Oil Leaks - 3FE (1 Viewer)

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Those books were printed 30ish years ago. Modern synthetic oils have come along way. I know people run that Rotella 5w-30 in all kinds of vehicles that don't call for a 5w-30.

I'm not saying it's right or wrong. Just saying that the modern synthetic oils are pretty amazing and they certainly didn't exist when the 3f and 3fe were designed.

On my old 91 I only used the cheapest non synthetic 10w-40 I could find.


well there then

you obeyed the owners manual 10w40 minimum requirements , and had no issues right ?




it's good to know someone cares .......... :)
 
well there then

you obeyed the owners manual 10w40 minimum requirements , and had no issues right ?




it's good to know someone cares .......... :)

Yes I did but only because it was the cheapest. That being said I wouldn't have hesitated to use the Rotella 5w-30 synthetic oil in that rig.

Like @jonheld said. The 3fe will be happy with any kind of oil.

Hell, I was doing a coolant change and oil change at the same time. I had a yellow Preston jug of coolant and a yellow penzoil jug of oil. My drunk a** poured the anti freeze into the engine instead of the oil. I started the truck to let it warm up, it probably ran with coolant instead of oil for 1 or 2 minutes before I registered what happened.

Drained the coolant from the engine and re-filled it with oil. Got another 70,000 miles on the engine before the rig was totalled.

If the 3fe can run on anti freeze instead of oil I really don't think it matters what viscosity is used lol.
 
Yes I did but only because it was the cheapest. That being said I wouldn't have hesitated to use the Rotella 5w-30 synthetic oil in that rig.

Like @jonheld said. The 3fe will be happy with any kind of oil.

Hell, I was doing a coolant change and oil change at the same time. I had a yellow Preston jug of coolant and a yellow penzoil jug of oil. My drunk a** poured the anti freeze into the engine instead of the oil. I started the truck to let it warm up, it probably ran with coolant instead of oil for 1 or 2 minutes before I registered what happened.

Drained the coolant from the engine and re-filled it with oil. Got another 70,000 miles on the engine before the rig was totalled.

If the 3fe can run on anti freeze instead of oil I really don't think it matters what viscosity is used lol.



i saw your u-tube video you made and posted a while back ,,,,,,,,,,,


i was not impressed ........:meh:



 
i saw your u-tube video you made and posted a while back ,,,,,,,,,,,


i was not impressed ........:meh:






Yeah, that was not me lol. In all fairness I actually drained and refilled the oil 3 times that day because I wanted to get all the coolant out.
 
It clearly states not to go thinner then 10w40 unless the ambient temperature is constantly below freezing

That's not at all how oil works.

The first number tells you how it behaves at below-freezing temperatures. The second number tells you how thin it gets at high operating temperatures. So, a 5W-30 it gets no thicker than a 5 weight would below freezing, and no thinner than a 30 weight would at high temperature.

There is no reason not to go with a lower first number. It just means oil will circulate faster at startup, which is a good thing. What's important is not to go with too low a second number. 0W-40 works great. 5W-20 wouldn't.
 
@alphaeighteen you might consider Mobil 1 10W-40 High Milage. It's got more seal conditioners. It stopped the light smoke I would get at startup due to old valve stem seals.

For the transmission inspection plate, I think they're talking about the black plastic cover on the back side of the bell housing.

 
Had to go out and climb under my rig to take a picture,
20220722_133044.jpg
this cover is easily removed, use a flashlight and inspection mirror, or get fancy and use a bore scope, check for oil residue on the flex plate.

Oil often pools on those bolts, being the lowest connected part to the oil pan, so people misdiagnose as a bad rear main seal.

IME, 3fe rear main seals are not a common or routine failure.
 
@alphaeighteen you might consider Mobil 1 10W-40 High Milage. It's got more seal conditioners. It stopped the light smoke I would get at startup due to old valve stem seals.

For the transmission inspection plate, I think they're talking about the black plastic cover on the back side of the bell housing.

good to know - i'll try that on the next oil change.
Had to go out and climb under my rig to take a picture, View attachment 3066204this cover is easily removed, use a flashlight and inspection mirror, or get fancy and use a bore scope, check for oil residue on the flex plate.

Oil often pools on those bolts, being the lowest connected part to the oil pan, so people misdiagnose as a bad rear main seal.

IME, 3fe rear main seals are not a common or routine failure.
Yup, that's exactly where mine is leaking and before I had tightened the oil pan there was oil all over those two bolts. I'll try to take it off this weekend and have a look.
 
per the factory owners manual and the FSM ........


with all due respect , you have no idea what your talking about & the bad advice you are saying and you dead nutz wrong 100% :rolleyes:



perhaps study and review my fact based by the book tutorial video # 1


i cover the entire
recommended viscosity topic in great oem paper print media facts and rocket science specifications 🚀


oem print media don't lie my friend






And I respectfully suggest you read up on viscosity. A 30 weight is a 30 weight regardless of the first number in a multi-grade motor oil. 5W30 will have the same lubrication qualities of a 10w30. It just flows better at lower temps.
But hey, I guess my old 91 with over 300K on the old 3FE is really suffering :rolleyes:.
It's a tractor motor. It doesn't care what you put in it.
 
Good luck with your project. I was always dripping like the Exxon Valdez and my biggest culprits were oil pump seal and valve cover gasket. I had blowback and pooling on the oil pan too. My old shop that was a good trusted LC house SWORE by Valvoline Max Life High Mileage with the seal conditioners and I think it helped too. Tight as a drum now with zero leaks.
 
The
Noob here, where do I find the inspection plate on the transmission?

Good to know that this wouldn't mimic a rear main leak. It's probably just my oil pan gasket then.

When you say oil pan arch gasket, do you mean the entire oil pan gasket? My understanding is that the OEM gasket is a few pieces but glued together as one whole piece.
Oemm gasket is is one piece
 
Noob here, where do I find the inspection plate on the transmission?

Good to know that this wouldn't mimic a rear main leak. It's probably just my oil pan gasket then.

When you say oil pan arch gasket, do you mean the entire oil pan gasket? My understanding is that the OEM gasket is a few pieces but glued together as one whole piece.
Yep, you'll probably have to replace them all though as you usually destroy them trying to get them out, plus, make sure you can unscrew your engine mount bolts before trying to remove your oil pan. You'll need to raise your engine up to get the pan back in, and it'll still be extremely difficult. (4 pieces - 2side pieces, and two arches.)
 
Yep, you'll probably have to replace them all though as you usually destroy them trying to get them out, plus, make sure you can unscrew your engine mount bolts before trying to remove your oil pan. You'll need to raise your engine up to get the pan back in, and it'll still be extremely difficult. (4 pieces - 2side pieces, and two arches.)
You weren't kidding when you said extremely difficult! I still have a leak back there are replacing the gaskets and everything twice :/ ... oh well.
 
You weren't kidding when you said extremely difficult! I still have a leak back there are replacing the gaskets and everything twice :/ ... oh well.
The OEM Toyota oil pan gasket for the 3FE is a 1 piece cork gasket 12151-61011. It is glued together at the factory. The rear arch is notorious for leaks simply because it is difficult to clean properly before installation of a new gasket. The sealing surface of the front and rear arch are the bearing caps.
There are lots of threads regarding this.
 

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