Hello all, long-time listener, first-time caller! Having an issue with my 2001TJ with 2.5L engine, was hoping the gurus here in this forum could assist vs going to the only Jeep-focused shop in town that...frankly, has let me down before.
The primary issue is (there are multiple others) I appear to be having an oil leak out of the crankshaft seal on the timing chain cover on the front of the engine. Specifically, the small, round gasket that seals where the crankshaft sticks out and connects to the harmonic balancer. My dad and I replaced the timing chain cover a week or two ago as part of another project, and purchased a Dorman cover to install from Autozone. It came with the gasket already installed, but my Dad, and lots of other mechanically-inclined folks both here and elsewhere, consistently insist that Fel-Pro is the way to go, so we grabbed a Fel-Pro front seal/gasket to install as well (as well as Fel-pro gaskets to seal against the engine block). We removed the front seal that came preinstalled in the Dorman cover, which was quite well-seated, but when we installed the Fel-pro gasket, it slid in with zero resistance. That doesn't seem conducive to keeping oil in, so it obviously worried us. Normally getting a new seal into that gap should require the use of a rubber mallet to get it in. We used a reasonable but sufficient amount of RTV sealant around the edges to hopefully actually create a seal. A couple weeks later, it's clearly leaking. So, we purchased another gasket, (National Seals brand?), same issue, slides right in with zero resistance. Instead of putting it all back together and end up with the same issue, figured i'd make a post and see what yall had to say. To be completely honest, the advice i've read on some of the threads here has saved me a number of times!
The primary issue is (there are multiple others) I appear to be having an oil leak out of the crankshaft seal on the timing chain cover on the front of the engine. Specifically, the small, round gasket that seals where the crankshaft sticks out and connects to the harmonic balancer. My dad and I replaced the timing chain cover a week or two ago as part of another project, and purchased a Dorman cover to install from Autozone. It came with the gasket already installed, but my Dad, and lots of other mechanically-inclined folks both here and elsewhere, consistently insist that Fel-Pro is the way to go, so we grabbed a Fel-Pro front seal/gasket to install as well (as well as Fel-pro gaskets to seal against the engine block). We removed the front seal that came preinstalled in the Dorman cover, which was quite well-seated, but when we installed the Fel-pro gasket, it slid in with zero resistance. That doesn't seem conducive to keeping oil in, so it obviously worried us. Normally getting a new seal into that gap should require the use of a rubber mallet to get it in. We used a reasonable but sufficient amount of RTV sealant around the edges to hopefully actually create a seal. A couple weeks later, it's clearly leaking. So, we purchased another gasket, (National Seals brand?), same issue, slides right in with zero resistance. Instead of putting it all back together and end up with the same issue, figured i'd make a post and see what yall had to say. To be completely honest, the advice i've read on some of the threads here has saved me a number of times!
