Possible engine rebuild suggestions

[Mchacustoms]

Ok so I have this 87 LXI my aunt gave me. I like the car but it's crank seal is leaking. About a quart a week which is not that bad compared to some leaks I know. But my aunt being the mechanical "Genius" she is she decided to wait for the light to come on and only put in enough oil to turn the light off. So yea my questions is should I spend the time and energy to replace to crank seal, or just put around with the leak until I have enough for a full rebuild?

[Bluntman]

Ok so I have this 87 LXI my aunt gave me. I like the car but it's crank seal is leaking. About a quart a week which is not that bad compared to some leaks I know. But my aunt being the mechanical "Genius" she is she decided to wait for the light to come on and only put in enough oil to turn the light off. So yea my questions is should I spend the time and energy to replace to crank seal, or just put around with the leak until I have enough for a full rebuild?

I suggest doing the crank seal and all the other common leaks on these cars, such as oil pan gasket, distributor o-ring, valve cover gasket, oil filter base mount gasket, breather box o-ring. If the engine is worth saving and you keep these engines maintained they will run a very long time. If you are mechanically inclined these are fairly easy fixes. And while doing the front crank seal it is wise to do the oil pump seal, cam seal, and timing belt if needed. I do all the preventative maintenance while things are apart. Even if you are focused on a certain job it is always a good idea to inspect and replace other parts while they are off so you don't have to take it apart due to failure of a old or worn part that you already had off, especially on a older vehicle.

[Dr_Snooz]

What's your compression? Have you done a leak-down test? How does the car run generally? Do you have any smoking? Rod knock, etc.? If all you have is a leak but everything else is fine, then there's no reason to rebuild. These engines will take a LOT of abuse before giving up.

Is it the front or rear seal, because those are very different jobs.

[Mchacustoms]

What's your compression? Have you done a leak-down test? How does the car run generally? Do you have any smoking? Rod knock, etc.? If all you have is a leak but everything else is fine, then there's no reason to rebuild. These engines will take a LOT of abuse before giving up.

Is it the front or rear seal, because those are very different jobs.

I have not done the compression test or leak down because I do not have the proper tools. In all honesty the car runs fine. No knocking, no smoke, lifters are a little noisy from lack of oil but nothing to bad. Need to be adjusted just haven't done it yet. My main questions I guess was how much abuse do these beasts take and you answered it lol.

It is the front crank seal I believe. I narrowed it down to the oil leak being in the timing cover, and since the cam was relativly dry I believe its the crank seal I would of course do both crank and cam and oil pump seal while down there though.

I have actually never done a crank seal while in the car, How difficult is it on on the a20?