The GMC Pickup had been leaking for some time and returned in the garage for repairs. Additionally, viable steering play in the wheel had developed and we investigated.
The GMC\Chevy trucks can develop an oil leak in the area of the lower bell housing of the transmission. Utilizing an engine dye to circulate throughout and capturing the exact leak locations with a UV Dye light and goggles did certainly help, however, we did months ago replace the oil pan gasket and new head of time we still had a rear main seal oil leak to contend with at a later date.
With the transmission removed you can easily identify where the source of these leaks are coming from. Unfortunately the rear main seal is rubber and over time the seal will get hard and brittle. (2:12)
Not so much in the case of this engine since the flywheel has a one position only dowel,but in general, always mark the flywheel before removing so there is no question about developing a balance issue or vibration. (1:55)
After completely checking the steering linkages , we quickly identified the steering gear with a ton of excessive play from the inner tie rods. Now typically you can replace the tie rods themselves, but in this case the rack and pinion was leaking from everywhere and it was going to be replaced as a complete unit.