Got stuck in the mud... Submerged some stuff... Now I need help

Went off-roading in the rain, and got stuck bad, basically it looked shallow before I went in, and I had gone through something just like it about 5 mins before and had no issues, but the second one was trouble. Made it half way, and then dug in... Tried a tow strap to another 4x4 and still nothing, in the end a chain and come along got me out. I had it in 4x4 Lo, with the rear locked. FYI- I have a TRD Off Road, with 33" Mud Tires, and 4x4, it is a 2006 with 125k miles, Automatic, and almost all original. When I got into the hole, water was about half way up my wheels, and by the time I got out it was about 1/2" below the cab of my truck. Upside is no water got inside my truck, but I sat in the mud/water for about 45 mins, spinning my wheels, and trying to get out. I reversed out as well, not sure if that is better or worse than going forward, but my truck had better access going in reverse. Also, this was NJ, so the rain water was in the high 30s, not freezing, but very cold, and I left the truck running the entire time I was stuck, was afraid it wouldn't start if I turned if off. Also, I did the rear diff breather mod a long time ago.



I got out and got it to my father-in-laws house, about a 15 min drive, and everything looked fine. Saw a small oil spot on the driveway, but he convinced me it was from the UPS truck that leaks like crazy. So I drove it back to my place, 230 miles away, no issues the entire drive, but I came out to 4 small oil spots in my driveway, and proceeded to remove my skids to find oil everywhere...







There is oil coming out of both the oil and trans pans, as well as where the axels come out of the front diff, and where the main drive shaft goes into the rear diff. I also saw some that looks like it is coming from the rear brake line where is goes into the drum on one side.

It is parked now, and I am draining and replacing all the fluids (engine oil, diffs, trans case, brake lines, trans). I am also looking into replacing the gaskets on the oil and trans pan. Also, going to re-grease my driveshafts. I already hosed down the truck, and plan to re-clean it once I get all the fluids changed.


What else needs to be done or checked?


Is this a loss, or should I be fine once I swap the fluids? Might be a back to stock for trade in thread getting started soon...

 

Not sure how 1 mud hole caused you to have several leaks, I think those leaks were there before the mud hole. I've had 6" of muddy water in my cab and no leaks from any drive train component. If it's leaking on the 3rd member in the rear axle, I would drain the fluid and replace the gasket, also it could be leaking from the breather, did you do a diff breather mod? Not sure where it's leaking from the front, more pics would help.

 

Up front it looks to me like your oil pan gasket is shot. That's a fairly easy fix.

 

That sucks.
I don't have any input on the leaky engine (at least not good input; I've seen aluminum and cast iron blocks crack when you dunk a hot block into an ice cold puddle) but I wouldn't be surprised if you had water leaking past the axle seals while you were submerged. Did you already do the fluid drain on the diffs? Because I wouldn't be surprised if you found a bit of water in there with the oil. Maybe drain & fill, drive it a bit and drain & fill again...

You didn't mention beating on it at any point, and from the photos in the post it doesn't look like you were giving it the gas like a crazy man to break parts...
Hopefully some new fluids and a couple new gaskets should fix your problem.
Is it possible that it was leaking oil from the pan before you got stuck, and that you just hadn't noticed it? Not sure how often you get under your truck, is all.

 

Looks like the oil is coming from above like the right hand valve cover been leaking for quite awhile too.

 

Diff breather mod was done before I got in this hole. Looks like the rear diff is leaking around the e-locker.

Plan to replace that this week.

I spun the tires hard and fast a few times, but they just spun, they never gripped to a thing, and when I got winched out, I went super slow.

I will check that today, I have to work, so I am taking my wifes car and going to get back into it tonight.

I get under it often, I have never had any leak except for around my transmission pan, and it ended up that the bolts that hold the pan on had come loose on one side, so it leaked, I tightened them back up and the leak went away completely. I changed the diff oil recently, and the engine oil I changed about 4 months ago and no leak. I also have a brand new house, so brand new concrete, and park in the same spot, the asme direction every day, and have never seen oil spots from my truck. So sadly, I am almost sure this is from going in the water...

My theory is that a hot diff/oil/trans into cold water, caused the seals to give with the temperature difference on either side.

I have drained my diffs and oil, and the oil looked black, but I couldn't see any water. The diffs were also black with a medium gray swirling in them, not sure if that is the water or not...

I will take more picture tonight, thanks for the help.

