Gear oil leak.

The pinion bearing and pinion oil seal are bad. It is leaking a considerable amount of gear oil out the front yoke and began making a heavy rubbing noise. It is also idling rough like running over rumble strips. I removed the 14-bolt cover plate on back of the rear differential and drained the remaining gear oil, which revealed no metal fragments.The ring and pinion gears showed no signs of damage (no chips or scarring on the teeth).
Experienced mechanics share their insights in answering this question :
Hello. Pinion bearing seals can leak due to normal wear or as a result of excessive pinion bearing play. A growling sound can indicate a worn pinion bearing as well. If the noise changes during acceleration, the cause is most likely the pinion bearing. As for your rough idle concern, there are dozens of causes, especially since your vehicle uses the temperamental electronic-feedback carburetor. I suggest you have a trained professional, such as one from YourMechanic, inspect the oil leak and diagnose the idling issue your vehicle is encountering.

How to Identify and Fix Common car Problems ?

Our sources include academic articles, blog posts, and personal essays from experienced mechanics :

The vast majority of leaks are due to degraded engine gaskets, oil pan leaks, oil seals or bad connections. Crawl under the car and check the oil pan seals. While you`re there also check the oil pan drain plug. Next check the timing cover seal and the valve cover gaskets.
Oil Pan Gasket Leak

Oil pan gasket is the most common cause. The gasket seals the connection between the engine and transmission. The gasket`s leak will cause oil to seep into the transmission. Another possible cause of leakage is improper seals or gaskets that seal these two components together.

The oil pan, oil filter, or the rear main seal (rear crankshaft seal) could be leaking. Check the oil filter and make sure that it is on tight. Then take a socket and wrench and check all of the oil pan bolts and see if any of them are loose.
Gear oil usually leaks due to damaged gaskets but leaks very slowly because it is thick.
A transmission fluid leak could also occur due to a faulty or damaged transmission pan gasket. How does this happen? Your transmission pan gasket could malfunction due to poor manufacturing, bad gasket alignment, or excessive heat exposure.
Introduction: A transmission seal is an important component of any vehicle, providing a protective barrier between your engine and the gearbox. This seal prevents leakage while bonded piston maintains even pressure across sealing surface, ensuring optimal performance of your vehicle.
To be sure, you`ll need to pinpoint where it`s coming from using your eyes and your nose. Amber, dark brown or even black fluid is probably motor oil, but it could also be brake fluid. Reddish fluid is usually from the transmission, though it could also be power-steering fluid.
Improper maintenance process: when the equipment is overhauled, gearbox oil leaking may also be caused due to incomplete removal of dirt on the joint surface, improper selection of sealant, reverse installation of seals, and failure to replace seals in time.
When the torque converter starts malfunctioning, you may feel shuddering and even slipping in overdrive. You usually notice your car shuddering because it feels like it`s vibrating. Your car will vibrate even when you`re not going very fast. The shuddering makes the car lag and is very noticeable.
You can usually tell that your vehicle is leaking oil when you find a light brown, black, or rainbowy (like in our above feature photo) fluid near the front end of your vehicle.
Motor Oil Expiration Dates & Shelf Life

Currently, according to known oil specialists and lubrication laboratory testing a non-used or non-opened lubricant, engine oil, ATF, transmission fluid, grease, gear oil, transfer case fluid, coolant, or antifreeze product has no expiration date.

Introduction: A transmission seal is an important component of any vehicle, providing a protective barrier between your engine and the gearbox.
An oil leak may be caused by metal chip debris lodged between the head gasket and the block, chip debris between the cylinder head and the head gasket, or by damage to the cylinder head sealing surface that occurred during the manufacturing process.
Common causes of oil leaks include degraded engine gaskets, leaks from the oil pan, or improper or worn out seals. An oil leak also can be caused by a loose or missing oil pan drain plug or deteriorated valve cover gaskets.
An oil leak may be caused by metal chip debris lodged between the head gasket and the block, chip debris between the cylinder head and the head gasket, or by damage to the cylinder head sealing surface that occurred during the manufacturing process.

Relevant Questions and Answers :

the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue

Oil was leaking, put in over 4 qts of oil and oil leak stopper. White smoke coming tailpipe,engine shakes, car dies. Oil leaking.
ANSWER : Oil additives are not recommended by any vehicle manufacturer for any reason. Additives that purport to resolve oil leaks are useless, a waste of your money, and may result in engine damage. Every vehicle manufacturer strongly recommends against use of these materials. There is only one recommended and approved repair strategy when it comes to oil leaks: fix the leak.

You can only add the manufacturer specified amount of oil to an engine. If you add too much oil, or too little oil, that will cause engine damage. You should check the engine oil dipstick to determine if there is presently too much oil in the engine. If there is too much, the excess will have to be removed to prevent engine damage.

The leak that you are referring to can be repaired if you request an oil leak diagnostic. If you have further questions or concerns as you decide what to do, do not hesitate to re-contact YourMechanic because we want you to make the most of your repair dollars and help you get the best possible results.

Read Full Q/A … : Gear oil leak.

