StarGazer

Need Help!!!

I have a leak between where the transmission meets the oil pan (anyone else with this problem). A mechanic quoted me $400 to replace the oil pan gasket (8hrs. labor).

Considering Lucas Stop Leak. Anyone have any luck with this product? Its not leaking that bad.

bob200587

No, most if not all of the magical quick fixes don't really work.

You should be able to do this yourself pretty easily. Drain the oil, unbolt the pan, clean, replace gasket or use RVT or whatever you're supposed to use, bolt it back on.

sharrack

Have you tried tightening the pan bolts?
not killing them..... just a snug to make sure they are tight.
kenny s

StarGazer

Yes, I did tighten most of the bolts, the ones I could reach. Just my luck I get this awesome 4Runner that requires the diff to be dropped to get to the bloody oil pan. Geezzz..

I dumped a half of bottle of Lucas Stop Leak yesterday.... we'll see....updates later

James Woods

iTrader: (1)

BigBallsMcFalls

hope you pack a bicycle in the back so U can get back to
food and shelter without walking

TOY89

Lucas Oil stop leak have helped some of my friends that have had leaking issues. I think its a hit and miss using that stuff. If you have the skill and cash its always better to do these repairs yourself, but sometimes this cheap alternative will hold you up for some time. Best of luck.

vital22re

iTrader: (2)

what those products do is soften rubber seals. What they will not do, is fix cracks,tears and other pysical damage. The oil pan is not a rubber gasket.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

I have never seen the Lucas stop leak but I do use the oil additive in all my high mileage engines .

I had one that had a bunch of minor leaks from sitting for years but these where from dried out rubber gaskets.

Pulling a oil pan off in the truck is quite a pain to be sure once was enough for me never again.

Texas_Ace

I feel bad for you, that stuff is evil and never to be used in a motor you care about.

I would have just put a pan under the truck to catch the oil and kept topping it off till I could fix it right over that stuff.

$400 Repair < $2500 engine replacement.

Batsoff

I have a similiar issue StarGazer...

At first I thought it was the valve cover gaskets, so I replaced those without much luck in solving the issue.

Then I had the shop pull the front diff and re-seal the oil plan, that also did not fix the issue.

So I have still have an oil leak somewhere on the back of the engine that no one seems to be able to find. I'm open to suggestions on where to start looking.

-batsoff
2000 4Runner Highlander

93toyrunner2

Lucas did not work for me. I tried it to solve a rear main seal leak that had a slow drip. When I rebuilt the block, I made the mistake of not using a OEM rear main seal. One to two drops a night. The leak continued to get worse over time, eventually starting to leak out the clutch shift fork. Since I use the truck for service calls, I could not have this drip leave a stain in the clients driveway.
What worked for my 3VZE:
4.5 quarts of Valvoline VR-1 Racing 20W-50 ($5.25 each - highest zinc content) and 1 can of Bar's Rear Main Seal Stop Leak ($9.95), 1 can of brake cleaner to spray all the old oil leakage off. As soon as I changed the oil and added the Bar's, I took the truck for a 75+ mile drive on the interstate. 850+ miles later, and not a single drip. It also works for other leaks, not just the rear main seal.
Do not overfill the oil!

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Throw your money out the window going down the highway or flush it down the toilet.
That will fix your oil leak as well as that junk will.

:wabbit2:

93toyrunner2

Rear Main Seal - you have to pull the transmission to see it.

ksti

X2 to vital, This could open up another can of worms.

Team420

Thats great, 850+ miles without a drop

Now lets just fast forward about 5000 miles.... Hows that oil leak gonna b then

93toyrunner2

By then I will have had the time to drop the trans and replace the rear main seal with OEM. This is not a permanent fix, just a temporary one. While working 2 jobs, it is difficult to find time to drop a trans on your DD.
And yes, after there was an oil leak for 3 months, non stop, any period of more than one day with out a leak is good.

StarGazer

Took the 4Runner to the shop, letting the experts fix it. Will post results


I am a little shocked that these vehicles do not use oil pan gaskets. Not a good idea, long term. A gasket is more stable than RTV.

Texas_Ace

It is not your normal RTV, it is FIPG, RTV on steroids. It works fine actually, better then most gaskets I have used. The only issue with it is getting it off, it is not fun trying to clean the surface to reinstall it.

streetlancer

iTrader: (1)

They use something better then a gasket: it's called toyota's fipg.