Asking advice on a very small oil leak

[mcdanida]

Well, I went to inspect the undercarriage and noticed a very small drop of fluid at the bottom of my transmission. At first I thought the worst - transmission problems!

Thankfully, I found it was actually engine oil which was leaking from the back seal. The only way to get to this seal is to drop the transmission. OH BOY!

So, I'd like to ask the audience, is there a good "engine oil stop-leak" out there I can buy? Any recommendations? The leak is so small, I barely lose an ounce or two between oil changes.

I found this product: http://www.barsproducts.com/E10L.htm

[SickSpeedMonte]

In my opinion, anything that can gum up a leak enough to stop it... I dont want it traveling through my bearings and passsages.

If its just an ounce or two every 3,000 miles, just let it eat. If it gets worse, you might have to take a day and pull the tranny and rear main seal. There is a puller out there that allows you to replace the seal without pulling the main cap (and therefore the oil pan can stay on)

[mcdanida]

Thanks SickSpeed, would you happen to have an exploded view (diagram) of this area in question, i.e., a breakout of the rear seal area?

[lt1s10onair]

id reinspect that leak first.... rear main seals do not go bad as often as people assume.... its prob ur valve cover

[mcdanida]

Well onair, I actually had AAMCO take a look, and they confirmed the rear seal - not sure how much credibility I should give them, but I surely didn't give them the $400+ in order to do the job.

[SickSpeedMonte]

Yea I dunno how much I would trust them either. Jiffy Lube got caught a couple years back telling people that they needed services that they really didnt need, and then via hidden camera, it was proved that they didnt even perform the work they charged the customer for.

But anyways, on autozone's site, you can look up repair info on your truck. I dunno if the link will work, but give it a shot.

http://www.autozone.com/shopping/rep...00c152800bfbe0

[MikeInCtown]

For just a little oil dripping, I would leave it alone and save the money.

[Wrkn prgs]

At your next oil change, you could use Lucas stabilizer and see if that'd help your leak.

[Hoss]

I don't know about that stop leak stuff either, I know I don't want it in my engine. Kinda like that radiator stop leak, if the idea behind it is to clump together to block up leaks then what do you think it's doing inside your water passages?

[mcdanida]

Hoss, I would only use that sawdust/copper mix stopleak in my radiator, if I was 1,000 miles from the nearest service station and my life depended on it! I agree wholeheartedly. Once you add that crap, expect to change out your entire coolant system, radiator, hoses, etc. THEY WILL RESTRICT FLOW!

But, as for pure liquid stop-leaks, some are not so bad. Basically, an epoxy agent is added to the fluid. Over time the epoxy agent makes it to the leak, and once exposed to air, it reacts and seals at the leak point.

I've had good success with my hydraulic steering on my boat, in which the seals were leaking at the impeller (the steering wheel). I simply added some automobile power steering stop-leak, and it did the trick - it's been 3 years without any problems so far.

[MRSHAGGWELL]

dude, its prolly your oil pan gasket, full rubber, no cork gaskets, about 30 dollars. but you'll have to partially pull you engine. it's a bit of a job, rear mains tend to pour out. I'm not saying the oil pan gasket is the problem, take some compressed air and a can of brake cleaner and spray anywhere there is oil then spray with the air. I used this method plenty of times trying to find a leak, then start your truck and watch for drips, rear mains leak while the engine is running and oil pan gaskets usually leak going down the road and after you have just drove it. hope this info helps.

[MikeInCtown]

Quote: Originally Posted by mcdanida

Hoss, I would only use that sawdust/copper mix stopleak in my radiator, if I was 1,000 miles from the nearest service station and my life depended on it! I agree wholeheartedly. Once you add that crap, expect to change out your entire coolant system, radiator, hoses, etc. THEY WILL RESTRICT FLOW!

But, as for pure liquid stop-leaks, some are not so bad. Basically, an epoxy agent is added to the fluid. Over time the epoxy agent makes it to the leak, and once exposed to air, it reacts and seals at the leak point.

I've had good success with my hydraulic steering on my boat, in which the seals were leaking at the impeller (the steering wheel). I simply added some automobile power steering stop-leak, and it did the trick - it's been 3 years without any problems so far.

Car mfgs used to put that suff in aluminum block cars with no adverse effects for year. Don't know if they still do though. I've added the stuff into my system on all my cars and never once have I had a problem. I've seen more crap from antifreeze in the system than I ever have from one of those stop leak products.

As far as oil additives go though, I stay away from that stuff. Even the Lucas stabilizer will not be good at really low temps. When i had that stuff in my truck in the winter it would knock bad for 30 seconds after every cold startup. Not ever wanting to hear those noises again.

[mcdanida]

Yep, that stuff can also be added to transmission fluid in order to hide serious transmission problems ... just enough time for a private seller to fool you!