Trasmission/main seal leak?

Looking to see if anyone has seen this on their tacos? When I wiped it off, the oil did not appear red.
additionally, there is no puddle of oil in the driveway to report, just noticed it today. Any advice or Next steps?

 

Looks like rear main seal. Not common but not uncommon. Usually shows up around 175k. Local shop should be able to drop the tranny and replace it for about $1000-1500 depending on demographics. If you are mechanically inclined, it can be done in a weekend with a pony keg and a friend.

 

Darn, just my luck. Is this something that can be babied or put off for a bit? This is just a daily and sees little to no off-road use, unfortunately…

 

It wont hurt anything as long as you don't park in your in-laws' driveway and check your level regularly.

 

Notes: only noticed it today and I’m under the truck often (due to CV axle troubles) and the last time I was under was about two or three weeks ago. assuming this happened between now and then AND keep oil levels good, I might be able to get away with not having to replace it within the next few months, right?

 

Oh I've seen people go years with a seeping rear main. Its messy but will keep corrosion away...haha

 

Also, might be a dumb question, but is there any kind of stop leak for this? I definitely will be paying very close attention to this, but thought I’d ask anyway

 

Stay away from any stop-leak materials. The

$53 0W-20 oil Toyota/ exxon mobil Case of 6 Quarts Full Synthetic TGMO SN 0W-20 Oil

0W-20 oil is very thin and runs through very tight oil journals and the stop-leak additive can just as easily clog a journal as it can a seeping seal.

 

Man, thank you for the advice. It’s been frustrating to begin seeing my truck age, but thanks to folks on this forum like yourself, I can usually manage to calm myself down and remember that it’s eventually going to be ok and actually manageable over time.

 

Remaining question. That just came to Me: what is the plastic tab located at the bell end? I was wiping that down too and noticed oil beginning to accumulate there specifically

 

One thing to note, if you live in dusty or sandy environments, try to keep it is clean as you can. Oily surfaces will attract abrasive stuff. A quick spritz of brake clean will go a long way.

 

I believe you are talking about the "inspection plate" which is how you access the torque converter bolts. Not sure what other plastic tabs are under there...been a minute since I've dropped a trans.

 

Wipe everything clean with brake cleaner then check every 4 or 5 days to see how fast it is accumulating.

 

Next step is take it in and get it fixed .. why wait till it really becomes an issue …

 

Great question/suggestion. Appreciate your feedback I will wait no longer and get this repaired asap

 

Agreed, I’m going to keep a VERY close eye on it. Gotta save to get this repaired and just needed a second opinion on whether or not this was a “don’t drive it like this” problem or a manageable one that gives me time to save.

 

It's manageable, but it's going to get worse. I had a rear seal leak on my F150. It started out with me only needing to add one quart of oil between oil changes to needing to add a quart every week.