hey guys,
long time since i've owned a maxima but just picked up a 98 SE. only problem is there is an oil leak. when i looked, it seemed like it was coming from the front main seal. being that the car has 148k miles on it, i'm not surprised. didn't find any good info when searching so is there any good step by step for replacing the front main seal? i've done this in one other car so i know the basics but is there anything specific i need to know?

-remove belt
-remove pulley (what size socket?)
-replace seal

thanks guys.

 

you need to remove the oil pan to fix it...

 

I think he's talking about the crank seal, which of course does not require oil pan removal.

But to the OP, I would check the rear valve cover and the oil pressure sending unit. Both of these can & do leak on Maximas frequently. When the leak occurs there, the resulting mess can appear to have originated at the crankshaft seal.

 

yes, i'm talking about the front crank seal. i'll have to check the other seals and gasket as oldngivout suggested. are there any good diagrams to the oil pressure sending unit and where it's located? yes, i'll be searching as well.

 

You should really grab a copy of the FSM.

 

thanks pmohr.

it's not the oil pressure sending unit. looks more to be power steering fluid now...also a little low in power steering fluid. will do research on this now...