Three small leaks - plus other newbie questions

[hjl]

I purchased a 71 2WD Blazer last week, pictures and information are in this thread: I got one.

It's been sitting in my garage for the last four days, I didn't get a chance to pick up the plates until yesterday. I just drove it around the block a few time each day. The plan is to drive it with no major renovations. Anyway, I've noticed three small leaks. In order of worst to least:

1) Halfway back, it looks like gearbox oil leaking from where the transmission joins the driveshaft? It's (I think) the original three speed manual transmission. Is there a seal or bearing back there that can go bad?

2) A few drops of oil underneath the rear of the engine, could this be the rear main seal? I imagine fixing this is rather involved, dropping the oil pan, etc? Labor intensive? It's (I think) the original 6 cylinder engine.

3) A few drops of something oily directly under the rear axle differential, probably leaking from between the differential and the differential cover? Is this just a gasket that needs to be replaced? It looks like the original rear axle and differential, kinda rusty but not horrible.

So I've never worked on cars, and I have no wrenching skills whatsoever, but I found a local mechanic that has lots of experience with chevy trucks of this vintage. I just wanted to get the input of some board members as to potential problems and fixes for these leaks, so I understand what the guy is talking about when he tells me what it needs. I can post pictures later when I get a chance if that helps.

I'm also wondering which "must" be fixed, and which I can let slide. Despite my pathologically clean garage, the leaks don't really bother me, much.

Also, how do I check the gearbox oil?

Last question, I like reading and was wondering which manuals I can buy about this truck.

[tubbedII]

With #1, I'm of no real help as I've never owned this tranny or seen one...sorry
To check the fluid level though, there's no dipstick...just a plug you take off and stick your finger in to see where it's at. The fluid should be just a little below the hole (at least my saginaw 4 speed was like that).

#2, It could be the seal or it could be even easier with just a valve cover leak. The only real way to know is to get up in there and see where the leak is coming from. It may require you to clean it all off really well and wait for it to leak again to find it. I've never done a rear main seal before either, but a valve cover gasket is a very simple change.

#3, This is the easiest of them all and is just a matter of popping off the bolts and replacing the gasket. You'd be doing good to just change the fluid in it too since it probably never has before.

As far as which ones are bad, it really depends on your mentality and cleanliness. In my mind, I don't like any leaks and I think engine oil leaks are the "worst". But there's also the mentality that as long as you keep an eye on the levels and deal with the mess you are fine.

I don't own any manuals, but I think you're already on the best site for information on these trucks...it's VERY rare that you come across something that hasn't already been discussed. I say check out the FAQ section and do a bunch of searches based on what you're curious about. The 2wd Blazer is very similar to the 2wd trucks, so almost anything you read about them applies to the blazer.