Help with oil or fluid leak

Hello, I was wondering if I could get some help on finding this darn oil or fluid leak. I’ve attached some pictures from the underside. As you can tell it’s really caked on because of the mud/dirt/sand/etc. I’ve been staring for hours while running the truck but I don’t see anything obvious.

This was the closest I could get the phone with the little light that I had.

 

Dang that looks pretty gnarly. If I were you, I'd probably clean that out first with some CRC degreaser or maybe even do a steam clean. That would make it much more easier to track it down.

 

The front timing cover is the usual suspect and I would check that first.

 

Is that red wet/ droplet,
Clean it up the best you can, watch it for a couple of days and see where it wet.
If all fluids are good (power steering), at least the ones you can check.... then move on to the transmission or timing cover

 

Seems like one of the fluids should be pretty damn low.

 

With my only experience in tracking down leaks in Mustangs, you gotta clean all that up first man. Get some brake clean or something and clean up all that gunk. Then take a 20 minute drive and put it on ramps and track it down.

 

@4x4.StatlerTaco.XVI .its warranty time. Better to leave it as is and let dealer fix that.

 

looks real bad. take off the oil filter housing, and check to see if the o-ring is bad, missing, or in the wrong grove.

 

I recently cleaned it up and had a friend take a look and as some of you suggested it may be coming from the timing cover.

He said something about it being a problem after 90K miles and it needing more sealant than what is applied to in the factory. Sounds pretty darn pricey.

unfortunately my truck is used and no longer under warranty.

 

If it’s a timing cover leak it’s a huge job the front end needs parts removed . It’s really expensive to repair . If you don’t have the funds I would just sell it as is . The values are really high . Best of luck .

 

If it's a TC leak that's gotta be the worst one ever seen on here. Clean it off really well, UV dye in the oil, black light to see glowing oil leak will help you find it.

 

Not a good move . Fixing it is still cheaper. Used taco prices are crazy high nowadays and its not a guarantee that type of leak won't happen. Having it fixed would be the best recourse financially .

 

I see red in 2 pics.

Trans fluid is red, and the power steering uses trans fluid.

I'd do an initial cleanup as others have suggested, monitor and really pay attention to the PS

It only takes a couple of oz. spreading slowly in a dirt environment to look like that.

Dont panic yet. And pray it's not the timing cover.

 

Thanks for all the great replies. I’ll keep everyone posted.

 

Will do. Thanks.

 

Yeah. I decided to save up a bit and fix it. It hasn’t leaked but I will eventually take it to someone to pin point the problem. Thanks.

 

PS fluid is not colored on a stock system.

 

It does look worse than it is because I hit dirt roads often. I’ll keep an eye on it for sure.