[UhOh]

It appears that I have an oil leak toward the bottom of the engine: the skid plate has oil on it (not hydraulic fluid as I first was thinking)- mixed up with a bunch of dirt and crud, so that was making it kind of hard to really tell.

Can't really see much with the skid plate. Have yet to change the oil, in which case I couldn't say whether the leak could be coming from the drain plug.

I'm not losing a lot of oil, just enough to make things messy. Level registered on the dip stick is down only slightly.

It's kind of irritating in that I have so many things to do and I was figuring that a newer piece of equipment (a 2103 demo unit that had like 11hrs on it- I'm around 38 hrs now, I believe) wouldn't be looking to suck time from me.

Anyone run across something like this? (again, I'm going to be changing the oil before too long so I'll be seeing if it's the drain plug- but, really, a new machine with a poorly fitted drain plug?).

 

[UhOh]

Put the Brutus up on ramps and had a look. Just can't see well enough to tell where the oil is coming from; you cannot remove the skid plate back there! Visibility is fine from up above, in which case I'm certain that the origin isn't from the topside. If I had to guess I'd say that it's coming from the rear of the engine, perhaps the rear main seal.

 

[Interceptor]

You could check the oil pressure sensor, it's at the rear of the block facing the back of the machine. You can just barely see it from the top, but you should be able to shine a light in there and see if there's any oil around it. Also check where the dipstick enters the block. If you suspect the rear main seal it could also be the hydraulic pump input shaft seal. It's relatively easy to replace. Let me know if you need one, it's a $10 part but you can't get it from Polaris without buying the whole $200 pump seal kit.

 

[UhOh]

Interceptor, thanks for the reply. Funny, I just replaced the oil sensor on my tractor (only oil leak after 1,600 hours!). I'll give a peek and report back on what I find.

 

[UhOh]

Sigh... Not so lucky. All looks good around the sensor and the dipstick tube. I'd say that the oil starts a bit below and more toward the rear: on the rear of the block.

Could you point me to where in the repair manual the hydraulic pump input shaft seal is shown/discussed?

Thanks!

 

[Interceptor]

Page 10.19 Item 34 is the bolts holding the pump to the bell housing. If you can get those out you should be able to pull the pump away enough to see if there is a leak without disconnecting any hoses or linkage. Page 10.24 Item 18 shows the hydraulic pump input shaft seal. It can be replaced without disassembling the pump, but the pump would probably need to be removed from the machine. I would think if it's leaking you would be able to see oil inside the bell housing and on the flywheel. You can see inside from underneath, there is an opening where the PTO belt would come out the front. If it's dry in there then it's not the source of your leak, all of that would have to be wet before any oil reached the engine block.

 

[UhOh]

You can see inside from underneath, there is an opening where the PTO belt would come out the front. If it's dry in there then it's not the source of your leak, all of that would have to be wet before any oil reached the engine block.

Is that with everything bolted up or when the pump is unbolted? (I'd like to have a better idea before tearing anything apart.)

Still trying to figure out how that seal would be seeing crankcase oil; unless, that is, it's not crankcase oil that's leaking (I need to put down some shop towels to get a better look at the fluid).

 

[Interceptor]

It wouldn't be engine oil, it would be hydraulic oil. That seal is under about 100 psi hydraulic pressure. I know you said you thought it was an engine oil leak, I just thought the pump would be worth checking since it's a whole lot easier fix than the rear main, and it's hard to tell what kind of oil it is when all you've got is oily dirt.
You should be able to see inside the bellhousing from underneath without removing anything but the skid plate.

 

[UhOh]

I'd wiped some of the fluid off and it didn't appear to be hydraulic fluid, but I need to verify that for certain (keeping my fingers crossed that it is). Put down some paper towels and will see (hoping that they don't get wrapped up in the drive shaft! [there's not a lot of clearance down there above the skid plate]).

You're saying that you CAN remove the rear skid plate? When I'd made a quick look everything appeared to be welded to the frame (otherwise I'd have likely jumped right in to pulling it off to get a better look).

 

[Interceptor]

No, not the rear steel plate, but if you remove the big plastic one you should be able to see inside the hole in the front of the bellhousing.

 

[KeviNH]

Polaris official Yanmar 3TNM72 service manual (sort of)

Here is the official Yanmar 3TNM72 service manual from Polaris website:
https://intl.polarisdealers.com/Vir...ServiceManuals/RGR/9923516 - CH 11 Part 1.pdf
(this is designated as a Ranger manual, but the 3TMN72-APL is nearly identical to the 3TNM72-APB)

 

[UhOh]

Kevin, thanks for posting. I believe that I have the service manual around (somewhere). At this point I'm just letting the thing leak. It's not all that significant. I'm also wanting to see if by changing the oil (which I did) will help: put in Delo 400 LE (I run that in everything I have).

I've encountered another issue that is also likely related to this thing having sat for so long- I'm posting in a separate thread.

 

[Interceptor]

Mine has developed an engine oil leak now too. I haven't had a chance to look at it yet but it's from the same area. Will keep you posted.

 

[GhostRider]

Anybody check the oil pan bolts behind the flywheel housing?