My 2001 GC had a dripping leak somewhere near the front of the engine; You know the it's not leaking its marking it's territory thing. Anyway, i took the front of the i6 apart to replace the front main seal only to find that my timing chain cover is cracked. Its cracked at the bottom between the seal and the two oil pan bolts. Nothing else looks damaged as if something struck the engine from below. The Vibration Damper has no scratches to indicate impact.

has this happened to anyone?

I mixed up a small batch of JB Weld and slathered it on the crack on the inside. I am waiting for it to dry before i reinstall.

 

I've not had it happen, but I wouldn't rule it out.

The cover is cast aluminum, and relatively thin. If you have a void in the casting, that can cause a crack under thermal stress (time varies by void size, shape, and number...)

The JB Weld is what I was going to suggest - don't bother trying to TIG it. Either JB or a good epoxy (not necessarily a metal-bearing epoxy, but that would be helpful,) and I'd go to the trouble to take a pointed burr and 'gouge' the crack to give the surface a V-shaped notch - like when welding, it helps with penetration of the adhesive and helps to fill the crack more fully. It need not be deep - and not doing it is probably not a problem - but I'm cranky.

Since you're not sealing any pressure and you're not repairing a structural member, you don't need to do too much.

 

Thanks, so far so good. Its been 3 days and no leaks. Although I have to say that I have not been driving it too much these days. We just got 14 or so inches of snow dumped on us yesterday. Perfect time to go out and about in 4WD but shoveling a big driveway with a little shovel makes for a pretty long day!