help locating oil leak

[jlo82585]

hey guys I was under my truck today and noticed oil dripping from the rear of the bell housing. Its not trans fluid but actual oil. the oil pan itself looks dry for the most part but my starter is completly covered as is the entire bell housing of the transmission. the side of the block looks clean for the most part I didnt see any oil dripping down. anyone have any idea where this might be coming from? Im hoping just a valve cover but I have seen oil on the bellhousing a few times and that always seems to be rear main...

 

[rtbrjason]

Pretty much the same area was soaked on mine including the starter. It was the headgasket in my case.

 

[jlo82585]

ouch.. Im hoping its not as there isnt any oil on the main block that I could see... I may need to take a better look...

 

[tonydiv]

If there's no oil residue coming from above, it sounds like a classic rear main seal leak.

It may be worth getting one of those leak sealers in a bottle. to see if you can rejuvenate that seal.

 

[jlo82585]

yeah I was thinking along the same lines... time to go see what autozone has...

 

[stamp11127]

Well you could always do it the way do in the shop. Clean the engine with steam and/or a degreaser then look for the source of the leak.

 

[toms89]

Pull the inspection plug at the bottom of the bellhousing and see if oil is inside the bell. If not the oil is not likely from the rear main seal.

 

[Djroulette]

Any update to this?

 

[gordizmom]

My truck is leaking too. I put a large piece of cardboard down to see where it is coming from. The leak appears to be coming from the driver's side front. I checked all the fluids and nothing is low which is puzzling. The oil isn't low, power steering is fine and I even checked the tranny level. All good. My check engine light is on so and I can't figure out what's going on. I don't know anything about vehicles and don't have the money to take my Expedition to my mechanic.
Could this leak be from a gasket and if so, why aren't the levels low?