hi i have a 95 4runner 4wd automatic with a remanufactured engine w/ 5k miles on it. When i bought the truck the dealership that inspected it said they saw oil dripping but it was highly unprobable it was leak. they thought it was just old oil from the previously blown engine. it was just a 1-2 drops when i would park and in the 4 months I have owned prior to this week i added 1 quart of oil which still wasnt much. then this past week I changed the oil and since then it has started leaking really bad. i have put 3/4 of a quart in just this week. 1/2 a quart in two days. sometimes its a few drops other times its a puddle left under my truck. it seems to be dripping off of the what looks like the crossmember for the 4wd or part of the axle? the dealership said if this is leaking its the rear main seal? without using tracing dye is there a way I can tell? has anyone had this problem?

 

5k miles and a leak?
Most common is valve covers leaking. It's only dripping off the axle cause it drips down. Did the same thing when my valve covers leaked before I fixed 'em.
Any sort of warranty on the engine?

 

ok i will look into that too thank you! Ya i know thats why the dealership was doubtful it was truly leaking. my warranty is only on parts not labor unfortunetly. The guy i bought from said if its the rear main seal he might be able to get that covered fully under warranty but anything else and I am paying the labor. Do you know how much labor is involved with either the rear main or the valve cover?

 

It started leaking after you changed the oil !!!!!

Did you change it or go to the quicky mart oil change??

Did you get the gasket on the drain plug??

Did you get the filter tight?? The old gasket came off with the filter ??

plug and filter were tight.

Did you check for leaks after the oil change??

either of those leaking will be blown back from driving dripping down from the back of the engine.

 

Yes all those are present and checked. The filter has been checked and is not leaking. The weird thing is I added oil Friday night then checked it yesterday and I had lost all I added it was at half on the dipstick I didn't add any yesterday and when I checked it today it stayed pretty much the same didn't loose much but today I added oil to make it almost full again I started it up and watched it leak out all the oil I put in but then it slowed once it got to half on the dipstick... My dad is thinking maybe they gave me the wrong dipstick on the engine? I can't see a company being that stupid but... Maybe?

 

Sounds like a warranty issue to me. They didn't do something right and didn't bother to check their work to make sure they did.

 

Turned out to be a front crank seal behind the timing cover. "Defective part" so unfortunently I am responsible for the labor but the guy is gonna see what kind of a deal he can cut me....

 

Rarely are seals/gaskets themselves defective.

The defective part is usually the installer/installation not following instructions (like thoroughly cleaning gasket surfaces) or being sloppy w/ their work and rolling the gasketwhen it should have stayed flat, etc...

Point being, I'd push back. Rarely are gasket themselves defective if quality parts are used in the first place.