Hey everyone, i just want to ask and see what some of you more knowledgeable folks think of this.
This weekend i am trying to tackle a few things on the passenger side of the engine. It's a 2012 N18. I've noticed oil on the bottom right and side of the engine, so after research i thought it to be the crankshaft seal. Today i took the pulley off, but i'm not so sure anymore that's what's leaking.

Here's the before, and after. One thing i did do, is before i started working in there, i sprayed it all down with a bit of brake cleaner to make things less messy to work on. So i'm not sure what it looked like behind the pulley before the cleaner.

Before

after


I guess the question would be, if it's not the crankshaft seal, where else should i look? Valve cover gasket looks a little moist, but not enough to cause this i don't think.

Any insights would be greatly appreciated, i would hate to pull the seal if it's not needed.

2012 mini coupe S
N18 engine, 150.000 miles
All the work i've done so far has all been on the other side, never on this side. While doing this, today i am also tackling a new waterpump and engine mount. Doing it all at the same time. And the last few months, there has been noticeable smell of oil on a hot engine, after shutting engine off.

Thanks for any help/insight anyone can give.

 

The two lower arrows are the bolts for the timing chain guides; they have o-rings on them. The upper arrow points to the 3d timing chain bolt; it's in the cylinder head. It also has an o-ring.

 

150k miles so at least one timing chain job and almost time for another, did you perform them or did a shop? It's possible they didn't use the seal install tools (plastic applicator and the press-on even guide thing) and your crank seal is on a slight angle. Or it might just be old and hard if they reused it for some reason. I agree with what mkov pointed out, the timing guides could've had a messed up O-ring from the same timing job being done