Miata Engine Update - Solving an Oil Leak

When we last left our brave heroes of the Miata build, the engine was running but there was a substantial oil leak coming from somewhere at the bottom end.

At the very bottom you can see the crankshaft sticking out, where the leak was originating from.

Yesterday I pulled all the plastic covers off of the front of the motor to find our culprit.  I suspect the main crank seal was somewhat faulty after installing it briefly on the car and then re-using it when we had to replace the crank and rods.

Fresh, new seal in place.

Luckily I had already ordered a second front crank seal and swapped in the new one. Sure enough, there looks to be a tiny bit of damage on the old seal on the outside edge.  After a few minutes of idling and light revving of the engine, I couldn't see any more leaks.  It'll get another test drive today and we'll confirm if the car is ready to go autocrossing this Sunday or if we have more work to do.

You can see the roughed up edges of the old seal that was causing it to fail under pressure.