I have a very small drip-drip leak coming out of my engine. Actually, it's dripping in a few places as you I'll show you:


This under the passenger side.

Middle/driver. I was going to check out the PVC valve but I didn't see evidence that there was anything coming out of from that area, nor the filter or pan.

Pretty far toward the driver side. Just another drip forming.

I believe the power steering has a small leak because it's very dirty around there.

I didn't take a picture but the top of the engine looks good. The only issue is the potentially leaking power steering but the fluid is almost full and I haven't ever put any in and I'm not aware of any mechanic having done so. I do think the clutch has a leak somewhere because I have to top its fluid every six months or so. Should I deal with these systems before anything else?

I wonder if anyone can look at these pictures and tell me what I should check next. I feel like a real dork not being able to park in the driveway.

** I hope these pictures are too big. If you have trouble seeing them let me know and I'll reupload smaller ones.

 

Rear main gets my vote.

 

Rear main what? Sorry, I'm not good enough at this to know that lingo. Rear main tachyon emitter? No, that can't be it.

 

The oil seal on the rear of the crankshaft. Between the engine block and flywheel. Drop the transmission out to replace it kind of job.

 

Rear main crank seal of the engine. I thought the same thing. Quite often confused as being an oil pan gasket leak.

Your front main could also be leaking. It's pretty common with high mileage motors.

 

A new seal alone might not be enough. Lately it's been repair sleeve and new seal.

 

Is there a way I can make sure this is the problem before I take it in to a shop? I can't drop the transmission by myself. I've got a shop full of Mexicans nearby that would do the job relatively cheap but I don't like trusting them to do much in the way of diagnosis. And should I have them do the seal and the sleeve? Seems like maybe I should go all the way if I'm getting that deep. Thanks.

 

Get some brake clean and hose everything off completely clean and dry. Then drive it and inspect until you find your culprit.

 

I'm sure it's just blogspam but this website talks about a product that can be used to "recondition" the seal:
https://rxmechanic.com/rear-main-seal-leak-symptoms/

Any opinions on something like this? It looks like the cost to get the work done isn't too bad but I'm rather inclined to a cheap/easy/temporary fix because this car has so many problems that if the country isn't completely in ruins a year from now and used car prices come down I might be looking to replacing the whole thing.

 

Isn't too bad? You serious? You couldn't pinpoint the leak and now you're calling a rear main seal replacement cost 'isn't too bad'? Just get rid of it now and deal with the problems on your next used car.

 

My googling yielded a cost of $3-500. Is that incorrect?

** That article I linked earlier says $900+. Dang.

 

$25 seal but it takes a couple hours labor to get to it.

 

And then if the crank is grooved, most mechanics tend to not be aware or do repair sleeves. If they do, I'm sure they will charge a premium and at least another hour of labor charge on top.