Recently there's been a lot of spots under my truck wherever I park (95 EB Bronco 5.0). When I was cleaning the driveshaft splines I noticed the oil seemed to be dripping from up between the engine and transmission. To me, this seems like it could be one of two things, either a loose oil pan or a bad rear seal (hopefully the former). I'm going to get a better look at it this weekend, but am wondering if it might be anything else. Any suggestions on what to look for or do would be great.
Second problem (not really a big problem) I noticed yesterday while driving on the highway. When going up a hill my A/C would basically stop blowing, no matter how high I had the fan. Once I reached the top of a hill and went back down the blower went back to full force. Anyone know if this is normal, or should I have this looked at? Thanks.

 

Yo swenson,
Look for pcv valve, oil press sending unit, rear of rocher cover, intake manifold gasket(?..other can validate this if I'm wrong), rusty oil pan, bad OP gasket, and what you wrote (wish I copied and pasted it now!)

Some get dye and a UV light (or get it done at a shop) and find the leak(s). i use baby powder (but it will get blown by the fan).

My 96's fan speen varies when turning corners and of course with wind direction. You may have debris such as leaves or road dirt in the air plenum in front of fr. windshield; or your voltage is dropping with engine speed.

 

Isn't the AC equipped with a cut out mechanism? Maybe that has an effect on the fan too. Try to turn off the AC and just switch to vent then go uphill and see it the fan speed varies. I will bet it is related to the AC cutout only.

As for your leaks....clean the motor with a pressure washer and some degreaser. Eliminate most of your excess oil before you go hunting.

Bob

 

Both my guesses on the oil leak were wrong, the oil pan is tight as drum and the oil is not coming from the rear seal. However, it seems to be coming through the oil pan, which looks very rusty. The protective paint covering is flaking off and there are rust bubbles that the oil is leaking through. A friend said I should grind down the rust and put some protective enamel on, does that sound good? I had a though that something like that muffler paste stuff used to plug holes in the exhaust would do a good job holding up against the pressure/heat of the engine. Any suggestions?

 

 

Regarding the oil pan problem, get a good op from a salvage yard. make sure there is no rust. or buy a new one if you don't mind the $$. patching it with goop will eventually leak again, it's not worth the effort to try and save it.

With the AC problem, check for vacuum leaks on the vac lines near the blower box in the engine compartment. if all those are intact and the problem doesn't go away, then i would consider taking it in. it might be low on the freon anyway.

ron

 

How difficult is it to change the oil pan? From what I can see I'd have to lift the engine, which I just don't have the tools to do. Would it be fairly expensive to have done?

 

I have the same problem. Maybe I can help you save time. I started the same as you describe but the first thing I did was plugged the oil sending unit. I still leaked, next I replaced the valve cover gasket. It still leaked so I had to do something I was dreading, the rear main seal. Well I took out the t-case, transmission and the rest of the mess to get to the seal and to me it did not look bad. I changed it anyway. After the seal of course it was my luck that I needed a new flywheel,clutch,pressure plate, bearing and alot more.
Guess what it still leaks, I have not a clue wher it is comming from my next guess is a hole in the valve cover or in the block. I have to much oil comming out to blam it on the head gasket or the blowback in the engine. Well I hope this sob story will help you decide to do alot more troubleshooting before you commit to any maintenance.

 

Mine's definitely coming from the oil pan itself, the rust holes are obvious and the whole pan is flaking paint and rusting. So, any thoughts on how much it would cost to have a pan replaced?

 

It depends on where you get it. Keep in mind that you will need a new gasket and check the oil pump while you are in there. You can probably get a pan at schmucks for $40. Dont quote me.