Dripping Oil (1 Viewer)

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Nov 26, 2009
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Love my cruiser- dont get me wrong. But i have had neighbors in my parking garage complain about the oil "spills" that are left by my Cruiser. The oil is dripping right where the transmission meets the bottom of the engine oil crankcase. I know its motor oil, because its not the ATF or Diff fluid. So im wondering if the baseball sized pools of oil each morning are something to be worried about, or if i should just keep checking the dipstick every other day and make sure she's got plenty of oil. I know a 22 year old truck is going to drip a bit, but i want to make sure im not running into a big issue here.

Thoughts dear mudders?!? Please advise....
 
I'd be worried about that! It could be something as easy as a new pan gasket, or as serious as a galley plug getting ready to let go. You need to look into it asap or risk losing your engine. See the galley plug thread in the FAQ section first:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/346362-oil-galley-plug-fixes.html#post5103955

Once you know it is not that, then other likely candidates are the oil pan gasket, the push rod side cover gasket and the oil cooler. Don't put this one off.
 
Tell your neighbors to quit worrying about it and ask to just park in one spot with a pan underneath to prevent the oil from getting on the ground. Sure they'd have to stare at the oil anyway but it would just be in one spot they can turn their heads.

Pretty sure I have the same leak. Pretty sure its my Rear Main Seal.

Take some pictures from below and post them and its easy to tell. Oil tells a story :)
 
I've also got the same sort of leak and in the process of cleaning the engine(pain). Good luck figuring it out.
 
I would repair the leak for something as large as a baseball every morning. Inevitably it will get worse and something that will eventually need repair.
 
x4 for rear main seal. mine leaks too.
Until you fix it, I think klinetime has a good idea- ask to park in one spot and use a pan.
 
previous owner says its probably the rear main seal- now, im not much of a mechanic, but isnt replacing the rear main seal a costly endeavor? The PO Said he replaced the rear main seal a few years ago- so......
 
Last edited:
Brock- what roughly did it cost?
 
Replace the pan gasket first. From my experience and the advice I got from Cruiserdrew and Chicago that cures the problem most of the time.
If it still leaks all you are out is the cost of the gasket and an oil change (assuming you do the work yourself.) It's a :banana: job.

Advice;
Get the one piece OEM gasket, I sealed mine with the NAPA four piece one but it took a lot more care.

Run a tap or thread chaser through the block bolt holes before you re-assemble.

Clean clean clean, I spent more time scrapping and wire brushing the mating surfaces than anything else.

Read this thread LINK!->>>>>>Oil Pan Stuff<<<<<_LINK!
 
Here are pictures of the Area where the Drips start-
i cleaned off the tranny where it meets the oil pan [rear main seal me thinks] last night after these pics were taken. So this morning there were about 10 drips
and today there is dripping from the passenger side bolt.
DSC00641.jpg
DSC00646.jpg
DSC00648.jpg
 
RMS

Funny to see the transmission upside down in the pics, but looks like the RMS. ~$900 from a mechanic. Its a $20 part....
 
Brock- what roughly did it cost?

I cant remember as I had a new clutch and my flywheel was resurfaced at same time... One of our members owns his own Toyota shop and he did it for me. You can call him if you like to get a rough estimate.

Charleston Toyota Lexus Mechanic Lex-Tech James Island West Ashley Folly Beach


That was my big leak...then I needed new oil pan gasket. The rear main seal would leak back toward flywheel and come out under flywheel shroud when driving for most part. Then drip everywhere when I parked with oil puddling in flywheel shroud...cant remember technical name. LOL
Oil pan gasket was next thing. Then I replaced the crush washer and O-rings in the oil cooler...and finally the valve cover gasket.

I was lucky as Glenn at LexTech did a full inspection and told me what was leaking and what he would do first...so I was not on a hunt to determine the source.

In your case I would do the oil pan gasket and valve cover gaskets first if any leaks as it can settle and fall almost anywhere underneath...and then do the Rear Main Seal only if all else fails...then again it is a significant leak and will need to be watched continuously until fixed.

Might be worth getting with your local Land Cruiser club and if they do a HAMOM...put on a rack, clean it up with brake cleaner....crank it up and see where the leaks come from without any wind blowing it all around down there.

Just some thoughts.
 
... Then I replaced the crush washer and O-rings in the oil cooler...and finally the valve cover gasket.
...
How hard was it replacing the crush washers and o-rings?
I still have some seepage in that area.

I might tackle that at the next oil change, now that oil is staying inside long enough to need changing. :lol:
 
If its a rear main seal which almost sounds like it is, wouldnt he require taking the transmission off and popping off the seal ? I have done my share of rear main seal replacments and always did it when doing a clutch change.

Best to pressure wash the entire underside of that transmission and then check a day latter or after a long run to see where the wetness comes from.
 
Do the easy stuff first.
 
How hard was it replacing the crush washers and o-rings?
I still have some seepage in that area.

I might tackle that at the next oil change, now that oil is staying inside long enough to need changing. :lol:

very easy....loosen the big heads and they are channeled bolts...they go all the way through. Crush washer goes on one side and o-ring on other.

easy if vehicle is up on a lift...took about 20 minutes to take out old ones....clean up the entire thing with brake cleaner...reinstall new ones. Just watch out for oil coming out.


yeah you got to drop transmission to do the RMS.....did mine same time I put a new clutch in as she had the original clutch and seal from 1984 still. Takes half a day easy for a mechanic...full weekend for us mere mortals.
 

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