98lswon1

ok so i climbed under my newly aquired 98 trans am and there is oil slung everywhere.. I am tracing it to the harmonic balancer. It looks like its leaking there and blowing straight back along the bottom of the engine and the transmission. Would this be the timing chain cover gasket? Or is there any gasket besides that behind the balancer itself? I havent worked on one of these cars in forever so any help is appreciated! Also should i get a new lightweight balancer while i have it off or is it worth it?any suggestions on what kind or where to get one from?

robertbartsch

I would wash everything off with a brush and soapie water and a hose first. Start and let the engine run for a while. Make sure you can tell what is leaking.

Removing and replacing the seal behind the balancer is a a lot of work. I have to use a 3 foot long iron pipe to get the balancer bolt off ...for one.

98lswon1

maybe i can post a pic here in a bit but basically when i look at the front of the engine the whole lower half is soaked in oil. The bottom of the balancer is where its all coming out but on the top half of the balancer its completely dry. So its gotta be coming from the bottom of the balancer.. What is the seal there is it the timing cover gasket or is there an actual seal for the balancer. I dont wanna change it out but i just bought the car and am going through it fixing all the little problems and issues.
thanks for the reply!