AceO Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Hi all Went to see a truck for sale today. Seems in good condition, only a few things broken - CV boots - Speedo doesn't work - mileage estimated to be about 100K - Liftgate struts are shot However, noticed a fair amount of oil stains on the bottom of the engine, and a little bit on the rear diff. Checked the oil level, looks good, previous owner says never had to add oil. What do you guys think? Many pics here 94 Red Pathy Please advice, soon if possible, since I need to make a buying decision. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 A lot of times that's simply from oil changes, as the oil filter is on the passenger side of the engine. It could very well be nothing to worry about. Then again, the oil pressure sender could be leaking, and/or the oil filter. As long as the rear main seal isn't leaking, it won't be too bad to fix if it is, in fact, a leak. Look at the seam between the engine and tranny for oil...if it's showing there, good chance it's the rear main. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 (edited) if the cv's are gone, you're lookin at a couple hundred bucks to replace them. as simon said, oil leak could be simple, check the back of the valve covers for oil.. if they are wet, you know the vc's are leaking.. when those leak the oil can run down to the bottom of the engine giving the impression it's something else. tailgate shocks will run you about $70, easy to change. good luck! and if the cv's are gone, either the truck has higher mileage than they're saying, or it's been driven relatively hard. i have a truck with 165k on original cv's....... Edited February 13, 2008 by Slick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceO Posted February 13, 2008 Author Share Posted February 13, 2008 and if the cv's are gone, either the truck has higher mileage than they're saying, or it's been driven relatively hard. i have a truck with 165k on original cv's....... CVs are still fine, but the boots are dried and cracked open. The sale price is quite low, so I'm factoring in the axle replacement into the deal. I'm guessing you guys can't tell from my crappy pics whether it's RMS or not - but, how much would it cost to replace one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 CVs are still fine, but the boots are dried and cracked open. The sale price is quite low, so I'm factoring in the axle replacement into the deal. I'm guessing you guys can't tell from my crappy pics whether it's RMS or not - but, how much would it cost to replace one? if you do the RMS yourself, it's about $11.......... change the $2 pilot bearing while yer there. the gear oil on the diff is probably from the plug not being tight enuff or over filling.... no biggie. no, can't tell from the pics...... unless oyu really inspect everything yourself, we can't judge from pics. if it IS the RMS, drive the truck, then after it's warm and you park it, check for fresh oil coming from the trans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 If it is an auto it could have a leak from the lines to the cooler. It will drip down the inside of the splash guard then spray across everything on the bottom of the truck. Mine are leaking on my 93 from the clamps I used, they are cutting into the soft tubing . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceO Posted February 13, 2008 Author Share Posted February 13, 2008 It's manual, so no worries about auto tranny How much labor is there for RMS work - i.e. what would a shop charge? Also, how much does a cluster + replacement go for? I think I'll end up taking it in to get inspected, and if inspection goes through, will buy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 It's manual, so no worries about auto tranny How much labor is there for RMS work - i.e. what would a shop charge? Also, how much does a cluster + replacement go for? I think I'll end up taking it in to get inspected, and if inspection goes through, will buy it. a shop doing yer RMS? prolly in the ballpark of $300-500 it's a dirt cheap part, but the labor to pull the trans n do the work is a PITA. BUT, IS doable by yourself if you are mechanically inclined. best bet to is to check out the classifieds on here for a gauge cluster... you don't even wanna know what they charge for a new cluster...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkorahil Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 a shop doing yer RMS? prolly in the ballpark of $300-500 it's a dirt cheap part, but the labor to pull the trans n do the work is a PITA. BUT, IS doable by yourself if you are mechanically inclined. best bet to is to check out the classifieds on here for a gauge cluster... you don't even wanna know what they charge for a new cluster...... RMS is rated at 8.5 hours on a 4x4 pathfinder......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 so double that for anything below "skilled mechanic" i was finally able to look at your picks.. i'd gues it's a leaker as there is just too much oil everywhere.. the only place that could dump some oil is the filter and one would have to dump it and leave it there for 10-15sec before it would dump that much oil.. also the oil seems to be all way across.. check valve covers and then around the lower part of the water pump housing.. if wet at latter then you can bet it's the cam seals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceO Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 All right, thanks all for advice. I'm taking the truck in to get inspected on Friday, since there it enough doubt here that the oil leak is serious Will also take a closer look myself at the RMS, valve covers, and water pump (which I have yet to look up the location of) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 (edited) All right, thanks all for advice. I'm taking the truck in to get inspected on Friday, since there it enough doubt here that the oil leak is serious Will also take a closer look myself at