I'm getting dime sized drops of oil overnight in the garage - I thought it was the oil pan - but after looking at it close up it's right above the oil pan -a big round part - it almost looks like it's broken or chiped at the seal- but I think it's cast iron so - can't believe it's broken - but it's leaking at the seam right above the grid pattern - probably need to go to the dealer? Can you help tell me what is the problem so I can try to self-repair or am somewhat knowledgable when describing and assessing repair costs with the dealership?





ThanksGeoff
Modified by gcjazz12 at 1:48 PM 12/31/2009

Probably the rear main seal is failing{common} repair requires removing driveshaft and transmission and flexplate to get to the $7 seal unfortunatly.

Do you know why this would be happening?

Approx. cost to repair?

Front and rear main seals all wear out and leak eventually- not an unusual issue at all. I would assume a 7-8 hour labor charge, maybe a little more/less depending on how much additional work{if any} to get to with the 4 wheel drive components taking up space as compared to a 2 wheel drive vehicle.Should be around $1000 depending on your local labor rates.

How many miles on the truck? Depending on how much longer you plan to keep it, it is usually a good idea to replace any other hard to reach component while it is all apart{ transmission sensors,tailshaft seal,exhaust mounts,etc} as this saves lots of future high labor bills to replace these as they age.
Modified by qship96 at 5:46 PM 12/31/2009

Hmm.... it has 170k... about two years ago I dropped 5 thousand at the dealer on four visits to get certain things fixed.... for the next two years I've spent about 300 dollars as a do it your selfer...let's say I'm weary of taking it in to the shop..... I can change my oil.... so is this something I could do myself?... or should I drop another grand.... or should I carry round a quart of oil evey where I go and keep filling her up.....

You must remove the heavy transmission and driveshaft, possibly exhaust system....if you have a lift, tools, transmission table and a few buddies to help you, maybe- but I think it is wiser to let a pro handle this level of work.

My Front main seal started leaking around 220,000 miles and I had it replaced-it starts out as a drop here and there, and can develop into a much faster leak- needs to be fixed sooner or later, might as well just do it before it becomes worse if you are keeping the car for the long haul.

If you only had to spend 300 for the last 2 years, you are ahead of the game!!

Just a quick update -

This was the rear main seal leaking.

I took it to Nissan and they fixed the leak - it was about a $700 job at Nissan - all labor - I think the seal was about $15.00.

They indicated it was a common repair on Pathfinders of that year ---