oil pan leak

my oil pan is leaking on the rear side... i wiped it down, came back in a few days and itwas back, sent pictures to a friend whos a mechanic and he said to change the gasket with rtv after we ruled out a leaking timing chain cover(no evidence of oil from that area)...just wondering if theres any tricks/tips when doing this procedure...i read that you have to drop the front diff to get the oil pan out but it seemed to be geared to the 1st gen tacomas...when i look at the pan it looks like i should be able to get it out without doing anything drastic...just looking for some advice before im waste deep and realize i cant finish the job

 

Try tightening the bolts?

EDIT: Do not overtighten...

 

sorry i forgot to mention i did that as well

 

Just a thought, sorry don't have any other advice...

 

If yours is second gen, it is easy. After all of the bolts are out, there are two studs left, to help line things up. It can be a tad tricky to re-install it when the rtv is on, so it that is the case, just remove one of the studs.

Two smooth flat tip screw drivers will be necessary to remove it, as the factory silicone gasket makes the lower black oil pan stick to the upper oil pan very tight. Alternate prying back and forth and it will come free. Just be careful, as the upper oil pan matting surface is a machined surface.

Clean the old silicone as best as possible from the lower and upper matting surfaces.

Remove all silicone from the tips of every bolt, as there will be silicone on them. If you do not, you can cause severe problems! Trust me!

Re-apply a bead to the inside of all the holes, on the lower pan.

Let cure. Then you should be good to go.

 

My 2010 had a pan leak and was fixed under warranty by the dealer...they noticed it when they did the free oil change service. The rep said they noticed a few 2nd gens leaking.