dpritch87

How hard is it to get the tranny out? I'm about to buy an '86 5.0 with the same problem. The current owner said that it leaks bad enough to warrant putting a piece of cardboard or something under it. The weird thing is that it only has 75k miles. At least, that's what it says on the odo...but I'm starting to doubt that now. Maybe it's because it has a turbo coupe 3.73 rear in it? In other words, he could have pulled the tranny then and done something wrong when he put it back in.

will

Age effects seals worse than use, its dry-rotted,cracked, hard ect. Unfortunate but cheaper than buying a new car.

dpritch87

Ah, I see. Still, I'm not actually buying the car. I'm trading it for my current car, a '99 Camry. I kind of feel like a fool for wanting to trade for a car that's much older than mine and leaks oil...but, I love these cars. Any work that needs to be done, I can do. I just want to make sure that it won't be out of my league.

lookinforastang

the job itself is easy

taking the old seal out can be tricky.. u dont want to damage the outer ring because that'll just make it leak more.

just about every 5.0 has a leaking rear main. some more than others. if it needs cardboard its probably the main seal and the oil pan gasket that is leaking.

a rear main shouldnt be noticable unless u monitor the oil everyday (like i do!)

dpritch87

Ok, I guess I won't worry about it then. I was just kind of worried, because my dad had an '86 5.0 motor in his '68 F-100, and it leaked like crazy. He was buying oil every week. Now that I think about it, though, I'm pretty sure it was because the oil pan he had wouldn't fit properly in his truck. Anyhow, I'll be sure to check the oil pan gasket after I get the car. (I've pretty much decided to go ahead and get it.)

gr84u

Three main spots: oilpan, valve covers, and rear main seal. Those VC can also drip all the way to the h-pipe, I know mine did.

nacanitihs

^^ well it might be that idk tho... there is no leak when the car is just sitting there. but im moniterin the oil to see how much it actually leaks. i would rather it be the valve covers instead of the rear main. idk was your engin covered in oil? or did you just notice it on the hpipe.. and my coolant slowly declines too.. i just fixed the overflow tube cuz it had a hole in it but it still declines only slower now.. so could it be the valve cover gaskets or head gasket instead?

mrbigshot

it could but it would not explain the leaking oil. go to the parts store and buy some brake cleaner (the red can- with cfc's) and sray off the area around your valve covers and the rear main seal (back of oil pan) and run the car (might take a day or to depending on the leak). than look for fresh oil where you sprayed, that will tell you what is leaking.

i suggest the red can as it dries fast. the green can (no cfc's for the tree huggers) takes forever to dry.