Hi everyone, thanks for taking the time to read this.

I am the second owner of a 1988 Dodge Dakota 3.9 liter v6, 2WD. Over the past month a massive oil leak has formed, we are talking losing 1-3 quarts of oil on a 1 hour drive. I think I have found the issue between uv dye and general search, but I wanted to get a second opinion before I tore it apart...

I think the rear main seal is shot based on the location & size of the leak. Here is a video of the leak starting at the top of the engine and then going down to the bottom.


Am I right in thinking this is the rear main seal?


Thanks for you time and consideration.

 

At 10 seconds you are showing the oil pressure sensor. The leak appears to be coming from the base of it. The sensor is less than $20 and it requires a special socket which also cost me less than $20. You just unhook that plug from the top and place the socket over it and take it out.

 

Definitely not a rear main seal since it is leaking from the top of the engine.

 

what onemore94dak said. This just happened to me last week on my 96 5.2. Very easy fix.

 

Okay, so I changed it and the oil pressure gauge is working again (yay). But now it won't turn over. It just sits and cranks. Is this normal or did I screw something up? I literally started it an hour before I ran to get the part it it ran just fine.

 

You probably knocked something loose.

 

In the area of the oil sending unit you may have bumped the coil wire to the distributor, a connector going to the distributor, or possibly the distributor cover. Any of these might cause a "no start" condition.

Coincidentally, I'm having an oil leak from the same area. Just today I unscrewed the oil sending unit, put some teflon tape on the threads, then screwed it back in. Sometimes these things leak from the plastic housing but mine was dry. I'll know in a few days if that was it.

 

Okay, I'll take a look at those and see if that is it. Thanks for the help guys!

 

Well I'm at a loss. I made sure everything was in place. Followed the distributor wires to the spark plugs, everything was snug and in place. Everything is connected. Not sure what to do at this point. I'm sure I made a silly mistake somewhere.

 

Unfortunately the truck is in front of you, not us.