Well, it must be that time of year again. When I am totally out of sorts, I've helped out in the Vic bushfires, come home and been bounced off a car while standing on a footpath and now the PTSD kicks in :confused:

Now the cars play up. More precisely, my daughters TP Wagon. It has tried a new format, not one issue, but three at once and all different.

The easy one, replaced the radiator. Seems a bird or stone hit it just enough to cause a pinhole leak. Noticed it when she backed out and saw water jetting out the front for about a metre :nuts:

Now, the ones I need help with please,

The crankshaft seal, well I figure this is where the oil is leaking from. I cleaned the engine as it was all covered in oil on the alternator side of the engine. I checked the sump for tightness, some little cover or inspection plate on the timing chain cover, and whilst they all nipped up a little, the sump appeared to be sealed. Anyhow, I took it for a drive and oil is making its way onto the AC belt and alternator belt then thrown around the engine bay. The only place I can see as suspect is the crankshaft seal. So, how do I go about changing this, is it something similar to changing the camshaft seal??

The second issue is the trans, first thing from cold start, it drives smooth, shifting through all gears, but then when it would probably be up to operating temperature, it loses kickdown function, does a flare out shift from 2 to 3 and then does not engage OD. It does not slip or feel like it is in neutral, it just does not shift into overdrive. If i let it stand for a bit with a temp drop, it seems to move off OK with all shifting working, then repeats it all over again.

If I can sort the oil leak, it will only be the trans and if that has to be replaced, then so be it, but if it is something simple I can try, then even better.

Hoping someone out there can shed some light on the crank seal and trans please:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:.

Cheers, Beachy

Have you replaced the auto transmission fluid? its often overlooked and people often go years without replacing it :S If you have replaced it, it may be the wrong type of fluid?

the front timing cover seal
a jack to support motor and gearbox

needs front and rear engine mounts undone
as well as the driversideand passengerside gearbox mounts removed

at that point the motor can tilt eneough for the timing pully to be removed 22mm socket

the seal is round and is easy to replace


look at the timing pully for a sharp edge wear at the seal line
also if the timing pully rubber balance ring is not too oil soaked for it to come apart at revs


the auto gearbox probably the end clutch worn ....an easy fix

Trans has now gone to the point of working when cold, but when at operating temp, it is like being in "LIMP" mode, does ot change into any gear.

Any ideas anyone?? Puhleeeese!!:sook:

try disconnecting the battery to reset the TCU

the problem described about the old box ..it needs a service
and a few new parts

just a guess

the tranny oil fliter may be clogged or the TCU is faulty

I can't help with the transmission problems but may have an idea re the oil leak.

It may not be the crankshaft seal.

Does the car blow smoke after idling for extended periods in traffic? If so, it could be the valve stem seals.

Your description of the oil getting on the alternator belt and being sprayed around the engine bay is exactly what mine was like. When the valve stem seals are worn, the build up of pressure blows oil out of the rocker cover and it drips onto the alternator belt.

Replacing the valve stem seals is not expensive if you do it yourself. Say $35 for the seals and $25 for a rocker cover gasket. It took me about half a day but would be a lot quicker next time.

Valve stem seals so not cause the engine to leak oil

The front seal, no need to drop all mounts :nuts: Just take off the end one (alt end) and you should be able to drop the engine far enough to get the pulley off. If not drop the centre beam a little and this will do it.

To crack the main pulley bolt, place a 1.2 inch drive breaker bar into the end of the bolt or if it does not have the facility to do this as some do not, use a 22mm socket, place the handle of the bar between the drive shaft and the lower control arm

With the DIST DISCONNECTED give the engine a quick crank and it should come off ok. To tighten you will need to do it as best as you can by hand and then perhaps talk someone with a rattle gun into nipping it back up.

The trans, ecu reset will not help, remote chance is the TCU but most likely the trans itself These are cheap enought second hand, there are always cheap first gens on fleabay etc complete, grab the trans and sell the rest to pinch a part. Good thing with SA is you can usually pick up one with a week or so of reg so you can test drive first

Completed job last weekend. When we got the pully off, we thought there was no seal at all, it had actually fallen out while we were getting the pully clear. Man was it brittle, so anyhow, that solved the oil issue. Easy job with no big drama's.
While in fix it mode, I dropped the sump on the trans and changed the filter and put some fresh oil in. took out more than I put back though. Could this have caused the trans issue? All seems almost normal, still flares a little from 2nd to 3rd and is sometimes indecisive at 60km/h whether to stay in 3rd or drop to 2nd. No matter, if it is a trans failure I am no longer daunted by the prospect of changing it.

Thank you to all for your guidance and help in the process.

Cheers,