# What is this? And would it leak oil? **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [September 10, 2022, 12:12am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-this-and-would-it-leak-oil/186298 "2022-09-10T00:12:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hpsportsfanatic\_166976](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a87d85/32.png) [@Hpsportsfanatic\_166976](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Hpsportsfanatic_166976)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 12:12am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-this-and-would-it-leak-oil/186298/1 "2022-09-10T00:12:19Z")
Dumb question, I know but still learning. I noticed some oil on the ground from my f150 2006 4x4 5.3L. It seemed to be leaking oil from what I have circled as red in this image. What is this? And does that make sense? ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/7/2/72e1febbb85d2e85b2d3455f477e9820e138b1f4.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 12:23am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-this-and-would-it-leak-oil/186298/2 "2022-09-10T00:23:19Z")
That’s a rubber plug on the bell housing for the transmission. If the fluid is dark brown/black, the rear main engine seal is leaking. If the fluid is red/dark brown/black, the transmission front seal is leaking. Check the transmission fluid color. If it’s still red, the engine seal is leaking. Tester ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 12:52am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-this-and-would-it-leak-oil/186298/3 "2022-09-10T00:52:05Z")
And that is not a 5.3 liter V8 engine. 5.4L maybe… ---
**Author:** ![Hpsportsfanatic\_166976](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a87d85/32.png) [@Hpsportsfanatic\_166976](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Hpsportsfanatic_166976)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 12:54am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-this-and-would-it-leak-oil/186298/4 "2022-09-10T00:54:18Z")
Totally meant 5.4. Not sure why I put 5.3 ---
**Author:** ![Hpsportsfanatic\_166976](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a87d85/32.png) [@Hpsportsfanatic\_166976](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Hpsportsfanatic_166976)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 12:54am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-this-and-would-it-leak-oil/186298/5 "2022-09-10T00:54:36Z")
It was definitely dark brown/black ---
**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 12:59am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-this-and-would-it-leak-oil/186298/6 "2022-09-10T00:59:40Z")
Check the color of the transmission fluid. Is it the same color? If so, either seals could be leaking. And for yucks and giggles, take a screwdriver and pry the rubber plug out of the bell housing to see how much fluid runs out. And put a pan under there. Tester ---
**Author:** ![Hpsportsfanatic\_166976](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a87d85/32.png) [@Hpsportsfanatic\_166976](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Hpsportsfanatic_166976)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 1:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-this-and-would-it-leak-oil/186298/7 "2022-09-10T01:27:21Z")
So nothing came out when I popped the seal. Transmission fluid looks red when I just checked. ---
**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 1:30am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-this-and-would-it-leak-oil/186298/8 "2022-09-10T01:30:46Z")
Do have to add oil between oil changes? Or don’t you monitor the oil level between changes? Tester ---
**Author:** ![Hpsportsfanatic\_166976](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a87d85/32.png) [@Hpsportsfanatic\_166976](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Hpsportsfanatic_166976)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 1:34am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-this-and-would-it-leak-oil/186298/9 "2022-09-10T01:34:23Z")
I haven’t had to add oil. This is the first time I spotted the leak and it wasn’t a ton. I had the truck running while I was working on the ac for 20 min. That’s when I noticed the small oil drops. Crawled under the truck and saw oil pooling to drip around that gasket. Then wiped everything down so I could better spot the exact spot of the leak ---
**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 1:45am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-is-this-and-would-it-leak-oil/186298/10 "2022-09-10T01:45:40Z")
Well? A vehicle that’s going on 18 years old, that’s pretty good. For all we know, a valve cover gasket from above may be leaking that little iota of oil that runs down drips from that spot. I wouldn’t worry about it. Tester