Toyota SR-5 Pickup problem

My father owns a 95’ Toyota Pick-up extended cab. It’s a 4x4 with a 3.0L V6 EFI engine and has 120,000 miles on it and is a stick shift. His complaint is that while he is driving and shifts into 2nd gear, the power is not transfered from the motor to the tires, indicated by the large rpms with the accelerator at only half-power. The same is true for 3rd gear and 4th gear is worse. First, should he consider paying the 1,600$ that it will cost him to repair the clutch? Second, could an ongoing oil leak form the engine possibly be leaking oil into the transmission and onto the gears, causing them to slip, which by the way i think makes little sense?

1600 bucks for a clutch seems a little steep to me, but then again, it depends on the cost of the parts and how difficult it will be to drop the transmission.

an oil leak COULD possibly be bad enough to get onto the surface of the clutch and make it slip, but it would have to be a pretty bad leak and in the perfect spot…as in i have only seen that happen once in my life.

is that price from a local shop or the dealer?

Yes, he needs a new clutch assembly. $1,600 sounds way too high to me. He should get a quote from a reliable independent shop.

There is a very low-probability possibility that oil could leak out of a rear main seal and get onto the clutch plate. A very, very low possibilty. He has 120,000 miles on the clutch, I seriously doubt if the problem is more than a worn out clutch.

Unfortunately, $1600 is a reasonable price for this truck, although on the high side. The 4WD system makes this a serious bear of a job, even though you’d think it would be simple. For $1600, this should include a new rear main seal. You can check for yourself if you may have a rear main seal leak. Crawl under the truck (should be easy with the factory ground clearance), and look at the weep hole at the bottom of the bellhousing of the transmission where it mates with the back of the engine. If you see any drops of motor oil coming out or forming, you probably need a new rear main seal. With the transmission removed, and the fly wheel off for resurfacing, the rear main seal is super easy to get to and replace. And it should only cost $10, maybe a bit more.

from an independent mechanic, that is if the clutch is actually the problem