Busted my timing chain a few weeks ago, so ended up replacing it, water pump, front seal, harmonic balancer (the original one had a good groove). It started leaking oil from the seal, so since it was a cheap seal provided w/ the gasket set, I replaced it with a Timken seal.
During the change I checked the Timken seal fit on the harmonic balancer, and it was nice and snug. I also RTV'd the seam where the timing cover and oil pan meet, while it I was there, to be sure. I hate going back.
Unfortunately I still have a leak. Appears to still come from the seal area, as the RTV'd seam is still intact and good seal visually. Only thing I can imagine is there is some pressure buildup in the cankcase, pushing the oil out past seal. Is this even possible? Checked PCV, and it is good, new about 9 months ago.
I really can't believe the seal is faulty, but rather some other force at work. Perhaps someone smarter than me has a good idea. Thanks.

 

pull the oil fill cap off the engine while its running and see how much air is comming out

other then that its possible u knocked the spring off the back side of the seal or u tore the seal when test fitting or installing the balancer

also if the seal isnt in perfectly stright it could cause it to seep/leak

 

Since you didn't say, I gotta ask:

Did you ensure that the open end of the seal was oriented toward the inside of the cover?

Is it possible you have a failed oil pan gasket, and the oil you are seeing near the front seal is just a product of the oil leaked from the pan gasket?

 

After reading other threads, pulling the oil fill or PCV sounds like something to check. I feel pretty good about the seal. It was lubed when I tested it, as the harmonic balancer sat on my driveway. The seal seated really well in the cover, and felt like it seated fully against the back flange, all the way around. The harmonic balancer had a bevel on the inside edge, so it shouldn't have tore.
If I can't find some other reason, I'll be pulling the harmonic blancer off again to eyeball it all. Guess that is when I will figure out if spring came off, but those Timken seals seem pretty well made.
i lubed the harmonic balancer with engine assembly oil, just to protect and seal. Could that maybe be the problem? As you see, I'm really reaching.

 

Good thought, but yes the open side of seal is toward cover. The seam where the oil pan meets the timing cover is thoroughly RTV'd I double check that today and the edges of the RTV are firmly adhered all around. I RTV'd it pretty good. Perhaps having RTV showing like that is not exactly professional, but as long as it is functional. Not too many people can stick their head under the front of a Camaro.

 

Regular motor oil as a lubricant during installation is all that is needed.

 

Did you torque the bolts properly? When I did mine, I also used excessive rtv, and it looked impossible to leak. I had most of the accessories put back on, when I realized I had missed a bolt & then tightened it. Too late. It was dripping a couple days later & I had to redo it.

 

I torqued everything. Fairly confident there, but my last resort includes pulling the timing cover again and start over. Hate dealing with the coolant, so it makes me reluctant. Just something about coolant, give me oil any day. Doesn't look to be coming from anywhere around timing cover though, but rather from the seal. Probably need to quit whining and rip it apart again, even though I see no leaks around the timing cover. Basic troubleshooting, go back to the last thing you screwed with.

 

Good suggestions. Found that even though I loaded up the RTV on the oil pan seal, there was one pin hole I missed. Jacking it up and running the engine made it easier to find. Since the oil was everywhere, I suspected the wrong are for the leak. All good now.

 

Cool beans.

Glad your front-seal is good, and glad you solved the mystery.