Oil leak behind crank pulley or balancer?

[robtoya]

I have a pretty good leak that is coming from somewhere behind the harmonic balancer or crankshaft pulley. I'm thinking it might be the front crankshaft seal or ? Has anybody changed one of these? I also have a really stubort fan clutch nut that refuses to turn (it is right hand thread right?) I'm almost at the point of rounding off the edges. I using a 48mm wrench but its on tight. Thanks for any advice.

 

[JLDickmon]

Be honest with you, I can't for the life of me remeber if they're right-hand threads or not.
I'm thinking left-hand.

I've never seen a 7.3 with a leaky balancer seal, but someone else will chime in saying, "yeah, they leak all the time"

 

[BJS]

spray the fan clutch bolt with some penetrating oil it is likely that they are corrosion welded

As for the leak at the harmonic balancer that is easy to diagnose and even if it is not common if you're leaking there then it's leaking, just make sure that the oil is not leaking down from up above which should be plainly obvious though you might want to clean the engine up real good before making a positive diagnosis.

 

[robtoya]

Got it off...managed to fit a pipe wrench on the nut...worked great but definately not the recommended way...it is indeed a right hand thread. Thanks for the replies. Now on to fixing the actual leak.

 

[Zookie400]

fan hubs are different threads, and from the factory they came with BIG stickers on the shroud that says wich way to turn it. unfortunatly some of the stickers didnt last beyond the dealers lot.

the oil leak my be the oil pan, i know mine is leaking right there, just below the front crank seal. it very well could be the crank seal as well. the best thing to do is clean all the oil and dirt away, run the engine and see where the oil comes out.