Main seal leak, should I worry about it?

[ozzyleven]

The 22re is leaking just a touch and 'pooling' right at the bottom of the bellhousing. Its just a little bit of oil. It doesn't ever drip off. I tightened up the valve cover and cleaned up back there (half moon was seeping). Ran the truck for about 20 minutes, but it doesn't leak when I'm watching it. Kept checking on it last night, but nothing. This morning I go and look after 10 hours of sitting, oil again. No difference on the dipstick.

So, I'd have to think its got to be the main seal, which really pisses me off because I did it by the book. I'm going to keep monitoring it to make sure its not just residual from the valve cover, but thats just wishful thinking. Since its so slight, do I really have to worry about the clutch disc getting fouled? If it does foul, will it require resurfacing the flywheel? Just trying to weigh the potential cost to the pain in the arse of removing the transmission...

 

[fourwd1]

A 22R leaking? I'm shocked.

But seriously, a small leak is no big deal. The 22R in my 83 leaked for years, I just got used to having a small wet spot in the driveway. My 84 and 89 are amazingly leak free for being as old as they are. If the leak gets bigger and you start adding oil frequently, consider fixing it then.

 

[SV_Dude]

A 22R leaking? I'm shocked.

In the aviation side of the house, leaks are normal and acceptable. It's when they STOP leaking is when we need to worry

In all seriousness, leaks and issues like that bug the heck out of me. I would fix it but that's just me. As far as damage and failure is concerned, make sure the oil stays topped off and you have good oil pressure and you should be good to drive it as long as you want.

 

[ozzyleven]

What bugs me is that it's brand new. I even pulled the engine again and redid the seal because I was worried about not having enough grease on it. I know it was good to go the second. It's just frustrating to have it go bad right away... The more I've been reading though, it seems like the aftermarket seals tend to leak no matter what you do. For sure using Toyota next time.

 

[SV_Dude]

It's just frustrating to try so hard, just to have it go bad right away...

Tell me about it! My motor isn't leaking but I just spent nearly 3 grand rebuilding my motor and beefing it up and come to find out I'm getting a bit of blow by and am burning a little over a quart of oil every 1000 miles. The only fix is to tear the WHOLE engine down and possibly re-bore the engine and replace pistons and rings. At best I would have to tear it down completely and replace rings. Either way it sucks and I know where you're coming from.

 

[ozzyleven]

That's a lot worse than an oil leak for sure. Mine sounds like an effing chipped diesel everywhere I go but it's not burning oil thankfully. If you put that much in, I'd tear the thing down again, but only after my rage had subsided

 

[SV_Dude]

I'm selling the whole rig and buying a jeep. haha. I'm sure some of the guys on the forum would like to shoot me for saying that. If I were to keep the 4runner I would tear it down and fix it for about $300-$400.

 

[ozzyleven]

I'm selling the whole rig and buying a jeep. haha. I'm sure some of the guys on the forum would like to shoot me for saying that. If I were to keep the 4runner I would tear it down and fix it for about $300-$400.

I don't think the jeeps are always so bad. My dad has an older one with a straight six and its tough as nails. Too bad he lives on the east coast the whole thing is rusting out from under him