Oil All Over

[Tractor Dan]

Went to change oil today and after getting it in the air i ran into oil all over the rear of the oil pan, transmission, starter, exhaust pipes. I had this truck on a lift at school first week of may and it was bone dry under there other than some minor seepage on the oil pan around the gasket which from what i have seen on my 97 and this one along with been told and read is normal. However the amount of oil there is now is alarming to me. I'm thinking it's a rear main seal. Here are the details on the engine.

It was a yard engine. My mechanic put it in. I'm not 100% sure if he replaced the rear main seal or not. I can't really ask him, we aren't on good terms at the moment. However so far what has been done is this.

Valve guide seals replaced. Valve cover gaskets and upper intake gasket replaced. Spark plugs replaced with motorcrafts. Had one that was cracked. Have ran seafoam through the gas tank a couple times and through the vacuum line once.

It is consuming oil which is anywhere from a quart to 2 quarts every 400-600 miles.

So based on these pictures do yall think it's a rear main seal or something else? I gotta get back under it Friday and do the oil change. I had to stop as the drain plug was rounding off and i didn't have another vehicle till i could get my dads when he was off work to pick up a new plug. So if you need more pictures let me know. I"m using jackstands so i can't get the best shots but i'll try.

http://s816.photobucket.com/user/97Ranger/library/Oil Leak

 

[RonD]

Well the only places that can leak that much oil, your description can't tell from the pics, is back lower side of valve cover(it is where oil pools while driving) or the rear main.
So look/feel behind valve covers, but leaks here usually produce smoke as oil hits exhaust manifold.

Oil filter/housing is possible but I think you would have IDed that on the rack

 

[Tractor Dan]

I'll take a look. So far no smoke. A slight burning oil smell every so often. As for the filter and housing i don't believe it's that seeing as it was dry as could be when it was on the rack, i'll take a look though. I'm tempted on this oil change to clean all that oil off and add dye to see if i can trace the source of the leak. I'll try and get some better pictures while i'm under it Friday.

 

[JP02XLT]

It can also be the lower intake seal where it is generally silicon ed to the block. Symptoms are very similar to a valve cover gasket leak

JP02XLT

 

[Tractor Dan]

Well didn't change the oil myself. The oil and filter i got worked for my sisters car so i traded her oil and filter in exchange for $20 to take it somewhere and have it changed. Only done that because i had a party i had to be at and no time today to do it. So hopefully Saturday i can get under it and take pictures.

If it's a rear main seal my parents neighbor is saying you don't have to pull the transmission if you drop the oil pan, i was almost sure you had to pull the transmission. That being said my oil pan gasket is leaking anyhow so i figured i will do it while fixing the rear main seal if that is the culprit. Also told me you don't have to unbolt the motor mounts and raise the motor a few inches to get the oil pan out. Is that true? I'm about 95% sure from reading on here and looking at it the motor needs to go up. I could be wrong though. Shop i took it today wanted $45 to clean the oil off the underside and put UV dye in. I figure i can do it myself for half the cost.

 

[RonD]

Don't trust that neighbor's mechanical knowledge, lol

Main seal is a rubber ring that goes around the crankshaft, on the front you need to remove the main pulley to see it, remove it and install new one.
On the rear you need to remove the transmission to see it, remove it and install new one.

To get the oil pan off you do need to raise the engine, the clearance is require for the oil pump pick up and screen, inside the oil pan.

Engine Degreaser, products like Gunk Engine Bright, spray it on, wait 10 minutes then scrub areas you can reach with a non-metal brush, spray off with water.

Pictures would be better after using the degreaser and idling the engine for 10 minutes.

 

[NIPs]

That looks more like ur oil pan gasket than a main seal ive had both go on 2 different vehicles and the main seals barely ever leaked, the oil pan gasket leaked exactly how Urs is leaking honestly I would change both just to cover my ass never hurts to have new seals in a vehicle

Sent from my ME173X using Tapatalk

 

[flatlandriver]

Forgive my saying so, but if your engine was using that much oil before the oil leak, you've got bigger problems than, "Is it the crank seal or the pan seal". Time to pull the engine and see what's what.

 

[Tractor Dan]

Done some more looking from the top side today and it looks like it could possibly be the lower intake. I couldn't get pictures, too much sun and too little room but i could see where oil had been getting onto the top of the transmission. So i think my plan of action is once i'm back at my parents i'm going to probably do the upper and lower intake gaskets. The gaskets are only $20 and coolant is another $15 so figure do it for piece of mind. If that doesn't fix it i will then know it's a rear main or oil pan and maybe can do that this semester at school. I think that will be much easier on a lift. I can do it on jack stands but figure if i can talk an instructor into letting me do it during class why not.

 

[Tractor Dan]

Done some more investigating and i'm thinking that it's not a rear main seal. After looking at where the oil is running on the engine and the readings i'm getting on the vacuum gauge i'm thinking it's probably a lower intake leak. I took three videos but could only get two to upload. The one that wouldn't upload was the vacuum gauge when i moved the throttle. From what i understand when the throttle is first opened especially if it's opened quickly the gauge should drop to zero and come back up. Mine does not do that. It barely gets below 15inches of vacuum. Here are the two videos of just the truck idling one is on a cold engine and one is a warm engine.

Also tried a few different vacuum locations to make sure i was getting consistent readings.

Cold Engine- When it drops hard to 16 inches around 30 seconds it done that with no manipulation from me.
http://s816.photobucket.com/user/97Ranger/media/Oil Leak/Idlecoldengine_zps906b5275.mp4.html

Warm Engine
http://s816.photobucket.com/user/97Ranger/media/Oil Leak/Idlewarmengine_zps0ea38a05.mp4.html

So any thoughts on what i should make of these? I'm thinking where my oil leak is and where the vacuum leak is would be the part of the lower intake where it's siliconed to the block on that S shaped area. Not sure what to call that. I know folks have said on here and elsewhere that's a common failure point.