2002 Tundra Rear Main leak

Hi there,
We bought our son a 2002 Tundra V6 about three months ago. 153k miles, runs great! About 2 weeks ago we noticed a few drips of what looked and smelled like oil to me. I got up under the truck and could see the drips, but not the origin. The oil level is fine but the transmission fluid is a bit low.

We took it to the mechanic that sold it to us, he said it's the rear main. I've googled (of course) and seen good and bad stories about these things. I am obviously not a 'car person' and pretty much know how to check the oil, tire pressure and other fluids but beyond that- I'm pretty useless.

Question to you guys, once this is replaced, have y'all seen issues continue? We were quoted what I feel like is a good price based on what I read.

Thanks in advance.

 

How much is it leaking? If it's just a few drops I would leave it alone. My wife drives a 2012 Rav4 and the rear main seal started leaking at 90K miles. Not the Toyota reliability I was expecting. Anyways, it's been a year and the leak hasn't gotten worse. Even the shop that diagnosed it said they would not fix it. It's a nearly 20 hour job on the Rav4 at a cost of $1800-$2200.

Unless it's to the point that you're having to add oil I wouldn't worry about it. I'm guessing they quoted you a similar price? If you want to spend that much money on it I would do other routine maintenance or replace the suspension parts.

 

Thank you for that info! It's a slow leak but he told us to go no more than 3 months without getting it fixed. Our quote was a lot less than that the high end being $600. I may let it go for a bit. I'm just afraid fixing one major thing may lead to another and another.

 

That seems like a really good price. Do you trust this shop? I don't understand the urgency if it's a slow leak like that. That really don't make sense considering they have to drop the transmission to replace the seal. Maybe it's just that much easier than the Rav4.

As for you concern, I really don't see how replacing this would lead to more and more repairs. But keep in mind it is a 17 year old truck. Even with low miles like that, it's likely going to need some work. On that note, do you know if the previous owner changed the timing belt? On the V8 it's required that you change them every 90k. I believe the V6 is the same interval or close to it. That would be something to look into.

 

@empty_lord how many hours would your dealership bill for a rear main fix?

 

Can you post up some pics of the leak?

 

I assume this mechanic has diagnosed the leak properly....but these engines are known to leak from the valve covers once they get some miles on them (like 100K+) and if it's at the back, it can look like a main seal leak from underneath cause that is where the oil ends up...valve cover gaskets are much easier/cheaper to replace than a main seal...just a thought.

 

I did a rear main seal once, after the seal was replaced oil came pouring out. My advice is to switch to a high mileage oil it has seal conditioners. Or if you are using synthetic switch to conventional but do oil changes sooner.

On another car I owned i switched to conventional oil and it never leaked after switching.

 

My 2006 started leaking 4 or 5 years ago, I use "Blue Devil rear main seal" additive every couple of years. It works.

 

I don't think I can get proper pictures. All I could see were a few drops hanging on the bottom of the car. I am sorry!

 

Not going to lie, I have a hard time trusting any shop, however...we bought the truck from him, so I am hoping he knows it very well. The urgency is more for my piece of mind and we want to get it taken care of before school starts back (never time then). He did replace the timing belt and I believe he said the water pump prior to us buying. Thank you for the information!!

 

eh toyota warranty time is 4 hours.. now warranty time is usually grossly low. id wager around 8 hours. now that these things are getting older they dont come apart like i would under warranty!

 

damn im good. alldata came back up. 7.9 hours is book

 

Lol I drove a Tacoma with a rear main seal for 50,000 miles. It’s a teenagers truck anyways it’s going to be wrecked soon most likely anyhow. Just drive it and park it in the street.

 

When it comes to oil leaks....unless it leaks so badly that I have to add more than a quart or two between oil changes I just don't worry if its in a hard to fix place.

 

Let her drip!

 

This is what I was going to say, too. I'd look at the back and sides of the valve covers to see if it's wet with oil. If so, you might even be able to get away with lightly snugging down the bolts that hold the valve covers on (I got lucky this way). The gaskets all shrink over time and sometimes snugging them down is all it takes to stop the leak. Just go really easy/ snug with one hand holding the socket wrench head...don't crank down.

 

I feel like there are only 2 scenarios here that make sense.

1) This mechanic is Honest Abe, and is giving you a good deal on the repair because he sold you the truck and feels bad, or
2) It's actually leaking from somewhere else that's much easier to fix and he's going to fix in in 2 hours and bill you for 6.

Of all the people we've had come here and ask for help, you're only the 2nd person that has reported a rear main leak. I did a search and only found one other post. That person reported paying $1,100. It doesn't seem to be a common issue for 1st gens. I would get a 2nd opinion before you do anything. Personally, I would just keep an eye on the leak and use that $600 for other routine maintenance.

 

Rear main leaks are getting more common as the trucks age. But the valve covers are by far more common. Out of all the tundras I work on I’ve probably seen 3 4.7s leaking from the rear main

 

That sounds right to me...but how about 3.4 V6s...like this truck has? I'm assuming it's numbers are similar....?

 

Haha. In 5 years I’ve only seen 2 or 3 trucks with that engine (tundra). I’ve yet to see one in a taco or tundra leak from the rear main. Always valve covers on those sobs

 

New VCG and PVC really make the engine run better. They can only be snugged tight for a couple times before not effective anymore. Trust me.

Anyone have a schematic of this ‘rear main seal’. Curious where it is on our trucks.

 

From 2002 Tundra with 4.7....



From a 2002 Tundra with the 3.4...

 

Looks like a 6 banger.

 

"New VCG and PVC really make the engine run better."

What would the valve cover gasket have to do with how the engine ran?

 

Well, I’ll play your game.

1) Why have VCG in the first place? No reason for them?

2) Why keep a clogged PCV Valve when it was designed to ‘vent’? I’m sure a non-vented engine runs better than a vented one?

 

Found this schematic for what ‘looks’ to be the rear main seal for 2002 4.7L, but its up front? This schematic is the rear or front of engine?

Part 11381

 

Looks like the rear main seal is up front. Probably this drip from this seal shows its self on the oil pan just below. This may be where my ‘weep’ is eminating. I’ve been hawkeye on this thing and its hard to trace up from the oil pan where is showing itself, but its just under this ‘rear oil seal’ thats up front?

My oil levels are stable. Not losing any oil other than two three drips per 2-3 week on the oil pan facing front.

 

I don't see how the seal could be up front in the REAR main seal. The RMS is the one between the engine and the transmission.