So, got stuck in the mud and i think my rear main seals leaking in my 6.2...

[Dabba]

I got the truck in the mud/water up to the front bumper and doors. It was left running for a few hours as we made mulitple attemps to pull it out. As the truck sat in the water i noticed she smoked alot more than she normally does (she hardly ever smokes) which had me concerned but no biggie. Pull the truck out and take a look under it, im loosing a lot of oil what looks like between the tranny and engine. Im not sure how i did this, i mean maybe it bottomed out or could sitting in the water do this? I also hear what sounds like a glass marble bouncing around in time with the rpms of the engine as she engine brakes. I was only 5 min away from my house and i assume this may have been from low oil, but the oil light never went on. I have two hasily taken pictures. I dont think i have the skills to tackle a rear main, and was wondering if anyone had their mechanic do it and how much it cost them?

 

[protechk5]

Well assuming it is your rear main seal, its not that bad. Im pretty sure 86 is a two piece, so you dont have to pull the tranny. Really not much to it, just takes a while. Search in the diesel section and you ll find plenty of info.

 

[Lunatic]

6.2 Diesel.....

2 pc seal.....

Drop the pan, drop the oil pump, drop the bearing cap. Pull one half of the seal out, pull the other half of the seal out. Lube the new seal, verify direction of install, slide the first half in completely, mount the second half and use it to slide the first half back out on the other side maybe 1 inch (visible).....

Re-install everything else in reverse order.

Its very simple to do even for a first time wrench holder. Time will be anywhere from 2 hrs (experienced) to......A nice Saturday (first timer).

I do this more often than desired at work when the soldier's HMMWVs come in for service - They beat the schitt out of them because they know we're there to fix em - I see it as job security..and soldier support - Good combination if you ask me !


Good luck - You can do this


Troy B
Ft Hood, TX

 

[Dabba]

thanks, maybe illl give it a shot. The two main things that concern me though is the noise and the smoking though..

 

[Dabba]

well, i couldnt start her because all i get is a click, with the starter underwater for hours no surprise its shot. I checked the oil and its like a cm up from the end of the dipstick, which isnt that bad i guess considering, down 2 quarts i guess. I guess the next course of action is to get the starter off and tested at autozone, then run the motor and check where the leak is again and go from there, or bring it to my mechanic haha. I dont know why i gotta break stuff in winter

 

[cegusman]

If it sat in water that long. I would change the fluid in everything in the next few days. Willing to bet water is in the diffs, trans, motor, and maybe power steering. May need to also pull your front wheel hubs off and repack the bearings, there will be water in there. I wouldn't run the motor until the oil has been changed either.

 

[Dabba]

yeah, thats a given

 

[Dabba]

I should also mention the starter is covered in oil, still think its the rear main seal or could it be anything else? I noticed the pass side heads were darker, toward the rear (but didnt see any actual oil leaking from there) and the truck was smoking more than it should have been. head gasket? Valve cover? Cracked block? or is it the rear main?

 

[Lunatic]

The starter would become "covered" in oil as the flex plate slings what is leaking from the rear main, and it will eventually drip down, onto the flex plate/starter cover and then run out onto the starter.

Im leaning towards the rear main still. This is not to say it can't be something else or a combination of everything you've listed.

The darker heads make me consider leaking valve covers, towards the rear. Drips to the heads then cooks.



Hope this helps



Troy B
Ft Hood, TX

 

[Dabba]

thanks man, but i mean it looks slightly darker, but i had a little stream of oil coming down under the truck so im unsure if it came from there, but that was a day and a half ago. the top of the starter had no oil on it, thats for sure. The truck did bottom out when she had the mud, not hard at all, i was crawling. i guess i should refill the oil and get her started and see where its coming from.. maybe i can drop the pan and look for any damage. Maybe i shifted it or something?

 

[Lunatic]

Shifted......The pan ??

I believe that if you damaged the pan to any extent - You definitely would be able to see it with or without oil in it.....lol

You saw a stream from there - Where is "there" ? The starter housing ? Once the oil is slung, it hits the top of the starter housing inside the cover and from there - It runs like water so......It could be on both sides of the starter, one side.... You may have a covered starter.....Hard to say.

And, BTW - Pull the plug on your pan once more before filling. You'll be surprised what has settled since you parked it and drained it last. You are going to (read: need to) change your filter right ?


