2003 V6 4wd - So I’m leaking oil, any ideas?

[Sunn4Runner]

I have recently noticed oil spots underneath my oil pan. I was able to snap a few photos of the oil pan. The skid plate also has a good amount of oil on it, definitely leaking somewhere near or directly above. Gasket? Rear Main Seal? Oil pump gasket?
It’s going to the shop hopefully over the next couple days.

 

[57ranch]

Front main seal is a known issue on these. Remove skid plate and dry things off to see if you can find the source.

 

[Sunn4Runner]

I was able to snap this shot of the leak. Looks like the Rear main seal possibly. I’ve not read anything about the front main seal, did you mean rear?

 

[AuSeeker]

I was able to snap this shot of the leak. Looks like the Rear main seal possibly. I’ve not read anything about the front main seal, did you mean rear?

With that much oil on the bottom of the engine it's very hard to say exactly where it's leaking, it could be leaking at the front and blowing back to the rear, or at the top of the engine and dripping down, if you want to know exactly where it's leaking you need to spray it down with brake cleaner and or a degreaser to remove/clean all the old oil off and then watch to see where the oil is leaking from over the next few days to a week or so.

 

[Sunn4Runner]

Thanks. I will spray sit down with brake cleaner and watch it over the next few days. I booked an appointment with my mechanic next week. Wish me luck

 

[Sunn4Runner]

I was just doing some more investigating with a flash light and “thankfully” the oil seems to be leaking from the the area around where the transmission connects to the engine, so rear main seal. No oil leaking anywhere above and flowing down.

 

[aemravan]

I was just doing some more investigating with a flash light and “thankfully” the oil seems to be leaking from the the area around where the transmission connects to the engine, so rear main seal. No oil leaking anywhere above and flowing down.

not sure how thankful I'd feel with it being the hardest one to get to between the front main and valve cover gaskets, but it's good you can at least identify that that's the issue. I suspect a rear main leak on 03 v8 as well and am not ready to undertake that fix quite yet.

 

[Sunn4Runner]

not sure how thankful I'd feel with it being the hardest one to get to between the front main and valve cover gaskets, but it's good you can at least identify that that's the issue. I suspect a rear main leak on 03 v8 as well and am not ready to undertake that fix quite yet.

You're right " thankful " might not be the right word to use. At this point I'm more grateful I have a great mechanic whom i trust. Still is gonna cost me roughly $1000cnd total. I wish I had shop access then i'd be able to do myself.
One of the downsides for myself living in a condo, on top of it one of the most expensive areas to live in the world

 

[aemravan]

Not too terrible for what it takes to do it without a lift at home.. I do just about all of the work myself and have been grateful to be able to save money on labor, but im getting to the point in life where I'm starting to realize how much more valuable my time is vs possibly paying someone else to do it..