88 PU 4cyl leaking lubricant

My 88 4cyl base pickup Automatic w/o Air Conditioning is leaking lubricant
all over the bottom of the motor (front). It's my 18 yo son's truck so I
just noticed it. It appears to be a large volume of fluid. It also appears
to be coming out with some force because its all over the bottom of the
radiator.

By process of eliimination, I have to guess that it's gear lube because it
appears to be heavy, neither the engine oil or tranny fluid are low and I
just changed the filter and fluid in the tranny.

First question:
1.)What's in that area of the motor/drive train that could be leaking?
2: What would cause it to leak like that. Could it be as simple as a torn
transaxle boot or a gasket or something more meaningful ?

Also

Is there a decent illustration anywhere on line of this motor and drive
train ? It would help a great deal.

In article <cyMkg.134$x6.118@trndny05>,
"Franknphilly" <francisi1@verizon.net> wrote:
[color=blue]
> My 88 4cyl base pickup Automatic w/o Air Conditioning is leaking lubricant
> all over the bottom of the motor (front). It's my 18 yo son's truck so I
> just noticed it. It appears to be a large volume of fluid. It also appears
> to be coming out with some force because its all over the bottom of the
> radiator.
>
> By process of eliimination, I have to guess that it's gear lube because it
> appears to be heavy, neither the engine oil or tranny fluid are low and I
> just changed the filter and fluid in the tranny.
>
> First question:
> 1.)What's in that area of the motor/drive train that could be leaking?
> 2: What would cause it to leak like that. Could it be as simple as a torn
> transaxle boot or a gasket or something more meaningful ?
>
> Also
>
> Is there a decent illustration anywhere on line of this motor and drive
> train ? It would help a great deal.[/color]

22R engines tend to wear out their main shaft oil seals.
When the seal starts leaking, the oil gets on the main pulley and gets
slung out all over the front of the engine.
The oil gets dirt stuck to it and proceeds to layer up over time to a
nasty thick coating.

This is very common , and is a fairly cheap thing to fix.

To fix it you do however have to remove the main pulley, which can be a
real pain.
It is shot in with a lot of torque and loctite at the factory.

I do recommend having it done by a mechanic, but it should only cost
about $150 - $200.

Doing it yourself involves taking off the fan, removing the main pulley
bolt, and the main pulley (also known as -- the Harmonic Balancer).

You should drain the oil pan first or it will all come out when you pull
the pulley off.

If the pulley surface is too heavily grooved from the shaft seal, then
you can get a thin metal sleeve that force fits over the back of the
pulley.
This gives a new surface for the oil seal to work with.

The seal only costs a few bucks.

Pry out the old seal with a screwdriver, and install the new seal gently
by pushing it in with a block of wood and a rubber mallet.

--
Welding Instructor - South Seattle Comm. Coll.
- Divers Institute of Technology
CWI/CWE
WABO Examiner

Are you sure it's gear oil? You never stated that it was a 4x4. Clean it
up with a degreaser and check for leak points.

As Ernie recommends, check the main shaft oil seals, I'd have that looked at
first. If you have not replaced the timing chain by now, I strongly suggest
you have it checked. A worn chain guide will allow the chain to slowly wear
out the front plate. I had to replace the entire front assembly and get the
cylinder head serviced. It cost me about $400 in parts to replace the
Timing Chain assembly, gaskets and guides, including a new front plate.
Another $300 in shop fees to have the head serviced and replace the valves.
I did all the labor myself, but if you were to pay a mechanic, it would cost
about $1000-$1500.


