Oil leak from flywheel

[Aidenmoreno3]

Hi all!

 

I'm having some new symptoms on my Comanche and I’m praying they’re not a RMS leak…

 

recently I’ve had a burning smell when shifting, as well as hard clicks when I shift gears sometimes. I originally thought that it was due to my clutch going bad but the pedal still feels good. 
 

when I went to take a look under the truck I foube some oil leaking from inside the dust shield area of the transmission.

 

my engine oil level is good, the clutch fluid level is good, my transmission oil level was actually a little too full from last time I changed jt (removed the full plug and fluid began leaking all over me lol)

what do you guys think it is? Here’s my to do list as of RN before I get to the RMS and the oil pan gasket 

1. distributor gaskets

2. oil filter adapter I think this is another leak)

3. Valve cover gasket

4. Oil pan gasket

5. RMS (engine and input shaft seal on the trans)

[89 MJ]

Looks like there is quite a few leaks there, as you've noted with your gaskets that you want to replace. In order to diagnose this, try to clean it as much as you can. I like engine degreaser and a pressure washer, but you could just wipe everything down well with paper towels too. Give it some time to dry, then put cardboard on the ground under the engine. Run it for a while in place (driving it can make the oil blow backwards), shut it off, and walk away. I usually leave the vehicle for the night. Then the next morning (or just later that day), I'll go out and look at the cardboard and figure out where the oil was dripping from. Follow that oil trail up to your leak. 

 

 

[AZJeff]

8 hours ago, 89 MJ said:

Looks like there is quite a few leaks there, as you've noted with your gaskets that you want to replace. In order to diagnose this, try to clean it as much as you can. I like engine degreaser and a pressure washer, but you could just wipe everything down well with paper towels too. Give it some time to dry, then put cardboard on the ground under the engine. Run it for a while in place (driving it can make the oil blow backwards), shut it off, and walk away. I usually leave the vehicle for the night. Then the next morning (or just later that day), I'll go out and look at the cardboard and figure out where the oil was dripping from. Follow that oil trail up to your leak. 

 

 

The part highlighted is really the best way to try to isolate the leak, because the oil vapors get swirled around and deposited all over the bottom of the engine due to the wind under the car when on traveling.

 

Even if you don't own a pressure washer, a couple of cans of engine degreaser and a garden hose with a strong nozzle on it might get rid of almost all of the film and drips.

 

Once your chassis is degreased, a short drive or two (10-15 minutes) will start up the real leak, and crawling underneath will make it easy to spot.  (The cardboard trick listed is also a good way to narrow things down.)

 

Just looking at the photos, I don't think the pan is the source of your leak, but I could be wrong.  Something is definitely leaking around the filter adapter, and other sources might show more clearly doing the above suggestions.

[cruiser54]

All^^^ good advice. 

If you replace the valve cover gasket, use a Felpro blue one.

I'll bet if you gave it a look, the rear valve cover bolts are loose now. 

[pizzaman09]

I've been on a crusade to eliminate leaks on Comanche this past winter.  Surprisingly most of the gaskets are a relatively easy replacement.  Valve cover and filter adapter gaskets are both quite doable with the vehicle on the ground from above.  Sometimes it's just worth doing them regardless of knowing where the leak is coming from.  Technically the rear main seal is the most challenging and frequently misdiagnosed issues.  Even at that the RMS is actually done by removing the oil pain and fishing the old one out and putting a new one in, no need to remove the trans and flywheel.