Man, o, man...
The oil pan was tight. It still leaks, down the sides and esp in the front and rear.
More unnerving than that; in the front of the engine, above the oil pan, where the crank pulley comes out at the front, there are great gobs of oil just to the left of it looking at it from the front of the car. Also, at the rear of the engine, where the tranny mounts to the motor...
This does NOT look good...
I'm thinking both Front AND Rear Main Seals here...?
One of the techs said someone may have put a cork gasket in the oil pan, but I didn't see any evidence; but I didn't loosen the pan, either. Still, it LOOKED like the pan was interfacing just with the block.
Also found the leak in the fuel tank; there was a rust hole at the bottom of the filler neck. I got a fuel tank repair kit and patched the hole. I carefully added 5 gallons to the tank. It was leaking a little while filling but when I would let up it would stop. I went in and got a cuppa and when I came out...fuel dripping from the plastic 'pan' onto the ground. I made one stop at a store and must have lost a quart while I was inside.
I think this can be easily fixed by draining and dropping the tank and using both the 'plastic' stuff you swish around inside the tank, and an external repair kit as well. New tank is $375...
Also noticed the rear 1/4 was a LOT rustier than I initially thought. a LOT. Looks easily repairable, but it's all punky behind the bumper cover on the pass. side; probably as well on the driver's, too.
The real question here is; since I have to repair the damn tranny as well, I was going to leave the tranny on the car and replace the solenoids; is it possible to remove the tranny totally and replace the seals without removing the engine? This is an '88, non-turbo 7M-GE. We have had the 'front' of the engine off (pulleys, etc) when we did the timing belt, we also had the radiator out. These pieces should come out easily; I am going to remove the front facia for the Body Shop anyway.
Do I have a chance here?