my crank seal started leaking after it sat in the mud for a while....at about 86k its an 01'

 

Just about every crank seal will eventually leak, some go earlier than others. Its not a major problem unless you dont like a dirty undercarriage. And considering that they are tough to change, especially the rear seal which means taking the trans out, they are rarely ever changed and the engines work fine anyways, just dirtier.

BTW a TSB is a technical service bulletin is just a set of instructions clarifying a repair, a new way to perform a repair, or just a list of approved shortcuts to make the mechanics life easier. They're like updates to the official shop manuals. With or without warranty, your mechanic will use these (if he has access to them). If your car is under warranty, there will usually be no charge.

A recall is for a major safety problem, and will likely contain TSB-style information in order to perform the repairs. Thinks like leaking fuel lines or major engine problems can lead to recalls since they pose a safety danger, or a major danger to the company's image!

Hope that clears it up some, the two terms are not interchangeable, lol! There may be a TSB for a new type of crank seal, but it wouldnt be and cant be called a recall. I've had two TSB's done on my Impala under warranty, one was for the intake manifold gaskets, the other for a bad cat converter. The TSB's spelled out how to verify the problem and what new parts to use and procedures to perform.

 

i just had mud blast up in mine doing the same thing tomorrow. how long did it take ?

 

a few days as I had to keep stopping working on it as i kept running into snags. But if I had to do it again, now that I know how to do it, i could do it in less than an hour and a half

 

Yeah, it's all fun and games...
My 3.0L did this and it turned out to be the seal cut a groove in the balancer! They make this spiffy sleeve that fits over the end of the balancer to make a smooth sealing surface - added a new seal for "giggles" and it worked like a champ.
Now, if I was to have that happen on the Sport Trac, I'd do a power pulley and new seal. Bonus!

 

lol ill be doin one of these soon among lots of other things... good info though!

 

Howdy gentlemen. Thanks for all the great info provided here, it looks like most of my questions are answered.
I've got an '02 Ranger with the 4.0, and what looks like a front main seal leak. I'm going to clean it all up and dye the oil just because, but i'm almost positive it's the FMS.

I know I can get the seal at my local APS, but i've got a few questions i'd like to ask you to clear up:
Does anyone have the part number for the torque to yield bolt?
I plan on draining the oil (it's almost time to change it anyway) before I do this; is there any reason not to?
Will a standard torque wrench work for applying the torque to yield bolt? What's the torque requirement for that bolt?
Has anyone successfully changed their FMS without removing the fan and shroud?

Thanks again for the tips so far, it's been a huge help.

 

I cant remember if I let my oil out or not first. I dont think that I did to tell you the truth. most of the oil should be down in your oil pan just setting. You have to apply so much torque, turn it another amount of degrees. You will want to remove the fan and shroud. I barely had room with them out myself.

I have a ford tech cd that has some more info on that bolt and stuff, but its at home

 

Glad to see you got it fixed.