Thank you ih8mud folks for all the great info here. It's helped me so much. Now, more than ever. I'm writing this for those one 
mechanics who want to do more...
For years now, I haven't been able to keep oil in my '96 cruiser. Years. It was leaking from somewhere, but I'd get a different answer from every mechanic I took it to with the back seal being the most popular guess. That sounded like a real nightmare to me because they all said I'd have to remove the engine to fix it. Because my power steering hoses were leaking as well, the undercarriage has been caked in so much goo there's was really no good way to determine from where the truck was leaking because it looked like it was leaking from everywhere.
Frankly, I had let myself get overwhelmed by all the problems this truck has and thought I'd just drive it until it died. I had bought it at 116K miles and it now has 280K miles; I chose her because she had factory installed lockers. But between the broken door handle, jiggly (broken) sideview mirror, floppy visor, P0401 error code I've had for ever and no mechanic's been able to fix, squealing A/C a mechanic didn't fix, paint pealing off a door that is now obvious to me the result of an accident somewhere in her life before she got to me, power steering leaks, oil leaks, something rattling underneath, I was about ready to give up on her. I've had the oil leak for about 80K miles and I'd figure I'd take the BP strategy of run till failure. She was good while she lasted.
The problem is, the truck won't die!
Now I've got an engine knock as a result of the oil starvation which I've had for 30K, which means I won't take her on long trips or off road. One day if I don't fix her, she'll probably throw a rod.
Not dying, i figure I'm stuck with her. The whole family has loved her and she's much smoother off road than a Jeep. So, I got new hoses installed for the power steering and that was all she needed. PS now works fine. I ran a front brake pad until it was metal on metal, but I decided to do the front brakes myself. It was my first brake job. I repacked the bearing on the wheel with the new rotor and all went well. My confidence up, I figured if I could clean up the engine and undercarriage I could find the oil leak and who knows? Maybe fix that as well.
I spent the last few night under the truck (no ramps nor stands) with a bottle of Simple Green, a bottle of water, shop towels, and a few flashlights. I'm glad for her high clearance. I'm not done yet, but it's getting cleaner.
I read up on the things can squeal in the A/C system (1) bad idler pulley, 2) loose idler pulley, 3) a/c compressor clutch, and 4) a/c compressor bearing). My hunch was the compressor bearing because surely the last mechanic that worked on it would have made sure the belts were tight enough. When I was under the truck last night, I felt the tensioner bolt and it was loose. I thought, surely the pulley's bolt was tight...
I read that the way to check which item is bad, is to loosen the belt and feel for play in the pulleys. The tensioner bolt was loose, so when I crawled up under the truck with my 14mm socket, I figured the tensioner pulley bolt would be tight. Surely a mechanic to whom I paid lots of money to and who billed himself as a Landcruiser mechanic wouldn't have missed something this simple. I was both surprised and hopeful when I was able to put a socket on the tensioner pulley's bolt and turn it by hand. So, I screwed in the tensioner bolt to tighten the belt and then put the factory spec 29 ft-lbs on the pulley's bolt to keep it there.
I fired her up and she purred like an ice kitten. Squeal fixed! Lesson learned: I care the most about this truck to do it right.
Before I dived under the truck this evening to fix the A/C squeal, I backed her out a few feet and noticed some fresh oil drops on the driveway. When I was underneath, I noticed I had cleaned enough the night before to see where the fresh oil was coming from. Much to my relief, it was coming from behind the large fan belt pulley....meaning, it was most likely the front seal.
Is that, in fact the front seal? (I'm on back taking this photo, looking up, feet sticking out from the front of the vehicle.)
The truck may still be leaking from the oil pans and arch and possibly the rear seal, but at least I'm well on my way to confirming one source...and it's the easiest to fix.
My son and I will tear into it and if that fixes the leak, then I'll next evaluate what to do about the engine knock. I'm hoping the problem is in the head because I could fix it without taking out the engine, but I have a friend who bets it's a piston rod bearing, or the connector that connects the rod to the piston. The engine knocks on acceleration. I need to take a hose or long bar and listen around the engine while someone accelerates it in order to zero in on the location of the knock.
