Oil leak - rear crank seal

E-Type
1

I have an oil leak on my rear crank seal of my series 1.5. The engine was rebuilt with the rest of the car around 6 years ago and its done around 4k miles since. The previous owner has told me:

The rear of the crank was machined down so that a modern oil seal could be used, the new seal is cut to fit onto end of the crank.

I believe this could be the one I used or if not a very similar UK version.

So I will have to pay to get the engine pulled out and a new seal in if it fits and will it go again? This could all cost me ÂŁ2K plus.

Am I going OTT with this and should I just live with the leak? its been like this for over a year now. The bit I don’t like is that its getting the underside of the car messy and it sometimes drips onto the exhaust causing burn oil to come out of the bonnet to the amusement no doubt of others.

2

Not a lot of choice: it’s critical the crank be machined to the proper diameter, and with a leak developing so soon, it bears scrutiny, once out, to determine if indeed it was cut to the correct size.

1 Like
3

Are you sure it’s coming from the rear crank seal? It could be coming from the oil feed pipe to the camshafts. I mention this because many years ago I pulled an engine because I was sure it had a failed rear seal. Only to find out when I put it all back together that’s the leak was still there. It turned out to be a very simple fix that did not require pulling the engine…
How much oil are you using? A simple shield could eliminate drips on the exhaust pipe.

4

Thanks Bill,

My garage is telling me this. He knows the car quite well and knows e-types.

I’m not losing much really. Not enough for the level to fall on a 100 mile run.

5

Ouch.

Very good point, and one that needs to be fully explored. Also, the back of the cam covers are notorious for small, hard-to-detect leaks.

6

You might want to verify if it’s the Terry’s kit or one from the other suppliers…SNG or Rob Beere, for example. They are quite different in design.

7

Jonny, A couple of things…

  1. Are you runnung synthetic oil? DONT
    2.20/50 oil non synthetic.
  2. when the car sit all seals dry up and shrink, run the car with 20/50 for 500 gooddriving miles.’
    4 Like others say oil feed lines, pan bolts ,check valve hose and of course the valve covers…
    DRIVE IT, DO THE ABOVE ITS STILL AN OLD CAR,
    Good luck and report back!
    gtjoey1314
8

Oh… and check the “O” ring at the rear of the cams…

LLoyd

Society has discovered discrimination as the great social weapon by which one may kill men without any bloodshed.
Hannah Arendt

9

Non synthetic for what reason? It is not a leather seal so no weepage problems there.

1 Like
10

Just my experience
The old cars of that era leak like sieve
It’s worth the try

11

I find oil leaks from the rear of the oil pan a more common problem than from the rear oil seal, and the two can be confused. If you take a look at the back of the flywheel and see radial streaks of oil coming from the center, it’s the rear seal. If you can’t it’s the pan.

12

Not the only confusion. You need to check with someone who knows the changes in the rear pan seal and make sure if anyone changed the pan or the sealing channel. Plus… I’m pretty sure some replacement rubber seals need trimming and some don’t (aftermarket confusion?) and then the cork ones maybe are better for some pans, etc. Now I sure don’t know the detail of this area, but I do know there are issues. My rubber seal worked better than the cork as far as fitting, but as an aftermarket I’m not confident it was the correct thickness, width or even length. It does seal quite well and I’m happy with it, but some small leakage is present, but well within tolerance. Had cork before and the cork was much “squished” , while it did fit pretty well. Check with a real expert on all the variations possible and best rear seal. I mean the pan seal, NOT the rear main - another story often covered.

13

My '67 doesn’t leak a drop and I have the original seal, probably installed by a knowledgeable mechanic. Grinding the crankshaft to fit the revised seal is a big decision and unfortunately,if it doesn’t work, a new crank (or rework) is in the works… Plenty of info in the archives.I would not approach this lightly. IMHO