Problem with an oil leak on a LDT-465 White Engine

[FloridaAKM]

A fellow SS member has been tasked with recovering a 1982 M35a2 to central Florida for the new owner. I posted pictures of it last year when I was looking @ it to buy. The problem arose when it was transferred from Ft McCoy to Summerfield, it started leaking what seemed to be engine oil out of the rear main & running out of the bell housing. After parking it, it dumped enough oil on the ground to make a 10" circle in about 15 minutes, then the member put a pan under it to catch the oil. TM's show that the rear main oil seal replacement job is going to be a very large undertaking for the new owner. After this revelation, the new owner may not even want to take possession of the truck!

The member ask me to post this for any direction as to folks who have had to replace this seal on their LDT-465 engines. The truck is a low mileage truck (4K) that has sat for a few or more years & been run very little. What do the experts have to say on this matter.

 

[andy3]

Are you sure it's engine oil and not transmission oil? Level of either dropping? If the tranny is over-full it will barf till close to right. Was it driven or towed? If towed how far and transferrin neutral?

I guess the easiest way to do it is pull the tranny. The seal is available in 3 quality variants. Best price & availability seems to be Amazon. While you have the transmission off might as well be ready to replace throw out bearing, resurface pressure plate(which is probably covered in oil and clutch while there. Need clutch alignment tool. Not a small job for a new owner.

 

[FloridaAKM]

The truck was driven about 40 to 45 miles to Summerfield. I informed the driver what to check & look for as a pretrip inspection, but he just ignored me. Nothing was done to ready the truck for driving other than put 5 gallons of diesel fuel in it. The oil that was coming out was black oil & not 90 weight transmission oil, so I was told; that being the case, it probably is the rear engine seal. They won't know until the transmission is pulled for inspection. The last owners son topped off the brake master cylinder with DOT 3 brake fluid because DOT 5 was too expensive to buy. That will come around to bite somebody in the future. The only reason I know these things is that I previewed this truck last March & passed on it due to high asking price among other discrepancies.

 

[gringeltaube]

If- and after been driven for a good while on the highway, an overfilled engine can do exactly as described, even if that seal was still OK. And once the oil level was corrected, leaking may stop completely. (learned that lesson, many years ago...!)



G.

 

[andy3]

What's the levels now? What was coming out the slobber tube?

 

[clinto]

The member ask me to post this for any direction as to folks who have had to replace this seal on their LDT-465 engines.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showth...n-seal-1969-M109A3-multi-fuel-needs-replacing

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?103858-Rear-main-and-clutch-replacement-lessons-learned

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?27218-LD-465-Rear-Main-Oil-Seal-Replacement

 

[FloridaAKM]

I called the guy who drove it yesterday & asked him if he checked the oil before running it & the answer was no... He said it smoked out of the exhaust when it first started up, but cleared up down the road. I asked if the slobber tube was blowing smoke or dripping oil, all I got was a puzzled look. The truck may not have a slobber tube hooked to it.
After looking thru the pictures from last year, the truck had an Iron Planet.Com inventory sticker on it from when it was bought years ago.

He has not checked out anything as afar as oil levels for the after trip inspection.

 

[andy3]

Sounds like an opportunity to purchase distressed property.

 

[porkysplace]

The truck was driven about 40 to 45 miles to Summerfield. I informed the driver what to check & look for as a pretrip inspection, but he just ignored me. Nothing was done to ready the truck for driving other than put 5 gallons of diesel fuel in it. The oil that was coming out was black oil & not 90 weight transmission oil, so I was told; that being the case, it probably is the rear engine seal. They won't know until the transmission is pulled for inspection. The last owners son topped off the brake master cylinder with DOT 3 brake fluid because DOT 5 was too expensive to buy. That will come around to bite somebody in the future. The only reason I know these things is that I previewed this truck last March & passed on it due to high asking price among other discrepancies.

That right there is reason not to drive this truck . It is something that needs to be addressed now not later. What happens when the it gels and the brakes fail on the highway , the person it bites could end up dead . But hey we didn't have time to fix it and we saved a couple dollars .

Edit; If the FDC has not been bypased it could be making oil ( and washing bearings ) causing it to leak.

 

[FloridaAKM]

If I remember correctly, the FDC has not been bypassed; but the heater core was leaking & it was bypassed with a kinked heater hose back to the block. I was told back in March that the brake fluid type didn't matter by the owner's son, so I realized what I was dealing with & decided to pass on the purchase. Now, after much reading here & the TM's, I know you can flush the system & use either fluid; you just can not for any reason, mix them!

I refused to participate in the recovery effort due to the many problems I saw, including the potential of an accident....

 

[FloridaAKM]

Look back in the new members section last year in March & you can see pictures of this truck when it was previewed.

 

[gimpyrobb]

First off, I would lean toward the trans leaking over the rear main seal. Did they say the clutch slipped? The way the flywheel is made, it would be hard for the engine oil to get to the clutch.

 

[FloridaAKM]

Gimpy, I hope for their sake, you are right. I have a 1988 Toyota 4 WD truck that did that after 100,000 miles; the front tranny seal just gave out & went to leaking. I'll pass on the info...

 

[gimpyrobb]

These transmissions don't have an input seal, so lots have this issue pop up. The true test is smell, there is no mistaking gear oil stench.

 

[andy3]

I believe Ferro has a ton of the Deuce transmission seals. PM him for a deal.

Bazinga.

 

[doghead]

Why doesn't the member post first hand here?

 

[FloridaAKM]

Because he is running around doing honey do chores & asked me to post this for him. He will be along in the next few hours or day. No, this is not my truck or my problem; just trying to help a fellow SS member.

 

[rustystud]

I believe Ferro has a ton of the Deuce transmission seals. PM him for a deal.

Bazinga.

The transmission doesn't use a front oil seal. Did someone make a kit or some kind of retrofit to install an oil seal ? Also who is this Ferro ? I need a rear transmission seal.

 

[andy3]

The transmission doesn't use a front oil seal. Did someone make a kit or some kind of retrofit to install an oil seal ? Also who is this Ferro ? I need a rear transmission seal.

During the engine swap @ SSGR14 Ferro/Adam sent me into the fray of Clinto, Gimpy, and a few others asking for one. They sent me back with a quart of blinker fluid and a roar of laughter.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Then we sent him looking for a bucket of dial-tone!