Bought a 2000 2wd 5speed pickup back in December with 81kmiles. Just noticed a slight oil leak coming out of the hole between the flywheel cover and trans after 2 thousand miles. The truck had Mobil 1 in it when I bought it and I changed it with Castrol conventional oil. I am assuming this is the Rear Main Seal (RMS) leaking and the only way to fix it is to remove trans, clutch, flywheel and replace it. Did a search and didnt see much on this subject. Someone has used BarsLeaks with success and others have changed from Synth to Conventional oil. I have already switched to conventional oil and dont like to add leak stopping stuff to the engine oil. I think my only option is to replace the RMS. Any other ideas?

 

1 idea.
Check to be sure it is motor oil and not brake fluid.You may have a leaking slave cylinder.

 

Its motor oil sadly to say. The Haynes manual says on a 2WD the RMS can be replaced by removing the trans, clutch, and flywheel. Has anyone done this?

 

I just ripped the trans out of my 95 ranger but it was a 4x4. I would think yours would not be as hard. Mine was a pain but everything was super rusty.

 

I have the same problem with my 99 4x4 ext cab., only mine has 177,000 miles on it. I've got to have a "lower end overhaul" done on mine. Nothing major is going wrong, just needs a little TLC. Switching from synthetic to conventional will only hide the problem, and it'll probably get worse. Just go ahead and plan a few days to replace the RMS and that way you can check to see if all is well while your at it. Good luck.

 

Changed to Castrol 10w40 high milage conventional oil and the leak stopped. I dont know how long it will last but hopefully it will postpone the RMS repair for awhile.