crankshaft seal leak part 2

[rbridges]

Replaced the leaking seal that was placed in December.  Put in solid seal and let it sit for several days.  I ran the engine for several minutes.  Oil got up to 130ish degrees.  Raised rpms up to 1800-2000.  This was all done on the ground.  No oil leaks noticed.  Did a second run, but this time I cycled the prop.  Noticed oil coming from the seal area.  I'm hoping I'm just having bad luck with seal replacements.  I was just wondering if the cycling vs not cycling indicates anything.

[rbridges]

this is after running the engine without cycling the prop.

[MB65E]

Could be the prop seal vs the crank seal. 

Pull the spinner and see if the Fwd side of the flywheel is wet VS the back side. If the fwd side is wet you might be lucky and it’s only the prop seal.

What run is the crankshaft? Ie how many times has it been ground. I think Lycoming should make a “crank undersized seal” rather than the oversized case seal. I have a .010 crank, I’ve been thru about 5 seals before I found one that didn’t leak. 

-Matt

[rbridges]

Unfortunately it's the seal by the crank.  Not sure of the run. Good to know that it could take a few tries. 

[rbridges]

Well, it turned out to be the crankshaft seal. I had a 3rd person do it. He followed the Lycoming instructions to the letter. Spent a lot of time cleaning the crank with MEK and fine sanding.  Installed a solid seal and new o-ring. Not a drop following run-up and short flight. What a relief. 

[carusoam]

Great follow-up, RB!

Best regards,

-a-