The title says it all, I saw a small drop of oil on the driveway the other day (first time) and sure enough I see a tiny drop now forming under the front of the engine

I'm not that familiar with the 5.9L design but if I'm not mistaken if it's like most engines the only thing that could cause that would be a front engine seal? where the front damper pokes through the engine.

Just what I need

I'm hoping there are other issues that could cause this, it's certainly not a big leak, there is no observable drop in oil level. The engine only has 80k on it and I'm running a older Bully Dog in tow mode with HD torque converter and valving.

And if it is the front seal is it a big deal to fix money wise?

Any thoughts would be welcome as would any $ contributions.

Ron W.

 

Are you sure it's not just the crankcase breather tube? Driver's side of the engine, probably back about 2 - 2 1/2 feet from the bumper? If it's the breather tube, welcome to owning a 5.9L Cummins... You should be able to see the breather tube if you slide under the truck. I've found the amount that drips out of there is in direct correlation to how much oil you have in the truck. Pretty much anything over 11.5 quarts in my truck will cause it to drip a little bit, especially after long or hard runs.

 

Not the breather tube I'm familiar with that like you said it's a good 10" back from the front of the engine. I do see an occasional drip from that....

Ron W.

 

Front seal is one of the biggest jobs due to the fact the whole front of the engine needs to be torn down. You are looking easily over a grand at most shops I would guess.

 

All depends on your skill level. I did mine and thought it was pretty simple. 10 minute job? No... Hard? No... I would rather do front crank seal than rear!

 

I have been looking into this problem via Google and it looks like if it's the crank seal everything up front goes, from the bumper, radiators, fan to the gear case cover to get a clear shot at that bearing seal. For my skill level that's a week long job but maybe doable.

The leak could also just be the timing gear cover bolts being loose but I can't see how you can get to most of them with out doing the front end removal.

Some people have mentioned the seal behind the vacuum pump attached to the power steering pump???

Whats the chances of that being the issue? I can't even peek behing there either to see.

Ron W.