Anna Nicole Smith is bleeding (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Mar 1, 2019
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Location
Gatesville Texas
I’m not the most knowledgeable person in the world but I found my girl leaking oil after warming up the engine this morning. Made an appointment at the local shop but I’m not 100% positive where it’s coming from, only where it’s dripping from. Also I see crack lines and a ill shaped hole that doesn’t look factory. Any input is appreciated, I trust the shop but I would love to know how bad this looks.
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Probably a rear main seal.
If I'm looking at the photo correctly, the 'crack' lines are just dried oil / gunk residue. The half circle hole is a drain hole for the oil to leave the bellhousing area.
 
If it's oil, it's likely the upper oil pan seal or the rear main seal
Thanks, I had took it in after being told to check the rear main seal before and asked to just watch it because it was a super slow low leak. This seems more significant than a few drops like before. I’ll definitely ask them to check the upper oil pan seal. I appreciate the feedback.
 
the cracks are just flashing marks from casting the bellhousing, nothing to worry about. if its oil it could be the rear main, oil pan or from higher up such as the valve cover gasket. id check the valve cover gasket first before pulling the trans or anything like that. i would just clean it off, run it and check periodicaly to see how bad and maybe wherre the leak is coming from
 
the cracks are just flashing marks from casting the bellhousing, nothing to worry about. if its oil it could be the rear main, oil pan or from higher up such as the valve cover gasket. id check the valve cover gasket first before pulling the trans or anything like that. i would just clean it off, run it and check periodicaly to see how bad and maybe wherre the leak is coming from
Maybe I should just clean it up and get some die to see where it originates from.
 
Better strap a super extra heavy day pad to that one. Maybe even one with wings.

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What is your maintenance record for the truck?
How many miles on the engine?
How many miles on the head gasket or any major engine maintenance?
What does the front of the engine look like?

I would guess in order:
Valve cover gasket
Distributor O-Ring
Oil pump seal
Upper Oil Pan
Rear main


Look at the easy and cheap stuff first.
Lots of information could help us help you.
 
Maybe I should just clean it up and get some die to see where it originates from.

that was usually my first recommendation at the shop when i couldnt find the source of the leak. theres no point in trying to chase a leak if your not sure where its coming from, and i would start from the top down on trying to fix the leak, oils going to work its way down the block and the bellhousing is the lowest point so oil will run down and drip from there
 
Better strap a super extra heavy day pad to that one. Maybe even one with wings.

View attachment 3140341

What is your maintenance record for the truck?
How many miles on the engine?
How many miles on the head gasket or any major engine maintenance?
What does the front of the engine look like?

I would guess in order:
Valve cover gasket
Distributor O-Ring
Oil pump seal
Upper Oil Pan
Rear main


Look at the easy and cheap stuff first.
Lots of information could help us help you.
What he said

I went through this recently. Mine was a combo of valve cover gasket and oil pump seal. And I have gone from a drippy bloody mess to a clean garage and driveway - not a spot
And had the pleasure, ”while I was there”, of changing out cooling system lines, thermostat, heater valve, belts, balancer, transmission lines, radiator, plugs, wires, distributor, rotor. A painful “period” but very satisfying

And it all started with a thorough cleaning to get an idea of where it was leaking
 
The upper oil pan arch is most likely. After that it's the rear main seal.
 
Better strap a super extra heavy day pad to that one. Maybe even one with wings.

View attachment 3140341
100% honesty here: I have considered some sort of maxi pad or oil-catcher "skidplate" solution for this problem, but never quite got far enough to come up with something that works.

On my recently sold 80 #2, valve cover gasket resulted in drips in this area. This spot is basically where all the oil leaks from the entire engine end up pooling if they're bad enough. If the leak is local, it's the upper oil pan or the rear main, both are truly awful jobs. Start by cleaning and checking all the easier leak culprits first.
 
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Toyota engineered automatic chassis corrosion preventer. Toyota knew that past a certain mileage point that the undercarriage could use some help to increase the service life. I think my truck had 114k miles on it when I bought it and now at 330k miles that oil leak never got any worse.
 
When I was dealing with a leak from the same location I removed the metal inspection cover from the bottom of the bell housing and poked a mirror up in there and it was easy to see that the leak was not coming from the main seal which is up higher than the oil pan arch.

I see that you have the A343 and it does not have the inspection cover on the bottom but I’d think you could do the same through the forward facing inspection hole.
 
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The Bad News...

$772.74 Rear Main Seal
$373.94 Rear Disks and Pads
$1,485.88 Front Breaks and Wheel bearing packing and alignment

I don't even know what to do because I don't have $2,632.56 for this work. None of this sounds like I should skip it.
 
DIY the axle service and brake updates and ignore the rear main seal for now.

There's a lot of great guides on the forum, on youtube and elsewhere that will lead you through the work and you won't have to spend much on parts or tools. None of these are particularly difficult tasks as long as you take your time and pay attention to the guidance that's offered. If you are a total newbie having a friend that's done some mechanical work before may help you interpret the guides but shouldn't be strictly necessary.
 
The Bad News...

$772.74 Rear Main Seal
$373.94 Rear Disks and Pads
$1,485.88 Front Breaks and Wheel bearing packing and alignment

I don't even know what to do because I don't have $2,632.56 for this work. None of this sounds like I should skip it.
Skip the rear main seal for now. As alluded to by others, there is a good chance your mechanic mis-diagnosed this anyway. $770 is a good price for RMS (if that is what it actually turns out to be), but it can wait. Just check the oil regularly and keep it topped off. Not going to hurt anything.

Brakes and front axle job you should try to do yourself. If you can't handle that level of wrenching, then owning an 80 is going to be a very expensive experience for you. Look up the OTRAMM youtube videos to get a feel for it before having the mechanic do anything.
 
The previous two posts are spot on. Leave the RMS/oil leak for now and determine whether you feel comfortable tackling the other two items.

If you can't handle that level of wrenching, then owning an 80 is going to be a very expensive experience for you.

There is no snark in this comment. It is 100% accurate.
 
DIY the axle service and brake updates and ignore the rear main seal for now.

There's a lot of great guides on the forum, on youtube and elsewhere that will lead you through the work and you won't have to spend much on parts or tools. None of these are particularly difficult tasks as long as you take your time and pay attention to the guidance that's offered. If you are a total newbie having a friend that's done some mechanical work before may help you interpret the guides but shouldn't be strictly necessary.
Yeah, newb and I also just moved from Northern California to Central Texas (by Fort Hood) so even the friend part is hard. I’m going to be doing a lot of reading and YouTubing how and see what I feel comfortable enough with trying. Odds are I’ll be alone with this. My tools are limited so I’ll likely rent or barrow from a parts store where possible.
 

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