I recenlty bought an crafstman tractor with a 26 hp Oil leaks from the shaft seal even when the tractor is NOT running. Previous owner had shaft seal replaced, but oil leak remains. I ordered a new shaft seal since they are cheap, but I have some questions...Is the shaft submerged in oil or is the head gasket leaking internally??
I have seen cases where an electric clutch will short through the crankshaft causing arcing at the bottlm crankshaft bearing causing bearing failure. The bearing wears unevenly allowing the crankshaft to wobble in the bearing and is most pronouced when there is tension on the drive belts. May need to pull the sump off and check the bearing for wear.
If the head gasket is causing the problem here is a test. While the engine is running loosen the dip stick and see if it bounces on top of the fill tube. If it bounces a lot, probable cause bad head gasket.