"Franknphilly" <francisi1@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:cyMkg.134$x6.118@trndny05...[color=blue]
> My 88 4cyl base pickup Automatic w/o Air Conditioning is leaking
> lubricant all over the bottom of the motor (front). It's my 18 yo son's
> truck so I just noticed it. It appears to be a large volume of fluid. It
> also appears to be coming out with some force because its all over the
> bottom of the radiator.
>
> By process of eliimination, I have to guess that it's gear lube because it
> appears to be heavy, neither the engine oil or tranny fluid are low and I
> just changed the filter and fluid in the tranny.
>
> First question:
> 1.)What's in that area of the motor/drive train that could be leaking?
> 2: What would cause it to leak like that. Could it be as simple as a torn
> transaxle boot or a gasket or something more meaningful ?
>
> Also
>
> Is there a decent illustration anywhere on line of this motor and drive
> train ? It would help a great deal.
>[/color]

In article <qA3lg.2559$Za5.2050@trnddc04>,
"Joseph Wind" <jpg@gif.com.invalid> wrote:
[color=blue]
> Are you sure it's gear oil? You never stated that it was a 4x4. Clean it
> up with a degreaser and check for leak points.
>
> As Ernie recommends, check the main shaft oil seals, I'd have that looked at
> first. If you have not replaced the timing chain by now, I strongly suggest
> you have it checked. A worn chain guide will allow the chain to slowly wear
> out the front plate. I had to replace the entire front assembly and get the
> cylinder head serviced. It cost me about $400 in parts to replace the
> Timing Chain assembly, gaskets and guides, including a new front plate.
> Another $300 in shop fees to have the head serviced and replace the valves.
> I did all the labor myself, but if you were to pay a mechanic, it would cost
> about $1000-$1500.
>[/color]

FYI - You can get a new timing chain cover, timing chain set, oil pump
and water pump all for under $100 plus shipping from dealers on eBay.
I have bought several of these kits recently to rebuild my '85 1Ton
flatbed and '86 1/2 ton xtracab-longbed.

Really nice to have a whole new front end.

[color=blue]
> "Franknphilly" <francisi1@verizon.net> wrote in message
> news:cyMkg.134$x6.118@trndny05...[color=green]
> > My 88 4cyl base pickup Automatic w/o Air Conditioning is leaking
> > lubricant all over the bottom of the motor (front). It's my 18 yo son's
> > truck so I just noticed it. It appears to be a large volume of fluid. It
> > also appears to be coming out with some force because its all over the
> > bottom of the radiator.
> >
> > By process of eliimination, I have to guess that it's gear lube because it
> > appears to be heavy, neither the engine oil or tranny fluid are low and I
> > just changed the filter and fluid in the tranny.
> >
> > First question:
> > 1.)What's in that area of the motor/drive train that could be leaking?
> > 2: What would cause it to leak like that. Could it be as simple as a torn
> > transaxle boot or a gasket or something more meaningful ?
> >
> > Also
> >
> > Is there a decent illustration anywhere on line of this motor and drive
> > train ? It would help a great deal.
> >[/color][/color]

--
Welding Instructor - South Seattle Comm. Coll.
- Divers Institute of Technology
CWI/CWE
WABO Examiner

"Ernie Leimkuhler" <ernie@stagesmith.com> wrote in message
news:ernie-197D98.12442018062006@news.west.earthlink.net...[color=blue]
> In article <qA3lg.2559$Za5.2050@trnddc04>,
> "Joseph Wind" <jpg@gif.com.invalid> wrote:
>
> FYI - You can get a new timing chain cover, timing chain set, oil pump
> and water pump all for under $100 plus shipping from dealers on eBay.
> I have bought several of these kits recently to rebuild my '85 1Ton
> flatbed and '86 1/2 ton xtracab-longbed.
>
> Really nice to have a whole new front end.
>
>[/color]
I don't know about a whole set for under a $100, it cost a bit more a few
years back, but I also replaced the water pump, oil pump assembly and a
gasket set. That's about $200+ if your going take apart the front plate. I
pulled the whole engine out, so it was easier to assemble on a stand than
bent over the fender. I got a full rebuild kit, coz it was cheaper than
buying a Front kit and a Head set separately. I got most of the items from
PartsDinosaur.com . He too sell's on eBay, but for the time waiting for
the bidding to end, you can have it at your door sooner, for the same price
or a few dollars more.