Oil leak. Need help. Could it be rear main?

[amclkc]

I have a 90 model full size Bronco. 5.8L engine. 4WD. Leaks oil on right back side of motor dripping down on the exhaust pipe. The leak is getting worse. I can't see where leaking with so much in the way. Would this be the rear main? If so, I assume I need to drop the transmission to replace the rear main. Do I also need to drop the oil pan from the motor. Need directions on procedure. Any advice is appreciated.

[Austin8214]

with the way you are discribing things I don't think it is your rear main. Sounds more like intake manifold gasket to me. If your rear main is leaking you will see oil coming out of the bell housing. you need to crawl under the truck and try to see where it is coming from. If there is to much in the way to see then run your hand up along the path that the oil is coming from with the engine cold.

[Truck]

Or you could warm the engine up and then power wash it to get a look at that beautiful engine. (Then once the leak starts again, you can see from where.)

It could just be a plain old valve-cover gasket, from all we can tell.

[wafrederick]

Check the oil pan also.Ford has problems with the oil pans rusting out on the 3.0,4.9,5.0 and 5.8 liter engines.If it has the "junk" one piece rubberish oilpan gasket that is an oil leak also,it splits.The dealer stocks the oil pans for that reason that I mentioned about.THere is one way to tell if the oil pan is bad,someone globbed on JB Weld on a certain spot.