Oil leak on my new 3500?

[RDuncan]

Just changed the oil on my new truck and noticed a little oil on area below harmonic balancer. Very little almost un-noticeable but if you shine flash light up behind balancer you can see a little trail through the dust where oil had seeped down. Ok on my old 96 I would not have been surprised but my new truck with only 3300 miles?

 

[Randy_F]

Haven't checked the harmonic balancer on my 2016 with 8,000mi, but it does appear to have some oil seeping from the inspection plate the bottom of the engine to transmission cover plate.

 

[SnoKing]

Haven't checked the harmonic balancer on my 2016 with 8,000mi, but it does appear to have some oil seeping from the inspection plate the bottom of the engine to transmission cover plate.

Mine also! SnoKing

 

[Jared Herzog]

My 14 had that. On the first oil change i cleaned it up real well and it never came back. My 15 never got any oil there. It could be left over from the assembly process.
I had an 05 that leaked there from day one. There are two gaskets there that are prone to leak. On my 05 i think it was called the crank seal. They attempted to fix it five times. The final fix was a crank sleeve. The original seal had been pinched and scored the crank. A buddy had the same issue on his 06. His was the timing cover. That was a big deal requiring removal of the cam. They also removed most of the parts on the front to gain access. I think they removed the radiator and intercooler on that year. I would clean it up and watch it. I am not sure but i think they use lube on seals to get them assembled. This runs down with heat cycling and should stop after a short while.

 

[RDuncan]

ok thank you all!

 

[Bob4x4]

No lube on either front or rear crank seals-They must be installed completely dry using the correct installers will reduce the risk of seal damage during the install

 

[Kirwin]

This happened to me, Ram changed the front seal, it still leaked. I'd wipe off a couple of drops from the front oil pan bolts every couple of months. I never noticed it to drip on the garage floor. After 10,000 miles it went away all on its own. Keep your eye on it. If it gets worse, have the dealer change it, but it may stop one it's own once the seal wears in. The dealer could make it worse!

 

[RDuncan]

ok I will thank you

 

[Newsa]

PAO (base stock) synthetic oils may cause seal shrinkage and leakage?

Ester based (base stock) synthetic oils may cause seal swelling and stop your leak. Try a new oil if it bothers you.

If it's a tiny barely perceptible leak, it's worth a try