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Hey everyone. So tonight I started some basic cleaning of the 1995 F250 5.8L 2WD that I bought last week. The interior needed a good cleaning out. I bought this truck on a whim (terrible idea). It was a company work horse truck that they were going to sell so I offered my boss $1,200 for it and he took it. I never drove it but it seemed to run fine and I know they spent $1,600 a few months ago having the transmission serviced. Let me start by saying I know nothing about cars. My idea of maintenance is to change the oil and clean out the pine needles stuck under the windshield wipers. I bought this to teach myself how to do a little bit more than your average repairs. I am already planning to change the shocks and brake pads. That might not seem like much compared to some other guys on here but we all have to start somewhere.
So anyways, I went to take a look at the rust situation underneath the truck and noticed an oil leak. The picture below should help. It looks to be right where the transmission and the motor/oil pan meet. After realizing this, I went to check the dip stick and it had no oil on it all! I popped it back in a few times just to make sure and nothing!
The truck supposedly has a new 5.8L motor in it that was put in by the owner before my company owned it. My company maybe put 5,000 miles on this truck. Previous owner claimed the new motor had 10,000 miles on it when he sold it to my company. So could he have done a crap job installing it? Oil the transmission service company did a crap job? Where do I begin with this problem?
Edit: I also noticed the radiator coolant is completely empty. I don't know if those would be related though. My guess is no.
Edit #2: So after some research it looks like it could be the rear main seal. You guys feel the same way? Any way to know for sure?
Can you confirm whether the residue is engine oil or automatic transmission fluid?. It seems like the rear engine seal was busted during the engine/trans mating, so I suspect it's engine oil, and apparently it's leaking out very fast (that would explain the lack of oil). Sadly for someone that's new to vehicle maintenance that's quite an involved job, you'll need to remove that behemoth of a trans you have there (it's an E4OD from what I can see, you can confirm by counting the bolts in the pan, there should be 20) in order to access that seal. That requires a transmission jack, so try to get a loaner.
Can you confirm whether the residue is engine oil or automatic transmission fluid?. It seems like the rear engine seal was busted during the engine/trans mating, so I suspect it's engine oil, and apparently it's leaking out very fast (that would explain the lack of oil). Sadly for someone that's new to vehicle maintenance that's quite an involved job, you'll need to remove that behemoth of a trans you have there (it's an E4OD from what I can see, you can confirm by counting the bolts in the pan, there should be 20) in order to access that seal. That requires a transmission jack, so try to get a loaner.
I'm guessing its engine oil. It's super black and has the viscosity of engine oil. Isn't trans oil red?
It is an E4OD. I guess this is a "be careful what you wish for" kinda situation lol.
Could also be the pan gasket where it goes up and around rear main area. When I changed my pan gasket I went the cheap route and used a 4 piece gasket. The little rubber in the back must not have got seated all the way. Seeps a little. I didn't want to pull the motor to do it the right way so I can't complain. Check and make sure to find out where exactly it's leaking from.
Old ATF can have several states, even yellowish. And yes, let's see how you fare, but be very careful if you decide to tackle that. That transmission is around +220lbs if I recall right.
It could very well be the valve cover gaskets are bad too. Don't be so quick to pull that transmission out, it's a big job for a novice, as a matter of fact unless you have space, time and tools, I'd actually consider letting your local trusted mechanic tackle the rear main seal, IF that's what it is, one reason for that is, If it is the seal, did it score the crank? Can you sleeve it or will you now have to, replace the crank? How much money are you willing to throw at this project? These are just my thoughts.
Old ATF can have several states, even yellowish. And yes, let's see how you fare, but be very careful if you decide to tackle that. That transmission is around +220lbs if I recall right.
Oh boy. I want to. I ordered a service manual for it. This forum has a lot of great info too. While I am doing that, are there other things I should replace in the process? I assume i'll have great access to a lot of areas. Here is a list of things the transmission shop already replaced a few months ago:
-Vehicle Speed Sensor
-Bushing, Selector Shaft
-Indicator, Shift/Dial
-Pan Gasket, E40D
-Filter, E40D
-Solenoid Assembly
-CH, E40D Wire Hardness Kit
-Transeal Conditioner & Sealer
-Full Synthetic ATF
It could very well be the valve cover gaskets are bad too. Don't be so quick to pull that transmission out, it's a big job for a novice, as a matter of fact unless you have space, time and tools, I'd actually consider letting your local trusted mechanic tackle the rear main seal, IF that's what it is, one reason for that is, If it is the seal, did it score the crank? Can you sleeve it or will you now have to, replace the crank? How much money are you willing to throw at this project? These are just my thoughts.
I'll probably call a few mechanic shops to get a quote on replacing that seal. Just to get an idea.
I would say it's either a pan gasket or rear main seal.
Either job I would not lead a novice into ... Now don't get me wrong, I am all for those learning how to do their own work, that is one of the reasons I hang out here.
This job is a bit much for the beginner, it could be dangerous, if it's not done right it will have to be done again!
So, Either have someone do it, OR better yet, find someone that will do it with you!
One thing I do see no one else has mentioned, That pan was NOT installed by whomever built the motor, so maybe it was a long/short block and the monkey that installed the motor put the pan on and didn't get the rear hump sealed correctly!
wow ... $1600 to have the tranny "serviced" ? seems to me that should almost be enough for a full rebuild including re&re, and the scary part is that they felt the need to add some transmission seal conditioner and sealant.
as previously stated, move slowly here (as long as the fluid loss is not rapid). clean everything off, top up fluids and then monitor which fluid is leaking, where from, and how rapidly.
wow ... $1600 to have the tranny "serviced" ? seems to me that should almost be enough for a full rebuild including re&re, and the scary part is that they felt the need to add some transmission seal conditioner and sealant.
as previously stated, move slowly here (as long as the fluid loss is not rapid). clean everything off, top up fluids and then monitor which fluid is leaking, where from, and how rapidly.
That's what I'll do. I'm going to change the oil and oil filter tomorrow morning. I'll put a pan underneath the truck and see how it looks after a week. Would it leak faster if it was being driven? And how fast of leaking should make me concerned enough to take it to the shop vs. just adding oil?
It won't leak unless running ... It'll only drip whats leaked.
How soon it needs fixing fixed depends on how bad it leaks, how much oil you want to feed it and how long you want to deal with the drippy mess everywhere ...
It won't leak unless running ... It'll only drip whats leaked.
How soon it needs fixing fixed depends on how bad it leaks, how much oil you want to feed it and how long you want to deal with the drippy mess everywhere ...
So I haven't messed with it in a while but I did figure out that it is probably the valve covers instead of the rear main seal. I read the report from the mechanic shop a little closer today and they mentioned "Engine oil leak noted at the valve covers". And there is definitely oil in that are.
That is some good news. From my research that appears to be an easier job than the rear main seal.
My new question is, while I have the valve covers off is there anything else I should swap out while I have the chance?
