Hey has anyone had problems with an oil leak coming from the front of the engine on the 12 valve? mine only leaks when it's running... ... if so where is it coming from and is it worth changing? I have a 96 2500 with only 117 K miles on it... it's not a new leak but it's almost to the point where i want to change it wondering if it's worth the time it will take to change it.

 

What part of the front of the engine? Could be a KDP if it is leaking from the front case. Could also be a valve cover that is leaking if it from the top.

 

This may not be good!!!!!

 

How much oil are you loosing?

My buddy's 98 that had the KDP fall out was loosing just over a gallon of oil per week. Replacing the front gear case is a bit of work. A valve cover is pretty simple and quick.

 

Thats true..

however, dont sweat it that much yet.. Make sure and look where the dampener is, that four bolt thing at the bottom of the block, that seal may have gone bad, also the timing cover may not be tight on all bolts thus causing your oil leak. Your bottom end too (as is mine) may be leaky, so its best to look at that while you are at it... I hope the KDP didnt get ya... but i woudlnt rule it out 100 percent...

Rick

 

try removing the oil fill cap and drive around and see if the leak goes away. I had a leak, changed the front seal twice, did fix the leak (helped a little). Then once when I was filling with oil, I forgot to put the cap back on and the leak went away...

 

ok now tell me if this makes any sense..... i change the oil a little it ago and for the most part the leak seems to have gone away now the truck did sit for almost a year while i was in Iraq and it wasn't drove very much at all..... now i'm confused.... does this make sense to anyone???????

 

Seals and gaskets can dry out and shrink or crack when left to sit unused for long periods of time. Perhaps the fresh oil caused the seals and gaskets to swell back up a bit and provide better sealing.

I think it sounds like your crank seal is leaking. If you have not yet taken care of the KDP, now would be a great time to do so and replace the crank seal and timing cover gasket.

 

this does not work every time, but most of the time.

take truck to a car wash and blast the devil out of engine compartment. especially around where it's leaking. in short degrease the motor.

then carefully watch where oil is coming from...

add UV dye to oil for really hard to locate leaks (last resort only)

 

I had a little leak near the top of my front cover, but no damage to the cover as others have reported from KDP. I gave each bolt a twist and some were tight and some were not. The leak went away.

 

Same problem as Rare1. There would be several drops underneath my truck after sitting overnight. I got a quote from the local Dodge house for $2200 to replace pretty much every seal and gasket on the motor. Turned out to be one loose bolt at the top of the timing cover right behind the radiator hose. The power washer at the car wash did wonders. Definitely worth the time to do this.

Good luck in finding your leak.

T-Bone

 

Wow, if the timing case cover bolts were loose, I'd be wondering about the bolts that are inside of the timing case. They can do just as much damage as the dowel pin if they come out. I see neither of your signatures indicate the KDP having been addressed, either.

 

Hi Scramblin,

I took care of my KDP via the jig method. In an effort to fix my oil leak, I was planning on doing the front main seal. I actually had the KDP jig kit sent to me so I could use the fan wrench set to get the fan off. Now I do not have to pull the cover. I will update my sig.

I have heard of some of the folks that have tabbed the KDP finding a loose bolt or two inside. I believe it is recommended that they all be retorqued. Not 100% sure on that one.

T-Bone

 

I had the a oil leak on a bolt that holds the cover down, it was on the side of the injection pump. Bad deal is, ha, i didnt know about the KDP, so i have to do it all over agian. Just because the front cover is leaking, dont mean the KDP got yea, mine is fixed now, but the KDP is still not fixed.......next project i guess, i should be good at it.

 

Hi- Speaking of leaks... I'm doing my KDP, and found a groove scored into my crank. Sigh. Any ideas how to repair? Speedi-Sleeve? Also, I've seen the seal kit install tool used on the front of the timing cover (TST) and the back. Which is it? Thanks, Kelly