My success is giving me hope that I'll get her back in shape and run her for another 200K. Also on my list: testing the EGR valve and VSV and possibly taking off the intake manifold to clean the clogged passageway and eliminate the P0401 error; repacking the birfs; rear break job; front diff breather hose mod, fluid changes, and possibly new shocks. Everything now seems doable (except maybe an engine rebuild) and truth be told, she really is a great truck. I want to take her back to Big Bend.
mechanics who want to do more...For years now, I haven't been able to keep oil in my '96 cruiser. Years. It was leaking from somewhere, but I'd get a different answer from every mechanic I took it to with the back seal being the most popular guess. That sounded like a real nightmare to me because they all said I'd have to remove the engine to fix it. Because my power steering hoses were leaking as well, the undercarriage has been caked in so much goo there's was really no good way to determine from where the truck was leaking because it looked like it was leaking from everywhere.
Frankly, I had let myself get overwhelmed by all the problems this truck has and thought I'd just drive it until it died. I had bought it at 116K miles and it now has 280K miles; I chose her because she had factory installed lockers. But between the broken door handle, jiggly (broken) sideview mirror, floppy visor, P0401 error code I've had for ever and no mechanic's been able to fix, squealing A/C a mechanic didn't fix, paint pealing off a door that is now obvious to me the result of an accident somewhere in her life before she got to me, power steering leaks, oil leaks, something rattling underneath, I was about ready to give up on her. I've had the oil leak for about 80K miles and I'd figure I'd take the BP strategy of run till failure. She was good while she lasted.
The problem is, the truck won't die!
Now I've got an engine knock as a result of the oil starvation which I've had for 30K, which means I won't take her on long trips or off road. One day if I don't fix her, she'll probably throw a rod.
Not dying, i figure I'm stuck with her. The whole family has loved her and she's much smoother off road than a Jeep. So, I got new hoses installed for the power steering and that was all she needed. PS now works fine. I ran a front brake pad until it was metal on metal, but I decided to do the front brakes myself. It was my first brake job. I repacked the bearing on the wheel with the new rotor and all went well. My confidence up, I figured if I could clean up the engine and undercarriage I could find the oil leak and who knows? Maybe fix that as well.
I spent the last few night under the truck (no ramps nor stands) with a bottle of Simple Green, a bottle of water, shop towels, and a few flashlights. I'm glad for her high clearance. I'm not done yet, but it's getting cleaner.
I read up on the things can squeal in the A/C system (1) bad idler pulley, 2) loose idler pulley, 3) a/c compressor clutch, and 4) a/c compressor bearing). My hunch was the compressor bearing because surely the last mechanic that worked on it would have made sure the belts were tight enough. When I was under the truck last night, I felt the tensioner bolt and it was loose. I thought, surely the pulley's bolt was tight...
I read that the way to check which item is bad, is to loosen the belt and feel for play in the pulleys. The tensioner bolt was loose, so when I crawled up under the truck with my 14mm socket, I figured the tensioner pulley bolt would be tight. Surely a mechanic to whom I paid lots of money to and who billed himself as a Landcruiser mechanic wouldn't have missed something this simple. I was both surprised and hopeful when I was able to put a socket on the tensioner pulley's bolt and turn it by hand. So, I screwed in the tensioner bolt to tighten the belt and then put the factory spec 29 ft-lbs on the pulley's bolt to keep it there.
I fired her up and she purred like an ice kitten. Squeal fixed! Lesson learned: I care the most about this truck to do it right.
Before I dived under the truck this evening to fix the A/C squeal, I backed her out a few feet and noticed some fresh oil drops on the driveway. When I was underneath, I noticed I had cleaned enough the night before to see where the fresh oil was coming from. Much to my relief, it was coming from behind the large fan belt pulley....meaning, it was most likely the front seal.
Is that, in fact the front seal? (I'm on back taking this photo, looking up, feet sticking out from the front of the vehicle.)
The truck may still be leaking from the oil pans and arch and possibly the rear seal, but at least I'm well on my way to confirming one source...and it's the easiest to fix.
My son and I will tear into it and if that fixes the leak, then I'll next evaluate what to do about the engine knock. I'm hoping the problem is in the head because I could fix it without taking out the engine, but I have a friend who bets it's a piston rod bearing, or the connector that connects the rod to the piston. The engine knocks on acceleration. I need to take a hose or long bar and listen around the engine while someone accelerates it in order to zero in on the location of the knock.
My success is giving me hope that I'll get her back in shape and run her for another 200K. Also on my list: testing the EGR valve and VSV and possibly taking off the intake manifold to clean the clogged passageway and eliminate the P0401 error; repacking the birfs; rear break job; front diff breather hose mod, fluid changes, and possibly new shocks. Everything now seems doable (except maybe an engine rebuild) and truth be told, she really is a great truck. I want to take her back to Big Bend.
