So this morning I went out side and saw where oils ia dripping from that half octogon looking cover behind the oil pan. it isnt leaking much but it is leaking and the vehicle has not been running ( for years). its leaking from that little rubber plug on that pan. The plug seems wore out and def. not a tight fit. I dont think that its meant to be. I am worried that I may have a major leak. sorry for poor details. this has me so bothered that Im typing this from my phone at work. what is that pan and whats above it. Any insight and help welcome. Thanks.
Oil leak. kinda freaking out!
- Thread starter csd4682
- Start date
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the pan you describe is an inspection cover for the clutch disk and flywheel. The plug is meant to keep stuff from getting in, but to allow any oil to leak out. However, oil leaking from there may indicate that your rear main seal is leaking. You can take the inspection cover off and see if there is oil inside. Often, oil leaks down from farther up on the engine (oil pan, push rod covers, etc), so you should take a look inside the cover before deciding the rear main seal is bad.
2mbb is right on the money.
You should also look and see if the oil is coming from the Engine side of the flywheel or the transmission side.
Engine side = rear main seal
Transmission side = The seal between you T-Case and Transmission is blown and your input shaft seal in your transmission is leaking out the extra fluid.
Most people cannot tell if an oil leak is 90w or 20w50.
You should also look and see if the oil is coming from the Engine side of the flywheel or the transmission side.
Engine side = rear main seal
Transmission side = The seal between you T-Case and Transmission is blown and your input shaft seal in your transmission is leaking out the extra fluid.
Most people cannot tell if an oil leak is 90w or 20w50.
Unless their noise works...90W has a pretty strong smell.
My rig did this years ago...it was the seal at the rear of the oil pan. but of course all the above is a possibility..find it fix it..
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
It's almost always the rear arch for the oil pan. So much so, that it's worthwhile to replace the oil pan gasket first. It's easy, doesn't require dropping the transmission, and it works 99% of the time.
If it is the main seal, then you need to tear it all apart and repair it properly.
iron_giant
SILVER Star
I concur. Sometimes (though rarely) you can get away with a slight snugging of the oil pan bolts.
You say this rig has not been run in years yet its dripping oil? In a way that is good news. If it has not been started in that length of time, it most likely isn't the rear main, which is a weekend's worth of cursing to get changed. It sounds like, due to the fact that it is coming from the flywheel inspection cover, that it is the pan gasket where in drops under the rear main seal retainer. Use a Toyota gasket, they are one-piece affairs, not the three-piece junk that parts stores will sell you.
Agreed. Not worth the time at all. Heard they are really hard to seal up.
I'm still waiting on my One Piece to come in, I got leaky oil pan syndrome.
- Thread starter
- #9
Its funny you say that. I was thinking to myself this morning when I saw the leak that the oil smell was really strong. I can smell it just standing next to it. Thanks to all of you guys helping out. It will be tomorrow night before I can get a wrench on this thing, but I will keep everyone posted. Thanks again.
Also the one piece is for the new oil pans that toyota makes- plan on putting a little sealant around the corners- I have a 3 piece that you can have but I wouldnt use it! PS I got the 3 piece from cruiser parts but had asked for a "Toyota" gasket and that it is what they sent me FYI
just to throw out some recently aquired experience, I had this same question two weeks ago, and it was my pan gasket leaking into the flywheel cover. I also picked up a pan gasket not knowing that someone would be stupid enough to manufacture a gasket in more than one piece, and when I pulled it out of the box in 4 pieces, decided to check the torque on the bolts to avoid pulling the pan off. They were much looser than they should have been so I tightened them up to 10 ft lbs, I think 8 is factory for a new gasket and my oil leak is now much more under control. I have been driving it for a couple weeks and have not had to add any. always make sure that it is the easy stuff first. I would be concerned that the leak has been sprung out of nowhere though and the rig has not been run in some time. that to me seems odd.
cwwfj60
Supporting Vendor
all of the above sounds dead on, definitely either oil pan or rear main...you might want to make sure the back of your valve cover isn't adding to it. I personally had all 3 leaking on my 60. I did the valve cover first and do to a bad throw out bearing i was forced to replace my rear main, with my to bearing and clutch of course...(not fun, even with a shop). But my oil pan is leaking also have not managed to order a gasket yet but it will be soon. All of my leaks went into the inspection cover as you are describing. so i would definitely start by checking your valve cover, then oil pan, then rear main....good luck!
If you say you are smelling the oil while standing next to your rig, that indicateds to me that is leaking gear oil as it has a distinctive odor. Try placing something like a large piece of cardboard under the vehicle overnight and see where the oil is coming from. It is possible that you have more than one leak, maybe the oil pan gasket AND another one involving the gear oil.
Stink = gear lube. Probably the front bearing retainer. Like I said, a weekend's worth of cursing...
- Thread starter
- #15
I spent oven an hour cleaning all the oil off the oil pan any surrounding areas this past weekend so I would be able to see where leaks were. Everything is clean up front, its only dripping from that one rubber plug. I guess that smell could be all the residue laying on the ground that I cleaned off. I will not be able to look into more untill sunday. I am really hoping its just the oil pan gasket. I did notice that someone has used black rtv silicone on the oil pan gasket. I can see it sticking out around the regular gasket.