My car is leaking oil i got an oil change for it last month but it is still leaking oil what will cause my car to leak oil ?
ANSWER : Most older cars have oil leaks. Sealing technology has just not kept up with mechanical improvements to engines so much so that leaks often kill engines rather than mechanical problems. So, it is not unexpected at all to have an, indeed many, oil leaks on a 23 year old car. Oil leaks vary hugely in terms of severity and priority of repair. Oil leaking onto a hot engine manifold is the worst case (the oil can start a fire; at best, you are left breathing oil fumes in the cabin, as the oil burns off of the manifold) while de minimus seepage of oil at the oil drain plug or oil pan gasket, while annoying and messy, if limited enough is not an emergency. Some leaks are easy to repair, while others literally require the engine to be removed just to get physical access to all the leak points. In your circumstance, if you smell burning oil, oil is probably leaking onto a hot engine part such as the exhaust manifold. A certified Mechanic, dispatched by YourMechanic right to your location, can perform an oil leak diagnostic and then let you know of your repair options and costs.

As far as the check engine light, that is not related to the oil leak(s). If you request a check engine light diagnostic, a certified mechanic from YourMechanic would use a code scanner to retrieve the specific diagnostic trouble code(s) from your car’s PCM that have caused the check engine light to illuminate. Using those codes, the appropriate individual vehicle components or sub-systems (often a sensor, circuit, and the like) are then carefully tested, based on specifications set forth in your car’s Factory Service Manual, to pinpoint the cause of the fault or the reason why the check engine light has illuminated. Once the faulty part or component is identified, it is explained to your satisfaction and the mechanic will let you know of the cost to repair. If you have further questions or concerns, do not hesitate to re-contact YourMechanic as we are always here to help you.

Read Full Q/A … : Gear oil leak.

Are these oil leak problems related?
ANSWER : If the oil filter housing is integral to the oil cooler, or the housing had to be removed to service the cooler, a professional mechanic with knowledge of the limited service life of rubber seals would have absolutely (guaranteed) replaced the filter housing gasket that you are now belatedly finding leaks. However, if the leaking gasket is in an assembly that was not touched, or is not part of the cooler, they might be on reasonable grounds to have not fooled with it. These cooler configurations vary (from Mercedes Benz model to model) so, having the advice I just gave, you can just simply ask them what configuration you have and go from there. The bottom line is, if indeed, the gasket that is presently leaking was "right in front of them" while they did the warranty work, it should have been replaced simply as a matter of course. Indeed, the weak link on modern engines has become gaskets and seals. The engine will mechanically far outlast the gasket and seals but the problem is to replace all of them (once they all leak) you have to literally take the engine out of the car and take it apart just to put all new seals in. Please let us know how we can help further on this issue.

Read Full Q/A … : Gear oil leak.

Just noticed a huge oil leak trailing my car. It seems to be coming from below the engine. I recently had my oil changed a month
ANSWER : You might have a problem with the oil filter leaking when you rev the engine and increase the oil pressure. This can be from a collapsed oil filter media or excessive oil pressure from the engine. I recommend having the oil and filter replaced using a good quality filter and have the oil leak verified to be from the filter. Make sure to not run the engine low on oil. If you are finding you do not want to drive with the leak, a mobile technician from YourMechanic can come to your home or office, and replace both your filter, and oil.

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lost all oil pressure, replaced the oil pump, low oil sensor, oil pressure sensor, oil pan gasket,
ANSWER : The fuel pump will not stay on if you loose oil pressure. This is why it is shutting off. The loss of oil pressure may be from bad crankshaft bearings or camshaft bearings. The engine oil pan should be removed and the oil pump needs to be checked to ensure that you put in the pick up tube seal to the pump and connected the pump to the block. Then remove at least one main bearing cap and inspect the bearings for excessive wear and crankshaft damage. If you need some help with this, consider YourMechanic, as a certified technician can help diagnose the issue with your oil pressure firsthand and help you fix it accordingly.

Read Full Q/A … : Gear oil leak.

My manual gear box is starting to get a little bit "clunky" as i change gears, is there an additive i can add to the gear oil?
ANSWER : The first thing to do is to drain and check the oil to see if it has any broken chunks of metal or a lot of brass metal pieces that indicate the gears and synchronizers for the gears are bad. If no metal is found then replace oil with recommended oils for transmission. If metal is found then an internal transmission repair is needed.

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2006 BMW oil filter gasket keeps breaking and oil leaks from oil filter. Oil leaks only after starting car in morning. PCV valve?
ANSWER : Hi There,
It sounds like you may need to replace the oil cap o-ring. If you haven’t done this before there are two O-rings to replace; a small green one on the base of the filter cap stem and the large black one that seals the filter cap (which seems to be the one you are having issues with). The large O-ring sits in a small square-shaped groove that is at the base of the oil filter cap. It is very easy to not properly seat the large O-ring because the threads for the oil cap are quite large and will accept the O-ring if you are not careful. I would suggest having a professional from YourMechanic come to your location to take a look at your vehicle.

Read Full Q/A … : Gear oil leak.

A mechanic at sears auto center told me I had a oil pan leak. But i have not seen any oil leak from under my car. He recommende
ANSWER : Oil leaks should be repaired because leaking oil can damage external engine components such as rubber motor mounts. If you want the source of the oil leak identified and the repair estimated, simply request an oil leak diagnostic. Your vehicle has an engine oil maintenance reminder system to let you know when it’s time to change the engine oil and filter. The allowed interval for oil changes depends on your unique driving habits and can be up to, but not more than, one year. If you haven’t driven the vehicle a lot, don’t needlessly worry about having gone perhaps 2-3 years without the required oil change. It is critical though, at this juncture, to change the oil and filter immediately. Synthetic oil is recommended. If you desire that this maintenance be performed by a certified Mechanic, dispatched by YourMechanic right to your location, please request an engine oil/filter change and the responding mechanic will get this resolved for you. If you have further questions or concerns, do not hesitate to re-contact YourMechanic.

Read Full Q/A … : Gear oil leak.