the RMS, valve covers, and water pump (which I have yet to look up the location of) h2o pump and cams..... the h2o pump is the uber shiny dude that has the little wheel on it in the center with the 4 screws (that's what the fan is attached to). yo can see the cams poking out from the heads (when engine complete, but covers off, you will see the 2 cam sprockets with teeth). there are seals in there that are prone to leak. Edited February 14, 2008 by Slick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msavides Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 (edited) Also keep in mind that if the cv boots are shot, they would be slinging grease all over the bottom of the truck. could be some of that in that oily mess Also looks like you have a coolant leak, I see a drop of coolant coming off the skid. Mark Edited February 14, 2008 by msavides Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xmas Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 From that pic is looks like it maybe leaking from the side of the motor due to oil on the A-arm. As these guys mention above, check out oil pressure sending unit or valve covers for leakage. I had my Rear main seal changed that leak does not look like its coming from that area. (god bless) for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceO Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 Ok, sounds that the consensus it, it likely is leaking oil, and possibly coolant. I'm going to take another look at it tomorrow, and also will get it inspected. From discussion so far, it seems like it can leak from one or more of: - oil pressure sender - valve cover seals - RMS RMS sounds like a lot of work ($600+), oil pressure sender is a fairly easy fix (am i correct?), what about valve cover seals (complexity/cost, anyone know?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Ok, sounds that the consensus it, it likely is leaking oil, and possibly coolant. I'm going to take another look at it tomorrow, and also will get it inspected. who said anything about coolant? if yer cv IS leaking.. that's grease, which makes a helluva mess and grabs any oil that's leaking too..... you can SMELL a coolant leak. as well as noticeable rise in running temp, etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceO Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 Oh yeah, CV boots are gone for sure, both are ripped, that was clear. I agree about the coolant (should smell), just the comment earlier about seeing a drop coming off the skid that got me thinking.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Oh yeah, CV boots are gone for sure, both are ripped, that was clear. I agree about the coolant (should smell), just the comment earlier about seeing a drop coming off the skid that got me thinking.. coolant leaks are easy to spot. rising/overheating at working temp, the smell, drips, the color...... most over heating issues with Pathy's is air in the system from not being burped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xmas Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 (edited) Ok, sounds that the consensus it, it likely is leaking oil, and possibly coolant. I'm going to take another look at it tomorrow, and also will get it inspected. From discussion so far, it seems like it can leak from one or more of: - oil pressure sender - valve cover seals - RMS RMS sounds like a lot of work ($600+), oil pressure sender is a fairly easy fix (am i correct?), what about valve cover seals (complexity/cost, anyone know?) Its not the RMS. If it was, it would look like it was leaking above the oil pan. I had crap load of pics of mine which had the RMS leak Here is what a RMS leak looks like: Edited February 15, 2008 by Xmas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xmas Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Slick, is there a burp valve for the coolant? if so, where about? I remember I had to do that to my old Acura Legend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Slick, is there a burp valve for the coolant? if so, where about? I remember I had to do that to my old Acura Legend. there is, some people like to do it with the rad cap off, but my pathy's won't burp properly unless the cap is ON at all times. I circled the burper in pink. you just unscrew it a bit after you get the pathy to working temp (heater on) and unscrew it and watch the show Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceO Posted February 15, 2008 Author Share Posted February 15, 2008 And the right answer was - cam seals. RMS was indeed ok. I decided not to buy the truck due to a multitude of other issues (manifold studs, EGR, unknown mileage, just to name a few) If people want to play "write an estimate" I can post a full list of issues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95shakinPF Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Thats a PURTY block Slick!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Thats a PURTY block Slick!!!! lol, i sure hope so. took me 4 weeks to prep, clean, paint & sand blast everything, and 3 days to build it lmao (that's mini me's motor) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkorahil Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 (edited) RMS sounds like a lot of work ($600+), oil pressure sender is a fairly easy fix (am i correct?), what about valve cover seals (complexity/cost, anyone know?) RMS is a lot of work, esp if it is 4x4. thats the penalty for being able to have fun....if you do not have a lift andor experience I would have someone else do it. It is not fun. Oil pressure is a piece of cake. You need a 24mm deep socket for it if I recall correctly. Disconect the negative battery terminal too, since it is very near the starter. right side valve cover is easy, the left side is not so easy.........the intake manifold partially covers it. Edited February 18, 2008 by Alkorahil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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