Hey, everyone. New guy here, just came across your site looking for info and I like what I see; seems to be an informative forum. But I couldn't find exactly what I needed, so I'll ask now.

I have a 2nd gen and have been trying to locate a leak that has been becoming progressively worse. It turns out that the oil leak was near the front but has been displaced due to its proximity to the fan and has thus been thrown around everywhere requiring a thorough cleaning. What I ended up finding after about 15 minutes on the ground is that the leak is located directly below the crank pulley and above the front groove of the oil pan. I can see what appears to be large amounts of weathered gasket protruding around the front oil pan, that is where the leak appears to be dripping from onto the ground. but it weeps so fast that I can't pinpoint exactly.

So, my question is if the leak is continuous only when the engine is on (pressurized crank case) is that likely a crank leak or can it still be indicative of an oil pan leak?

If its an oil pan leak, is it possible to just drop the passanger side output shaft (on a 4x4) of the diff rather than the whole diff to get to the pan?

I have the FSM but does anyone have a write up I may have missed on a front crank seal on a 4x4 6G72?

I typically work on cars myself, and I have extensive knowledge on RWD Nissans, but this is my first and only DSM. Other than that I've only had a Mercedes (over priced and poorly engineered junk!) and a Lexus in the past so I'm somewhat out of my depth on my first 4x4.

I'll see if I can upload some footage if I get the chance.


Thanks!

PS: Just to confirm, all 6G72 3.0 V6 Monteros in the US up until 1994 were 12 valve, right?