Well I must say that if a person doesn't hurry this job (and ask questions before they start taking things apart!
) its not too bad! I installed the new seal but when I tried to tap it in place, I wound up seating it a bit crooked! I should have had a big socket or something but used a rubber mallet and a small block of wood. One edge was flush to the outside but the other was in probably about 1/8 inch. I hoped that it wasn't enough to cause an issue so put it all back together. I thought this would be a good time to drain the oil etc.
I had used a bit of that silicone so let it sit overnight before starting it. When I did start it, it purred like a kitten. I let it run awhile and soon- drip, drip, drip- there goes the oil again! I was bummed but the pulley replacement was crucial and that seemed to be running as it should. On second inspection of the old seal, its possible that it wasn't dripping from there- it has a felt liner on the surface that mates with the crankshaft and it actually seemed pretty dry. I'm now wondering in the seal behind the fan clutch would be the issue!
Any thoughts?
but what Diver said was the case- due to the harmonic balancer having rubbed the timing cover, it made a hole in it. I couldn't see where from my own pictures and I really didn't want to take everything apart again so I took more of that silicon and climbed under the van and basted behind the new pulley on the cover as high as I could reach with a thin flat stick. It worked! That's so nice to have addressed, thanks again!