jonnydclark

Hi,
I recently picked up a 91 4-Runner and the PO told me that the rear main seal had been leaking for a while before the clutch went out. There was a lot of grease / oil in the area. So much so that a few drops ran out when the split occurred and the tranny separated from the engine.

Looking at it I'm not sure if it is the rear main seal (already picked one up and don't mind installing), the oil pan or the valve covers.

1. Is it likely an oil pan leak in that area or is that "unheard of?"
2. Do the rear mains leak often? I always hear about head gaskets and everything else is fine.
3. Anything else I should do while I'm in here?

It runs great so I'm guessing it isn't the head gasket and the oil is certainly above the head gasket on the back side of the heads. Please take a look at the pics and tell me your thoughts.

Also, the clutch went into powder so the rivets got into the fly wheel but only about 3" long and I can only feel it with my finger nails not with flat finger. Should I resurface it or get a new one?

Thanks.

92dlxman

how does the input seal on the tranny look. . . . .. . . . .?

jonnydclark

Is that around the bearing? I'm not sure what that the input seal is or what it should look like.

I'm planning on changing the gear oil while I have it out.

abecedarian

Looking at the pic above, doesn't look like it's the rear main leaking. you'd see oil around the crank but the oil looks like it's spread "up" from the pan. having said that, you said you bought the seal and don't mind replacing it so you probably should- that should keep you from going back in there to replace the seal at least until the next time you replace the clutch. It's one of those "should've done it while I was there" things.

As for the flywheel, I'm not a fan of turning / resurfacing them. You don't have a lot of metal there to remove before you're affecting the clamping pressure of the pressure plate. If you're on a tight budget, turn it, but if not replace it- the difference between turning or replacing may be 20-30 versus 70-180, but consider the cost of putting a new flywheel in now will save you the cost of the clutch plate, and your time.