Engine oil leak and hole in flywheel bell housing

Hi all, I'm very new to this Jimny community so please bare with me (3 days exactly!) and seem to have already stumbled across a couple of problems sadly. I purchased a 2001 Jimny with 78k on the clock this week from a car garage near me. When I got it home I looked underneath the car briefly and thought I spotted a bit of wet oil on the underside.

I jacked up the car to look closer and have come across two problems: a small hole in the flywheel bell-housing and an oil leak from somewhere else (I know that there isn't oil in the flywheel section so it's not leaking from there).

Firstly, is the hole in the bell-housing a problem and what's the best way to go about fixing this, do I get it welded or will it be fine left as it is? I have been advised by a friend who's a mechanic that it should be fine if left as it is even if going through puddles.

Secondly, any idea what might be causing the engine oil leak? There's oil coming down from the oil filter and seeping down one side of the oil sump and dripping from there by the looks of it. The oil filter was changed this week as part of a service and so not sure if when changed oil simply leaked from there?

Going to get back under the car tomorrow and clean up the oil and give it another couple of days to check if any fresh oil appears.

Any advice or suggestions regarding either problem would be much appreciated. Photos attached to give you an idea of the hole and the leak.

Cheers

I can't help you on the hole in the bell housing, but could the oil seen running from the oil filter be simply some residual that was not cleaned off when the oil filter was replaced?

May I suggest you clean off any visible oil VERY thoroughly and get the area as dry as possible.
Check the oil filter is fully hand-tightened and run the car again.
If more oil appears then it could mean that the rubber seal on the filter was damaged on fitment or that the face that the seal mates against has been damaged (that can happen when people stick screwdrivers through an oil filter to remove it instead of using a suitable tool meant for the job).
Sometimes dirt can get between the seal and mating faces if it wasn't carefully cleaned with the filter removed - that could cause a leak too.

Check for any other areas where an oil leak might be coming from that is making it look as if its the filter - e.g. higher up

I'm sure others will come up with some ideas
Good luck!

Yes, as Kirkynut says - if you replace the filter make sure you wet the rubber seal with clean oil before fitting it. Then tighten fully but only by hand

EDIT: Also make sure that there is no dirt on the face that the oil seal mates up against

Thanks for your replies. I'll so as suggested and clean up the oil and give it a run to see if it re-appears.

Photo attached as requested!

Update: looks to be all sorted!

I cleaned up the oil on the flywheel housing and the hole is actually meant to be there. It's purpose is so that you can manually turn the flywheel (if you ever change the timing belt/chain and need to get TDC etc).

Cleaned up the oil that seems to have come from the oil filter when changed and everything seems to be okay for now. If this changes I'll let you know!

Thanks again for your help.

That hole is supposed to be there!

Probably lets out any oil that leaks from the gearbox front seal.

If you are going into water that deep you will fill the axles and chassis with water.

I'd drive 50 extra miles rather than go through water deeper than the tyres, 2 hours driving is a lot less trouble than changing the kingpin bearings and the axle oil

This is the flywheel hole once cleaned for anyone that's interested