i have a mercedes diesel jeep GD300 1989. After an oil change I found oil leaking. I was told that it is my crankshaft seal and it is expensive to fix (rear I believe). Is it dangerous if I just keep an eye on it adding oil when necessary and not fix it? thanks
I would fix it immediately. It will get worse by usage and eventually will become so much that you will be driving with a tail of blue smoke behind your car. This is because the leaking oil will get on your hot exhuast and burns. Think about the pollution you will cause to the environment.
If you do not fix it you will have a mess under your car in no time at all. The buildup of oil and road grime can be a fire hazard. I almost lost a corvette once due to a grease fire that started close to the catalytic converter. Luckily this happened in my driveway and I was able to extinguish it right away. Ever since that experience I am paranoid about keeping the underside of my cars relatively clean. Peter
If it happened right after an oil change it might not be the seal. If the engine configuration is at all similar to mine (2.3L gas) then the filter is on the top rear of the engine.
If the filter wasn't installed right (too loose, too tight, double gasket, no gasket) then the oil might leak from there and drain down, appearing to come from the rear main seal...
Since the rear main seal is a "normal" leak location even a good mechanic might make this judgment in error.
Carefully investigate the upper half of the rear of the engine, and if you are lucky you might find you don't need a rear main seal at all...
The reason this seal is expensive to replace is that the transmission needs to come off the engine to get to it, which is a bit of labor...
Marty
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