I don't have puddle leak, may be some drops but when I drive it for a little bit and then park I notice that it's starting to smoke, so I was concerned
It's a multiple hours job AFAIK, so I'd guess depending on labor rates in your area, $1K or more.
Since the leak is slow, have you tried high mileage oil with the "seal conditioners" (aka seal sweller additive), something like Valvoline Maxlife ? It will take a while to work, and you may always need to keep using high mileage oil, and it might even leak a little more at first to have new oil in with fresh detergent that cleans away some sludge if present. What grade of oil are you using? If it's 5W-20 you might switch to 5W-30. Thicker oil leaks less. You might even run 10W-40 in summer.
When your mechanic told you it wasn't worth it, what was his estimate? If you are unfamiliar with other shops in the area, you might go a google search for automotive repair near me, and it should provide google customer reviews along with the search hits. Make a short list and call them asking for an estimate. Many of them may want you to bring the vehicle in. I'd still call around to get as many ballpark estimates as possible before taking the vehicle to multiple places.
Whether it's worth it depends on a few factors, like what condition the vehicle is in, how many miles and on which engine, whether you like the vehicle or not. If it has the 4.0L SOHC engine, and past 150K mi, it is the least desirable combo to spend more money on, except if the engine is pulled you could have the timing chains, guides and tensioners replaced while they're at it, and that fixes that issue. I would do that if the vehicle is in good condition including the undercarriage/etc not rusted out, but ultimately the cost to keep it going and whether it is worth it on a vehicle that age, can depend a lot on whether you can DIY most of the lesser repairs. For example my '98 is rusting out and needed new hard brake lines. DIY was under $100 including new soft hoses. A shop would probably charge over $1K.
If it's in good condition, and considering you can't get much of anything to replace it for the cost of the rear main seal job, then it may be worth having it fixed if it gets worse, but as RangerX mentioned, many people just live with a leak until it gets bad enough to be a problem for whichever reason.
I recall someone on some forum, had to have a leak fixed because his employer was pissy about leaving oil in their parking lot space. Some people suggested throwing a piece of cardboard under the vehicle.
It's a multiple hours job AFAIK, so I'd guess depending on labor rates in your area, $1K or more.
Since the leak is slow, have you tried high mileage oil with the "seal conditioners" (aka seal sweller additive), something like Valvoline Maxlife ? It will take a while to work, and you may always need to keep using high mileage oil, and it might even leak a little more at first to have new oil in with fresh detergent that cleans away some sludge if present. What grade of oil are you using? If it's 5W-20 you might switch to 5W-30. Thicker oil leaks less. You might even run 10W-40 in summer.
When your mechanic told you it wasn't worth it, what was his estimate? If you are unfamiliar with other shops in the area, you might go a google search for automotive repair near me, and it should provide google customer reviews along with the search hits. Make a short list and call them asking for an estimate. Many of them may want you to bring the vehicle in. I'd still call around to get as many ballpark estimates as possible before taking the vehicle to multiple places.
Whether it's worth it depends on a few factors, like what condition the vehicle is in, how many miles and on which engine, whether you like the vehicle or not. If it has the 4.0L SOHC engine, and past 150K mi, it is the least desirable combo to spend more money on, except if the engine is pulled you could have the timing chains, guides and tensioners replaced while they're at it, and that fixes that issue. I would do that if the vehicle is in good condition including the undercarriage/etc not rusted out, but ultimately the cost to keep it going and whether it is worth it on a vehicle that age, can depend a lot on whether you can DIY most of the lesser repairs. For example my '98 is rusting out and needed new hard brake lines. DIY was under $100 including new soft hoses. A shop would probably charge over $1K.
If it's in good condition, and considering you can't get much of anything to replace it for the cost of the rear main seal job, then it may be worth having it fixed if it gets worse, but as RangerX mentioned, many people just live with a leak until it gets bad enough to be a problem for whichever reason.
I recall someone on some forum, had to have a leak fixed because his employer was pissy about leaving oil in their parking lot space. Some people suggested throwing a piece of cardboard under the vehicle.
Thank you for reaching out to me. This vehicle was my late husbands and I am trying to keep up to date with this. I personally don't know much vehicles, I took it to my mechanic, he is the one that normally works on my vehicles. When I took it to him it was because when I would take the vehicle for a ride it would smell like burnt oil and when I opened the hood I notice it smokin a little bit. He told me I had a rear main seal leak and that he would have to take the engine out which is a lot of work and it wouldn't be worth it to fix. This vehicle is a 6 cyc. with 130,000 miles on it, and it also needs body work done on it because of the rust, but other than that it rides beautiful and I have already invested in alot of work with this by getting repairs done here and there. SO I really don't know what think, I was just afraid of where it's smokin that was a bad sign. I can live with the leak but where it's smokin is another story. You can understand why I have a very personal attachment to this vehicle.It's a multiple hours job AFAIK, so I'd guess depending on labor rates in your area, $1K or more.
Since the leak is slow, have you tried high mileage oil with the "seal conditioners" (aka seal sweller additive), something like Valvoline Maxlife ? It will take a while to work, and you may always need to keep using high mileage oil, and it might even leak a little more at first to have new oil in with fresh detergent that cleans away some sludge if present. What grade of oil are you using? If it's 5W-20 you might switch to 5W-30. Thicker oil leaks less. You might even run 10W-40 in summer.
When your mechanic told you it wasn't worth it, what was his estimate? If you are unfamiliar with other shops in the area, you might go a google search for automotive repair near me, and it should provide google customer reviews along with the search hits. Make a short list and call them asking for an estimate. Many of them may want you to bring the vehicle in. I'd still call around to get as many ballpark estimates as possible before taking the vehicle to multiple places.
Whether it's worth it depends on a few factors, like what condition the vehicle is in, how many miles and on which engine, whether you like the vehicle or not. If it has the 4.0L SOHC engine, and past 150K mi, it is the least desirable combo to spend more money on, except if the engine is pulled you could have the timing chains, guides and tensioners replaced while they're at it, and that fixes that issue. I would do that if the vehicle is in good condition including the undercarriage/etc not rusted out, but ultimately the cost to keep it going and whether it is worth it on a vehicle that age, can depend a lot on whether you can DIY most of the lesser repairs. For example my '98 is rusting out and needed new hard brake lines. DIY was under $100 including new soft hoses. A shop would probably charge over $1K.
If it's in good condition, and considering you can't get much of anything to replace it for the cost of the rear main seal job, then it may be worth having it fixed if it gets worse, but as RangerX mentioned, many people just live with a leak until it gets bad enough to be a problem for whichever reason.
I recall someone on some forum, had to have a leak fixed because his employer was pissy about leaving oil in their parking lot space. Some people suggested throwing a piece of cardboard under the vehicle.
Leaking valve cover gaskets will do that, and will stink more after driving a bit.
Yes, they leak and drip onto the exhaust and burn, what I said. I wasn’t only talking about a rear main seal. Any oil leak can find the exhaust, I’ve had plenty over the years.
Ah, Roger that.
