I took my Raider up to the mountains for the first time a few weeks ago and just noticed the other day that there was an oil leak that wasn't there before <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />. After some investigation today I discovered that the oil looks like it's coming from where the engine/transmission come together. What do you guys think? If it is the rear main engine oil seal (or whatever it's called) what's involved with fixing this. I imagine something along the lines of removing the trans or something like that? Any thoughts? I can't stand seeing oil underneath any of my vehicles.

Thanks - Edwyn

I believe so although I haven't had to do mine in the past.

Investigate further to ensure you know positively where the leak is coming from. If the rear cam plugs are leaking on the back of the heads the oil will run down the sides of the trans to the lowest point and make it look like a rear main leak. Use a flashlight and one of those little mirrors on a stick. Let us know what you find and take pics if you can and post them here and we'll help narrow it down.

the cam 'plugs' , as Justice said and the seam on the cam 'caps' can leak,,front and back. I just fixed my right bank but still have a leak somewhere up front. The oil will flow back along the head gasket lip and then blow down onto the pan at the bellhousing and drip on the crossover. Leaks on this engine are very common. Unless your really loosing alot I'd put up with it. You fix it and it will be leaking somewhere else. Good luck.

Dave, you are a pessimist. At least you are rarely disappointed... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Solution #1: Don't look under the truck.

Solution #2: Take the truck to the car wash and spray the motor all over with engine cleaner, then with the car wash engine cleaner, then with the HP soap, and then rinse. I'd put a plastic bag over the coil and distributor and keep direct spray off them, not a real area of interest except at the dist. base and the drive extension on the head under it. Let the engine dry (you can drive it home) and then do a dusting in the suspect areas with one of those little squeeze bottles of baby powder. You want a even dusting, not wads and gobs. Concentrate on these areas:

rear cam plugs and the seam on each side
valve cover gasket
front cam orings and the dist. drive extension
front main seal
rear main seal (there's a sheet metal cover that goes over the part of the tranny bellhousing that hangs below the rear of the engine you can remove to get a look at the bottom of the seal area - buncha 10mm bolts hold it on)

Now blow the loose powder away. If you have a leak, it should show as a trail of powder stuck to the oil.

An altenative that costs more is UV dye in the oil, then hunt the leak with a UV light and the funky glasses.

The rear main seal is the most expensive, and thankfully one of the least likely. Most likely is valve cover gaskets - they get hard with time. With the valve covers off, you can remove and reseal the rear cam plugs easily. You have to reseal the upper and lower halves of the rear cam bearing - there is no gasket there, just metal to metal, and it needs a smear of rtv on the faces, as well as in the "square" corner the valve cover gasket turns as it goes over the hump of the rear cam bearing. The front main seal seems to go before the rear, probably because of the belt side loads. When was your timing belt done? If it's time for that, the front main seal is part of the job, along with a new water pump and tensioner and crank bolt. While doing this, it's relatively easy to reseal the front of the cams as well.

There are writeups on all the above procedures, and all are doable by the average home mechanic with the proper usual tools. The only oddball part you might need are cam sprocket locking tools and a holder for the harmonic balancer or flywheel so you can torque the crank bolt.

OK. so here are a few pics of the engine. I took a few of the top, just cause I don't think that it's coming from up here. It looks pretty clean.







Here is where I see the oil coming from. I wiped off all the "build up" to see where it was coming from (red arrow).


Here is a little closer up


I guess the oil could be leaking down through that area, but I I'm not too sure where to look next. Where are the cam plugs etc? (I'm no mechanic, but I'm trying!). I think that I'll maybe pull that little heat shield thing in that area off and try and spray everything off. I already had it to the car wash once, but it's pretty hard to spray everything down there without getting completely soaked!

Thanks guys - Edwyn

Hey, while I'm grilling you guys for help, I've got a few more things I trying to figure out. I have two sounds coming from the engine that I don't like.

The first sounds like the whine of a power steering pump that's going bad or out of fluid, but mine seems fine and is full. If I were to guess, it appears that the sound may be coming from the fan. Are there bearings in there that are common to fail? Is there anyway to lube them?

The other sound is a ticking sound that goes up and down with RPMs. Not super loud or anything. I wouldn't say that that this is an engine knocking (the motor was rebuilt just over 1000 miles ago- before I bought it), but who knows. Where do I begin to look for the source/culprit of this one?

Thanks - Edwyn

take the trans access panel off and see how much oil is in the bellhousing. I would say anything from cam plugs, valve cover, rear main seal, or oil pan gasket. Doesn't look like an outlandish amount though...

I've never tried it, but an old timer told me to put about 1/2 pint of brake fluid in your oil and that would swell the seal. He said this was a fix that would probably last four to five years. Like I said I didn't try it, I just traded the vehicle off!

Ok, so I found the solution! You drain all the oil out and then there's no leak! Of course that doesn't work too well if you still want to drive it! I did a little more research and thought that I would try changing the oil with 10W30 Valvoline Maxlife oil and see if that works. Apparently this oil helps seal things up a little better. I took the Raider to the car wash with some ramps and was able to hose things off down there pretty good, so hopefully I should be able to see where the leak is coming from - if it continues to leak. I changed the oil out and drove it around and no leaks - yet. I guess I will see in the morning if there is a fresh spot underneath.

Edwyn