I disagree.
My truck does not leak engine oil and it is all original with just shy of 186k on her.
I agree that seals need to be replaced eventually, but they last longer than 5 years.

 

You beat me to it, rear main seals should last longer than 5 years with proper oil changes. An oil seal crumbling after 5 years sounds like there was something else going on, maybe it was defective. Also there is nothing wrong with using a high mileage oil and or a seal conditioner/sweller in order to help stop a seeping rear main seal or front drive shaft seal leak. If you are using a thicker oil in order to stop oil consumption because of bad valves or whatever other engine problem then yes you should be saving up for a rebuild, a thicker oil can definitely buy you time though.

 

Buy yourself one of these :


And take your wife on vacation to Hawaii with the savings. You wouldn't spend $2100 on a new paint job due to a scape the size of a penny. That's more than 1/3rd the value of the vehicle for what is essentially a cosmetic problem.

Tighten the valve covers (10 minutes) & Drop the oil pan, clean the mating surface, and reinstall in an afternoon. 90% of your little leaks are sure to disappear, and the above pan will catch the other 10%. Be sure to send me pics from Hawaii with your wife standing next to ya with that huge smile on her face!

 

Not on these, the fit is poor on the case. At my low milage I could rotate the seal right out of the boss both the front and rear. It was brittle and worn, the material is just cheap.

I've yet to see one and I buy a few a month for my business that's not seeping at the rear. It may not be leaving a puddle, but it's probably leaking. For my truck it was a combination of a new seal and Curil-t that stopped the leaks. And I don't expect to not start seeping again in five years.

 

This conversation made me feel better.

 

I cannot get the picture to load, what is it?

 

From reading the rest of the post, I'm guessing an oil change drain pan.