to figure out where the leak is coming from. Any suggestions on what and where to look on the front of my L2550 engine?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I need to get this tractor ready for mowing season!

Thanks,

Brad

 

[Russell King]

Sorry you never got any reply to your original post - perhaps you have a rare Kubota model?

The only suggestion I can make to narrow it down is to get some dye to put in the oil that is a UV light fluorescent. I know they have it for gas engines and assume it is OK for diesel but you need to verify that.
See this link for an example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgsqmMjC5So

It will help trace it to where it starts. I have not personally used it but it is better than guessing.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Wash the entire motor area down with Degreaser, your leak could be coming from the front case cover (timing gear cover) or the oil pan.

 

[bkahler]

The first thing I did when I brought the tractor home was to hot pressure wash the whole thing. It helped but I still can't see where the leak is. Even with a mirror and flashlight I can't see into the area where the leak is coming from.

I've reached a point where I don't have time to work on it and i need it for some work that needs to be done asap so I took the tractor to the local service shop. It will be interesting to see where the leak is located, I'll post back when I get word from theshop.

brad

 

[sebo1084]

The first thing I did when I brought the tractor home was to hot pressure wash the whole thing. It helped but I still can't see where the leak is. Even with a mirror and flashlight I can't see into the area where the leak is coming from.

I've reached a point where I don't have time to work on it and i need it for some work that needs to be done asap so I took the tractor to the local service shop. It will be interesting to see where the leak is located, I'll post back when I get word from theshop.

brad

Can you describe how you got the collar out? Did you have to remove the cover? Having the same problem

Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk

 

[bkahler]

Can you describe how you got the collar out? Did you have to remove the cover? Having the same problem

Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk

It's been quite a while since I replaced the seal and my memory is foggy on the subject. I do know that I did not have to pull the cover to get the collar out. I most likely gripped the collar with vice grips or something similar to remove it. The collar is somewhat of a sacrificial part because the oil seal will eventually wear a groove in the metal. Even a small almost undetectable groove will allow oil to pass. I ordered the parts from Messicks.

O-ring part # 19202-23250 @ $1.44
Collar part # 04811-10300 @ $26.47
Crank oil seal # 09550-00001 @ $5.86

I ended up having two oil leaks up front. The crank seal was one and the timing cover gasket which was the worst of the two was the other leak. I took the tractor to the local repair shop and had them replace the cover gasket. I didn't have the time or the inclination to do the cover gasket job.

Sorry I wasn't much help.

Brad

 

[bkahler]

It's been quite a while since I replaced the seal and my memory is foggy on the subject. I do know that I did not have to pull the cover to get the collar out. I most likely gripped the collar with vice grips or something similar to remove it. The collar is somewhat of a sacrificial part because the oil seal will eventually wear a groove in the metal. Even a small almost undetectable groove will allow oil to pass. I ordered the parts from Messicks.

O-ring part # 19202-23250 @ $1.44
Collar part # 04811-10300 @ $26.47
Crank oil seal # 09550-00001 @ $5.86

I ended up having two oil leaks up front. The crank seal was one and the timing cover gasket which was the worst of the two was the other leak. I took the tractor to the local repair shop and had them replace the cover gasket. I didn't have the time or the inclination to do the cover gasket job.

Sorry I wasn't much help.

Brad

 

[bystandered]

Any help would be great. I have an older T1700 and a buddies friend (used to be a Kubota mechanic for 30 years) took a quick and thinks I have a rear engine seal leak. I will bring it into the dealer for a second opinion but does anyone have an idea on price? His thoughts were due to spray pattern and Engine oil covering 3/4 of engine. Could be something else but thats his thoughts...either way Im into some $$

Thoughts?

 

[whitetiger]

Any help would be great. I have an older T1700 and a buddies friend (used to be a Kubota mechanic for 30 years) took a quick and thinks I have a rear engine seal leak. I will bring it into the dealer for a second opinion but does anyone have an idea on price? His thoughts were due to spray pattern and Engine oil covering 3/4 of engine. Could be something else but thats his thoughts...either way Im into some $$

Thoughts?

Are you working on a B1700 or a T1700? They are two completely different animals.

 

[bystandered]

Are you working on a B1700 or a T1700? They are two completely different animals.

T1700 (Diesel Lawn Tractor)