 

I used to play in the mud when I was younger all the time. But I got tired of cleaning it out of everything. Those oil leaks were already there, spinning in the mud didn't cause them I can assure you. But I would drain the diffs and refill just for good measure. It's likely fine but it's a good idea to drain and refill the t-case while you're there too. Draining the transmission is only going to net you about 3.5 quarts of like 14 in the system but it's never going to hurt it getting fresh fluid in there. Just make sure you refill it properly.

 

The gray oil is from water. The paler the gray, the more water in the oil.

 

Check your motor mounts. I had a leak that blew oil all over the place just like that, and it ended up being the oil pan right above the front diff. The motor mounts smashed in so bad that the motor was sitting on the front diff. You can see from the pics where it was rubbing at...

 

So how hard is it to change the transmission oil pan gasket?

I was able to get the engine oil pan gasket and trans oil pan gaskets at Advance auto today.

How hard is it to change the main seal on the rear diff? If I pull the third member out, it there any issue just putting it back with a new gasket?

 

I'll bet ya a box of beer that is all from one leak, and I also bet it is from the motor. Pressure wash it clean then let it idle for a while. When you drive fast oil will spray all over the place and it will be hard to find where it's coming from. Also baby powder will help locate the leak, just pour some in your hand and throw it around the area you think is leaking. It will clearly show a fresh leak....

 

Whenever I replace gaskets I like to use some RTV sealant on both surfaces as well. Make sure you clean both surfaces well, otherwise it'll just start weeping again in a while.

 

You need a new flange...and a gasket....and a doohickee.
I think the oil issues may have been there all along and just noticed it due to this incident. Either way, hope it gets fixed op.

 

This would be my bet too.

 

The oil that is blown all over the under carriage is from the engine (looks like the oil pan and the valve cover from picture but check the entire engine). Follow the above suggested ideas and I would also replace the axle shaft seals as well, check all the engine pulleys (remove serpentine belt) for play and hesitation to turn freely. Mud, sand and dirty water have a way of reeking havoc on bearings and seals (dries them out so they don't work properly anymore).


I've had to replace many seals, bearings and pulleys due to river crossings and mud holes. You say it's also leaking from the tube that goes into the drum backing plate, this could be either brake fluid (highly doubt it or you'd have a loss of fluid after driving that much) or rear diff fluid coming from the axle tube (likely suspect) especially with that many miles and the fact that you're from the northeast and most wheelin' involves mud holes at some point.


All these repairs are fairly simple but will be costly if not taken care of routinely.

 

Yes,
MightnightRebel07, is spot on; follow his instructions.

I can only add: Be sure you don't have a leak higher on the engine. In fact double check it before you do any repairs. Get an adjustable mirror and check the back of the valve covers. Take a good look at the back of the engine, just to be sure.

You don't want to do a pan gasket replacement, just to find the oil pressure sending unit was leaking, or anything else.

oldracer

 

That truck is amazingly clean for just getting out of a mud hole. Even the backs of the tires are clean.

 

I saw that also. Mud like that really sticks to metal, especially, metal that isn't painted ans clear-coated like the body finish on our trucks.

We ran dirt Sprint Cars and other classes on the dirt also. The dirt and mud if it was wet; just stuck and stained the undercarriage. You couldn't just wash it off, even scrubbing it, the stain was still there.

We did coat the undercarriage sometimes with vegetable oil spray, (cheaper than WD40); which really helped a lot.

I'm just amazed how clean it is.

 

I think it was all the water I was sitting in, I did find tons of sand on all my skid plates, but you are correct, the truck looks clean, but it was mostly sand I was in, and water, nothing really stuck.

I did nothing today, plan to get back to it tomorrow. Plan to check the valve covers, clean more, and start filling up the diffs and engine oil.

My wife has started to look for new cars for me... I think she is thinking of getting it driving again and then getting me to get a higher mpg sedan.

 

Thanks, I will spend the first part of tomorrow looking all over again with a flashlight and mirror. I hope it is simple.

Looking at that now, parts look cheap, job looks easy, but time consuming.

Thanks,



My biggest concern at the moment is water in the trans, and future damage to the trans, and maybe that is paranoia, or just the fact that auto trans scare me more than manual trans. Then it is just seals on the diffs, and they could have gone from this incident or from old age, and they are a pain to fix but low cost overall, and not beyond my mechanical means.