I'm cranked

[JerryF]

Just found out my 2015 Aspire has an oil leak coming from the front crank seal. Has less than 45,000 miles and 6 weeks out of warranty with Cummins. Cummins says sorry, my extended warranty company said sorry we don't warranty seals or gaskets. So I am facing a $4200 bill for replacement. What caused the issue to begin with, I know it's a problem with higher mileage engines!!! Anyone else had this issue with low miles, who do you complain to??


Thanks for reading.

Jerry

[R.Wold]

Have you called Entegra to see if they will try to exert some influence? Can’t hurt to ask...maybe they can be talked in to going to bat for you, six weeks out or warranty and all.

How significant is the leak?

[brobox]

I lost an engine air compressor 2 weeks out of warranty over $5,000. Same response from Cummins, out of warranty is out of warranty. They did however give me the Cummins owners 10% discount. However I just received an email that program has been cancelled.

Since yours is still drive-able, might be worth calling other truck shops. Cummins price can amorally be beaten by quit a bit.


Seals can dry out from sitting too long. This is one of the reason they say MH's should be driven every 30 days. Many don't, me included, but dry seals can happen. Sorry to hear the warranty company does not stand behind major repairs.

[737 Driver]

Originally Posted by JerryF

Just found out my 2015 Aspire has an oil leak coming from the front crank seal. Has less than 45,000 miles and 6 weeks out of warranty with Cummins. Cummins says sorry, my extended warranty company said sorry we don't warranty seals or gaskets. So I am facing a $4200 bill for replacement. What caused the issue to begin with, I know it's a problem with higher mileage engines!!! Anyone else had this issue with low miles, who do you complain to??


Thanks for reading.

Jerry

Jerry,

Sorry to hear about your issue and being out of warranty. During my annual maintenance recently, I noticed some oil leaking from what looked like a rear main seal crank leak. I took it in to Cummins of Houston that confirmed and fixed the issue. Luckily it was still covered by warranty. When I saw the repair bill they listed $2500 in labor that I would have owed if not under warranty. I would definitely get another quote because $4300 seems excessive to me. I believe the rear seal involves more work and would cost more since transmission and drive shaft has to be removed, than the front seal. I am pretty sure they can get to the front main seal fairly easy by removing the vibration damper and pull the seal out with special tools. The seal itself cost around $20 dollars.

I would shop around some and best of luck.

Sincerely, Tor

[Gary.Jones]

Sad, but I don't think there is going to be anyone who you can complain to that is going to change the fact that your problem is occurring out of warranty. Their warranty is 5 years and that is pretty reasonable.

I would start shopping around to see what you can find on other shop's charges and try to minimize your cost by patronizing some other shop.

Gary

[737 Driver]

Jerry,
Just for kicks I just contacted Cummins and asked for an approximate cost to replace the front main seal. I got a response back in minutes and was told the following:
Approximately $600-800 in labor and $80-100 in parts. Again, this is just a quick estimate. Cummins also asked if you were sure it is the front seal and not the gear case cover.

Keep us posted.

Sincerely, Tor

[Old Scout]

….Curious--front seal is at the back of the DP, rear seal is toward front of DP and connects to the tranny, so the "rear" seal would be much more expensive, eg, have to drop tranny....agree, a bad seal at 45k in pretty unusual.....if front--could be the timing cover....if rear, could be fuel leak [eg, lift pump] washing down the side of the block--they tend to look similar....

[wolfe10]

Originally Posted by Old Scout

….Curious--front seal is at the back of the DP, rear seal is toward front of DP and connects to the tranny, so the "rear" seal would be much more expensive, eg, have to drop tranny....agree, a bad seal at 45k in pretty unusual.....if front--could be the timing cover....if rear, could be fuel leak [eg, lift pump] washing down the side of the block--they tend to look similar....

Absolutely correct.


Easy to confuse front and back as the engine is in there " backwards".

[JerryF]

Leak is small no evidence on garage floor. Cummins said front seal and would have to pull the crank out to get it. Said they may have to jack the engine up to get enough clearance to do that, never mentioned anything about the tranny. Contacting Cummins customer service tomorrow to see how far I can get. But will definitely take it somewhere else for repair. Thanks for the feed back.

[Orhusky]

Originally Posted by JerryF

Leak is small no evidence on garage floor. Cummins said front seal and would have to pull the crank out to get it. Said they may have to jack the engine up to get enough clearance to do that, never mentioned anything about the tranny. Contacting Cummins customer service tomorrow to see how far I can get. But will definitely take it somewhere else for repair. Thanks for the feed back.

Pull the crank to change the seal???? I would be getting a different opinion. That does not sound right to me at all!

Scott

[Alpine36]

Well if it's out of warranty and not marking its territory I'd wait and see what it progresses to. Crank seals rarely "let go". Usually they just weep or slow leak.
Oils cheap...

[R.Wold]

[QUOTE=Alpine36;5542499]Well if it's out of warranty and not marking its territory I'd wait and see what it progresses to. Crank seals rarely "let go". Usually they just weep or slow leak.
Oils cheap...[/]

How was it noticed and identified? Was it in the shop For a front seal?

When you say “Cummins says” and “Cummins said” who are you talking about? Is an authorized Cummins service center?

If its the rear seal, you’d pull the transmission to access it. I’ve never heard anyone suggest pulling a crank shaft to replace a seal and to do so you’d have to pull the transmission and front cover anyway. So something is really off here.

Also the leak could also be from excessive crankcase pressure, oil overfilled, or oil drip of from some other source. You need to find an honest competent shop to get the right answers.

This video shows the replacement of a front crankshaft seal on an ISL. A little different than what you were told.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0p5H4rV6ns

[R.Wold]

Originally Posted by JerryF

Leak is small no evidence on garage floor. Cummins said front seal and would have to pull the crank out to get it. Said they may have to jack the engine up to get enough clearance to do that, never mentioned anything about the tranny. Contacting Cummins customer service tomorrow to see how far I can get. But will definitely take it somewhere else for repair. Thanks for the feed back.

If it’s a rear main seal the procedure is a little dierent and involves pulling the transmission as stated above, but DOES NOT involve pulling the crank shaft.

[Mile Marker 42]

[QUOTE=R.Wold;5542656]

Originally Posted by Alpine36

Well if it's out of warranty and not marking its territory I'd wait and see what it progresses to. Crank seals rarely "let go". Usually they just weep or slow leak.
Oils cheap...[/]

How was it noticed and identified? Was it in the shop For a front seal?

When you say “Cummins says” and “Cummins said” who are you talking about? Is an authorized Cummins service center?

If its the rear seal, you’d pull the transmission to access it. I’ve never heard anyone suggest pulling a crank shaft to replace a seal and to do so you’d have to pull the transmission and front cover anyway. So something is really off here.

Also the leak could also be from excessive crankcase pressure, oil overfilled, or oil drip of from some other source. You need to find an honest competent shop to get the right answers.

This video shows the replacement of a front crankshaft seal on an ISL. A little different than what you were told.....