The mysterious oil leak

[Sailfish]

Turns out the oil drip I've been chasing isn't engine oil at all...its transmission fluid. The fluid was accumulating underneath the chassis above the transmission, becoming dirty, and dripping from several points in small dark brown drops of about 2-3 drips/week on my garage floor. I wrote it off to a sloppy oil change.

Now the leak is worse, which is actually a good thing since I can now see its red fluid and I can also see its origin. Its coming from the coupling (seal?) located between the main transmission housing and first U-joint. The fluid is accumulating on the U-joint then drips. Apparently the U-joint flings it around the immediate area when it rotates, masking its origin when the leak was small. But its now of a magnitude that a half dollar-size puddle forms after I park the truck.

Truck is an '07 5.7L 2WD TRD. This is a dealer warranty repair, but I want to be on the same verbal page with the dealer so I've got a couple questions:

Anyone ever have such a transmission fluid leak?
What is the name of the component that's attached to the first U-joint in the drive train, connected directly to the U-joint opposite the main drive shaft...is it some sort of seal housing?
Any guess on the cause of the leak?

Thanks for the help!

[Dana_15]

I've read about this leak on TundraSolutions.com, the guys who have had it get a new seal and driveshaft and that seems to correct the problem, good luck.

[Sailfish]

Thanks for the reply. I registered over at TS to search their boards and I found a few threads about this same problem. But I didn't see one for the new design Tundra. I'll have it at the dealer later this week...but that's another day off from work, transportation, etc, etc.

[mhadden]

I was thinking it was a defective part, not an engineering problem. Either way, instead of taking a day off, go after work to your dealer and have them look at it. Depending on what they do (give it back to you, or hold it) and order the parts, request a vehicle since it'll be held overnight. There's no reason you shouldn't be able to score a rental while the repair is being done if it'll hinder your day.