Dodge Ram leaking problem. Need some advice!

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kissiffer4

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Hi,

I have a '98 Dodge Ram 1500 with 191,000 miles. She has been running fine, but last night I noticed a leak coming from the front passenger side of the vehicle. No idea what it is, although it feels pretty slippery. Could it be brake fluid?

Any advice really would be much appreciated as this is my first Dodge truck and I am at a complete loss as to what it could be. Here are a couple of photos:

https://db.tt/z9ZLq1mf

https://db.tt/q2lVWP1s

I will be taking her into the garage, but just wondered if anyone here could shed any light on whether this sounds like an expensive fix?

Cheers!
 

dodge dude94

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Given the area and the color (or lack thereof) I'd say you're correct in that it's brake fluid. Easy way to tell is to pop the hood and check on your reservoir.

Kinda hard to tell where it's coming from, could be the bleeder on the caliper.
 

CKH

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One way to find out for sure, check your brake fluid level. To me, it looks like it's possibly coming from the banjo bolt at the brake line/caliper connection.

Looks like you could possibly have an axle seal leak as well. Does the fluid smell like rotten eggs?

You will want to wash it off the tire immediately, brake fluid is very corrosive.

Cost would be determined by what is causing the leak. Could be as simple as a new banjo bolt and copper crush washer or a new brake line or caliper.
 
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kissiffer4

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Thanks guys. Took it to my local garage today and was told it is a front differential fluid leak and will cost around $800 to fix in parts and labor. Does that sound reasonable? I know the front is much more of a pain to deal with than the rear. At 191,000 miles is it worth getting this fixed? I asked them to give it a full look over to see if there are any other big repairs on the horizon.

Cheers.
 

dodge dude94

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That $800 is mostly labor.

If they're right then it's the seal on that side. Check a couple more places to verify.

And yes, 191k mi is fine, these trucks have run up to 500k with maintence.
 
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kissiffer4

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Thanks DodgeDude. They are doing a closer inspection on the car today and will let me know if there is anything else that might need fixing.

One quick question. I paid $2,000 for the truck and when I took it for the test drive, it felt pretty good and of course I didn't notice a leak at that point. A new transmission was added 50,000 miles ago, so all in all, at the time, it seemed like a decent deal for a '98 1500 Laramie SLT. You mentioned these things keep going if well maintained, so from a future maintenance perspective, how frequently should I be taking it to the garage for servicing and at 191,000 miles, what are the key things to have serviced on a regular basis?

Thanks v. much for the feedback. Much appreciated.

Cheers.
 

dodge dude94

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More than likely, your truck is in the "New parts every month" phase. They all go through it once they hit about 12 years old. It will come to a point where all the wear parts will be replaced and you won't have to worry about replacing stuff for a while.


Though you will want to service the transmission soon. Should be done every 30k.
 

jf5.9

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I would highly suggest you pick up a Haynes Manual for your truck. They list periodic maintnance in the front. Unless you bought it from someone you know I would go ahead and give it a full tune up and really go over the truck, the manual has a wealth of knowledge in it. There's alot to maintaining a truck when you get into the high mileage area but its definitely cheaper than buying new. 800$ doesnt sound terrible, like DodgeDude said there is alot of labor involved on replacing that seal, depending on the condition/amount of rust it can take a bit to get to it. Hopefully yours aint that bad. Good Luck with it man.
 

CKH

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800 seems high just to replace axle seals to fix the leak. Get a breakdown of the estimate to see everything they are charging you for.
 
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kissiffer4

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Cool thanks. I will see if I can track down a Haynes manual. I spoke with the shop and to be fair, they did say it might work out to be a little cheaper depending on whether the bearings need to be replaced. So we will see. My old man takes his truck there, so I suppose having somebody honest working on your truck counts for a lot! They also said the rest of the truck was in decent shape, so that's good news. Man, I miss having my truck around!

One question...they mentioned the tires are looking a bit worn. Any advice on where to pick up a new set of tires?

Thanks.
 

fla crkr 1 ton

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Auto parts stores have the Hayes manuals, be prepared for upper/lower ball joints, 4 link bushings, sway bar bushings, all the tie rods, steering stabilizer, u joints [for the front axle shafts and drive shafts] and hubs in your estimate [or in the future]. If they are bad they should be done while your doing the seals [you have to remove most of those parts to change seals [except spindles/tie rods]. These trucks ain't hard to work on if you have mechanical ability.
 
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