Troy B
Ft Hood, TX

 

[Dabba]

oh of course, i didnt drain it yet. I mean the little oil stream was coming from between the pan and tranny. The starter had oil on its lower half, not on top. Think im gonna pull it tommorow so ill know for sure. if its only on the lower half, still think it may be a rear main or the pan? It only started leaking AFTER it was pulled out.. im sure if it happend when i took the plunge it would have seized the motor shortly after. She was sitting in the muddy water for hours before we got her out, running the whole time.

 

[Lunatic]

I stand by my earlier post - Rear main.

Tomorrow when you pull the starter you will also need to pull the flex plate cover. A sure fire way to check the main seal is if the oil "up there" is higher than the pan valley seal, you have a rear main leak. Be sure to have a flashlight.

Being that you swamped the lower half - You will msot likely need to wipe and clean everything you can inside the cover area, change your oil, and then run it for a bit. Check it for leaks then - You'll have a clean plate with the oil showing up....Somewhere.



Troy B
Ft Hood, TX

 

[Dabba]

Lunatic youve been very helpful this far, thank you. Where exactly is the pan valley seal? as im going into unkown territory here. Ill be sure to wipe it all down before i try to run her as too check where the leak is coming from. Im sure ill wanna put the cover back on or can she idle without it? Would leaving it off make it easier to help id the leak or would it be dangerous and harmful?

Im hoping if i clean/replace my cdr the leak will go away but i know it wont be that easy

 

[Russell]

You don't need the inspection plate cover installed to run the engine. Just don't stick your hand in there while the engine is running There are no seals on the cover to be concerned with, just clean things up in there and find out if the oil is coming from the main seal (which I still doubt based on the pics you posted in the diesel section), and if not there, then where

 

[Dabba]

Where do you suspect? the top of the starter isnt wet with oil so im thinking something bottom end like the rear main or pan seal, im hoping its the pan. I guess if i leave the cover off and run the engine ill find out real quick huh? haha

 

[Russell]

The biggest thing with a leak like the pan or the main is that they arn't a pressurized area, they will slowly leak, but won't ever cause a stream of oil. Thats due to a leak in a pressurized area.

I'm guessing you either damaged your oil filter or a cooler line myself

 

[Dabba]

ahhhh, interesting, but when i say stream it wasnt a pressurized jet, it was just a lot of oil leaking so it was little stream instead of a drrip, ill keep that in mind though

 

[Lunatic]

Checking in late tonight.....sorry - Got issues of my own which I will thread up in a bit.

Um....lets see

You can indeed run with no cover....Ive ran to work and back many weeks without it...You risk having something bounce up from the road and damage the flex plate/ flywheel teeth, maybe louge up in there for bigger problems.....But I never break 35 on the way to work - And its a 10 minute paved road so.....But - Yeah - Off to check for leaks, idling is kosher.

The "valley seal".....Dependant on which gasket you have on your oil pan, you may have one piece or FOUR. The valley is the front and rear of the pan, where the half circle resides. If looking down on a loose oil pan, they would be referred to as valleys, in military short term......So, not the long sides of the pan, but the half circles.....Valley..

Check this link for to see the four piece (Oil Pan, #2, item 30-4293)

So wipe the back side of the engine block the best you can, as high as you can. The "valley seal" actually seals to the crank shaft bearing cap, which...Is where the rear main sits.....it seals the rear end of the crank shaft.


I understand your descript of "stream"...A line of oil....not a river running down or anything....



I think I answered everything or most of it....Ill check back shortly.

And oh - Killeen, Texas. I am one hour north of Austin, the state capital, and literally 4 blocks away from the military base here, Fort Hood, which is where I also work, supporting the troops.




Troy B
Ft Hood, TX

 

[Dabba]

thanks, i was guessing that was it. I went out today and put the plugs back in. I got under the truck and im not sure where the oil cooler lines run but i saw some metal lines running under/around the pan which looked intact, the leak def came from up between the inspection plate and pan. I got under the truck to try to take the starter off but just bruised my knuckles with the socket wrench a few times. I finally said eff it and im having a mechanic do it. As much as i hate the spend the money i think its a better option.

First the road and underside of the truck is dirty as hell and i dont have a way to wash it off, its 20 degrees out with a foot of snow on the ground, and i get get my compressor out to the truck for the impact gun, plus i dont feel like that dirty envirorment is good to do anything serious in, id even feel better in the driveway. I was thinking if i got oil in it and started i can limp it a few miles to my grandmothers to do the rear main in the garage but with a raging leak that bad i dont wanna risk the motor again, plus if i did any serious damage its at the mechanics already. I do thank you for all the knowledge though. If it were in the spring or summer and i could have got it in the driveway at least with the proper tools i may have done it. I hate spending money i dont need to. Im gonna do the fluids myself though.