Best Oil For Rear Main Leak

[Plimbob]

Good Morning,

I have an 07 Tahoe with 269k on her and the rear main is leaking - I need to get up the gumption to fix but its a PIA! Anyway, I currently use Valvoline Maxxlife 5-30. I am wondering if there is an option that may leak less? I have heard that oils with 'esters' have a tendency to leak less?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[StevieC]

High mileage oil would be the best bet until it can be changed. Valvoline Maxlife for example.

I wouldn't go adding ester additives / seal sweller additives on their own or you can cause issues with other seals that are fine currently and cause more leaks.

You could also step up a grade and try a 0w40 for example and the thicker oil will slow down the leak. I'd try the Maxlife first though depending on how bad the leak is.

 

[andyd]

Start topping off with a 10w30 High mileage oil. In my Jeep 360s the main thrust bearing would wear out and keeping seals in it was nearly impossible 'cuz of the end play. At 269K I'd be looking for bargains at TSC etc. You can buy a lot of cheap oil for what a 'fix' is gonna cost.

 

[PimTac]

How long have you been running the Maxlife?

 

[Whipcitywrencher]

With 269K seal maybe toast, and nothing will help IDK,
but I would try some BlueDevil rear main sealer, before replacing the seal.

 

[Mainia]

Pennzoil Platinum High Mileage works the best for leaks on my daughters leaky 2005 Honda civic. Better then Mobil 1 HM and Valvoline HM. I only use 5w-30 oils, I don't care about CAFE

 

[dlundblad]

I had good luck with M1 10w30 HM in my Jeep.

What's the consumption?

 

[Warstud]

FIRST OFF.....How bad is it leaking ?

 

[LeakySeals]

I'm using ST HM 10w30 on a Maxima that was leaking badly from 4 different places including the rear main. It's pretty good now, down to a tiny drop every couple of days. Not enough to need cardboard in the driveway anymore. Worked fast. So you will know within 500 miles if it's going to work. It started relatively easily the other morning at -4F. No ticking or rapping. A pleasant surprise

 

[c502cid]

any 10w-40HM.

 

[Leo99]

HM oil might slow it down a little. My RMS has been seeping for the past 100k miles. No drips. It can keep on seeping.

 

[burla]

CD2 Stop Leak works pretty well, had it succeed in two vehicles leaks, one rear man seal and a valve cover leak. The point being, both of these vehicles were past the time and effort being worth it to replace these items. It slowed the leaks considerably in my cases. I'm sure it depends on the seal, if it is torn you are SOL. search cd2

 

[CT8]

Try a high mile oil .Then a mechanic in the bottle stop leak ,then discern if the seal is worn or damaged. or where the seal rides on the crank is worn.or the crankshaft bearings are worn Costly no matter what. Hearing is mostly B.S.How was the truck maintained over its life?

 

[gman2304]

My 2005 5.3 started dripping at 190,000 or so. I switched from VWB 5w30 to Valvoline Maxlife 10w30 and it stopped dripping shortly thereafter. Now at 202,000 still no drips.

 

[08z06]

add 2 qts rotella 15-40 to your maxlife. (minus 2 qts of course)

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted by Warstud
FIRST OFF.....How bad is it leaking ?


+1. This is the key.

OP, I dont think you can do much better for an HM oil than what youve got. There are some aftermarket products with esters and other seal swellers in them, but no guarantee theyll work, or do anything other than waste some money.

 

[dave1251]

Try a 10W40 HM it will slow the leak down.

 

[Silk]

Penrite 15W-60 in the Volvo - rear main leak sorted.

 

[Lubener]

Your buying time with your mileage using HM oil or an additive, start budgeting for the needed repair. The two times I tried Max life, the leak got worse.

 

[Plimbob]

Hi Guys, thanks for all the input.

Regarding the extent of the leak - its fairly light. It probably drops about a half dollar size spot daily.

Regarding maintenance - The truck has had regular maintenance. Oil has been changed regularly at 3,000-3,500 with Purolator One or Wix filters.

The truck is garaged but I do live in Iowa so this time of year viscosity is a consideration.