2uz Help

Figured I’d post up here to get some feedback back from members who's knowledge surpasses mine regarding these vehicles.

2005 Tundra AC, limited 4wd about 134k miles


TLDR: Had rear main seal replaced. Still had an oil leak near the bell housing and was fixed again under warranty. Took it home and on ride temp gauge started to rise, AC would shut off while stuck in traffic and normalize when driving. Fast-forward couple days, saw more fluid at bell housing, brought back and now has trans fluid leaking at the bell housing where trans attaches to the engine. Brought back, they cleaned area and drove it but, its not leaking any more. What?


Had the rear main seal replaced from a reputable mechanic I’ve been using for years and also comes highly recommended. Before I left after initial rear main replacement they advised that they saw some trans fluid but was able to find where it was coming from when they got it all put back together.

A few days later I saw more oil in the same spot. Brought the truck back and they put another seal in along with an oil plug while in there. Drove home and while stuck in traffic, I noticed the temp gauge started to rise to about the 2/3 mark and the AC kicked off while I was sitting in traffic. As soon as traffic lightened, the temp gauge proceeded to normal and the AC kicked back on. I planned to take it to a closer shop that, at this point, I am trusting more to look over the overheating.

A couple of days go by, mind you I dont drive this as a daily and I again noticed oil from the bell housing near the dust plate (pic for reference)

It was hard to tell at the time but clearly pinkish/trans fluid.

Brought back the truck and had them “check it out” and was advised it was trans fluid. Mind you, the audio message was that they checked a “few things” cleaned it up drove it around and are not able to see any more trans fluid leaking. Upon my research, it appears this could be a trans input shaft leak from shotty work during the rear main replacement.

They were also unable to recreate any temp fluctuation while test driving the vehicle under various conditions.

I’d like to get anyones opinion honestly. I feel as though they are tired of dropped the transmission to determine the issue. If I recall correctly, the trans lines run through the radiator on these things but, was told the fan clutch and power draw was a ok for the ac/cooling.

Ill be calling them tomorrow to go further into what they did but, in the time being would love to hear what anyone has to say. Thank you.

 

Have you checked your PCV valve to see if it is plugged? You have two of the tell-all symptoms, at least on your engine.

 

Is it ATF or Toyota coolant. Coolant is reddish/pink and feels slippery. If you wet your fingertip and touch to your tongue it has a sweet taste. ATF is oily. Pan gaskets don’t usually leak unless it’s ever been opened. Check the hoses to the cooler and anything bolts to the tranny. There is an inspection cover used to access the flex plate bolts and you can open it to look for ATF in there which would indicate a front seal leak but again rare in our trucks. Coolant can leak from the water pump, one of two o-rings in the valley and weep out the back on the bell housing or an number of coolant hoses.

 

Can this be more of a coolant issue. Bad o-ring in the engine valley?
I went thru something like This before

https://www.tundras.com/threads/coolant-leak-bypass-pipe-o-ring.81275/#post-2055606

 

Ill give this a look at when I get the truck back.

I believe it was a bit oily, but going in about a week without the truck has me unsure. Ill check these when I get the truck back.

I planned to do injectors this week after getting the truck back so I guess a good of a time as ever to check.


Thank you all for your input!

 

Edit: I see the trans fluid now. Missed it the first time.
This is what used transmission fluid will look like, plus it’s almost water thin so won’t usually form such a large droplet as can be seen from me dipping couple nails in some old fluid I have.
From picture looks more like fresh oil.