jwbehm

Just noticed my new (to me) 1999 Toyota 4Runner was leaking some oil. It was a small puddle right under where i park it in the garage. Something to worry about? I have a 3 year 36k miles warranty at CARMAX by the way, came with it when i bought it. It is a 5 Speed manual.

EDIT

Pics at bottom

Rick F.

Where's it leaking from? I doubt the warranty will cover it, depending on what it is.

jwbehm

It looks to be coming from the Transfer case, right under the 4x4 unit.

MTL_4runner

Could be an output seal.....post a pic if you got one.

bamachem

it might be covered. check your warranty paperwork and post a pic ASAP.

Lone4runner

yeah i d be interested to know how this turns out also since i have a leak but am presently looking for it. It looks like it may be the transfer case but i am not sure. Is your leak a fast one or slow one?

Rick F.

The color of the oil would be helpful (i.e., crankcase oil vs. gearcase oil).

jvangun

I'm sure it could be a million things but, mine was leaking and when I took it in they told me that some Toyota's (mines and 02) dont have drain plug seals and that just the plug can eventually lead to leaks or that the seal fell out and was not replaced during my last oil change. Either way, new seal on oil pan drain plug = no leaky

mjwalfredo

Maybe they just changed the oil on the truck? The first time I brought mine in to have the oil changed, I thought it was leaking oil. Turns out that the oil from the filter drips on to the skid plate once it is put back on. From there it drips onto the ground and made me really nervous the first time I saw it.

Rick F.

This completely slipped my mind. Yep, the dreaded oil change "spill-down-the-engine-block-and-frame-rails-then-all-over-the-skid-plate-when-you-unscrew-the-oil-filter-then-drip-onto-the-ground" problem... Wouldn't THAT be lucky instead of a seal/gasket failure?

jwbehm

I will get a pic of the drips and of where it is coming from when i get home.

It is a slow drip, there were two drips total when it was sitting in the garage last night.

jwbehm

Sorry it took so long. Here are a couple pictures.

Leak:


Where I think its coming from:


Leak and where its coming from:


Im taking the car to Toyota once I get the warranty transferred into my name, to get a full lookover.

4-RUNNIN' FREAK

I noticed a leak there too after I drove from NJ to Florida. ('02 4R)
The T case was more or less covered in some fluid residue.
I cleaned it up and I didn't notice anymore leaks. I'll have to check again one day since I have been using the 4R more in the snow/ice.

Lone4runner

that looks like a really clean undercarriage ufortunately mine has been leakig long enough were the grease has covered the top of the trasfercase to the bottom. i am inclined to say that it is the seal on top that is my problem. i dunno. i am still researching to see which seals need to be replaced if i drop the transfer case. good luck on yours

jwbehm

Think it is ok to drive it?


There is another picture. If you look closely you can see that it is covered in black on the top left. The black scrapes right off.

Hopefully it is just a seal.

TACOMANATOR

Remove the bigger bolt on the right with the blue mark and check to see if there is fluid in the case (stick your finger in the hole ). If not, you need to get some gear lube and top it off. There is no telling if it is ok to drve without checking the fluid level. Don't overtighten the bolt when you put it back on, just snug it up.

Lone4runner

hell mine looked ten times worse before. as long as there is fluid in the case you will be all right. I am going to wait to till the spring to drop down my transfer case. so driving it will be fine

jwbehm

I know this is old, but I finally got the warranty company to cover it. The only problem was that it was overfilled and it was foaming out of the top. The stealership drained out the extra oil and it is fine.

snap-on

good deal.

btw (for next time) gear oil has a very distinct smell to it

jwbehm

Yeah I got them to fix a couple other things for free while they were working on it (mainly shifter bushing)