Leaking front crankshaft seal

[TheEdgeofSanity]

Hey guys, it seems the malibu has sprung a leak. While doing my last oil change, I noticed quite a bit of fresh oil residue under the crank pulley and on the oil pan. I also had noticed that the car was about half a quart low on oil despite it not burning oil. There is a plastic shroud that covers vision to the actual crank pulley but I am almost sure thats where the leak is coming from. This leak has developed in the last 5,000 miles so I am nervous it is going to get worse.

Other than leaking oil, is there any chance of damaging my car from this leak? Also, how does one go about getting it repaired - I'm guessing the engine has to come out? The car is 13 years old, been driven consistently, but only has 75,000 miles on it.

[mfuller]

Not a huge deal.....just keep an eye on it.
Replacement of the front main seal can be done with the motor in the car; just need to remove the harmonic balancer. If you do the job yourself, be certain that the new seal is fully seated in the groove otherwise the new one will leak.

[a.graham52]

If it were me at this stage on the game I would clean the oil with degreaser and recheck at ir next oil change. If u dot smell the oil or seethe oil on the ground then it's not a leak worth fixing at this time in my opinion