Oil leak from driver's side near tranny????

[redgtxdi]

So I noticed a couple drops of oil on the floor the other day. Got under there today & looked underneath.

Can't see much. Everything looks dry (CV boots, Steering rack boots, engine oil drain pan & bolt & trans bolt)..........EXCEPT........where the trans pan mates up.

I can't say that it's leakin' like a siv, because the trans pan itself looks fairly clean, but trailing behind it down the left frame rail of the car and the creeping up the front left portion of the frame rail alongside the trans is wet.

Sound like time to drop the trans pan??

TIA

P.S. (Doh........forgot........'98 2.2L)

[heller]

Rear main seal maybe cuz thats about where mine was leaking from but as to why its coming from the tranny pan im not sure.

[redgtxdi]

Originally Posted by heller

Rear main seal maybe....

WHooaaaa!!! I sure hope not!! THAAAAT can't be cheap to fix!!

[heller]

no its not cheap. with it being FWD it would be easier to pull the engine out than to pull the tranny out. I would try putting some of that engine restore stuff in the oil to see if it could help seal that leak. i dont know how bad yours is leaking but if its not bad then that engine restorer may actually stop it.

[redgtxdi]

Well......assuming for the moment, that it's not the rear-main seal.......I'll probably drop it off at the local mechanic & see if he can trace it. (I can only get so far under w/ my POS jack) so once he gets it on the hoise, I'll get under there w/ him & see what we can see.



If it *is* the rear main seal @ 130,000 miles, I will NOT be a happy camper w/ Toyota!

[Kep]

The main seals are a good bet. Not as likely is the distributor seal. Look on top of the transmission case for puddled oil and rub your finger on the botom of the distributor, especially where it meets the engine. Either may indicate a leaking distributor seal (which is a lot easier to replace).

If it is the main seal(s) I had pretty good luck with a product called AT205 Re-Seal to refresh my seals on a 1990 Camry. If it is going to work you should notice an improvement in 200-300 miles.


Kep

[redgtxdi]

So, I took my baby to a different place to have the oil changed today & they took notice of the oil leak.

Here's their take......

#1.) Trans pan seeping. Not dripping, but definitely oozing.

#2.) Rear pan (???) a.k.a. rear cover dripping.

The guy said the rear pan is actually the diff cover (?). He said it's about $350 to drop both pans, flush, fill and install new gaskets.

He also said he's 99% sure none of the oil is coming from the rear main.

???????

[Kep]

I am definately not a fan of flushing the transmission unless you have been doing it religiously since the first transmission oil change. If the oil is just seeping from the pan why not torque up the bolts and see if that works. They are on only a little tighter than finger tight and may have just come loose. Otherwise just get a new gasket and refill the 2-3 quarts of trans fluid that came out.

Kep

[redgtxdi]

and I'd be all game for that except for this whole notion of "rear pan/diff cover".

It's this "rear" that's dripping.

I may call the dealer on Monday to see what they'd charge to do it, that way if they've never heard of a rear pan/diff cover then I'll know these folks are sly.

???