rear main seal (crank)

Paul56 · Post by **Paul56** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 8:43 pm

Well it seems that real soon now I will need to get the rear main seal replaced.

I have always noticed some oil on the structural collar (the flat metal piece covering part of the oil pan near the tranny) and on the power steering cooler a little further back... but now it seems to be actually dripping a few drops when it is parked for a few hours. No puddles but definitely a few drops.

As well there has always been some oil consumption with it most noticeable after a long trip... 500 miles or so. I suspect this is where the consumption (leak) is happening.

I know it is not the cam sensor seal as that was fixed last summer... definitely not from the head as I checked that this evening... I believe the oil pressure sensor is on the block at that side but somehow don't think it is that either as the area in there seems to be dry as best I can see... so that doesn't leave much else except the rear main seal.

I know they will most likely drop the tranny (in my case automatic) to get to the seal -and- the FSM says to not reuse the transmission cooler lines once they have been disconnected... get new lines. So aside from a new rear main seal it seems I need to pickup the transmission cooler lines to be on the safe side and perhaps new filter and tranny fluid.

-Any parts other than those I mentioned about that will be needed?

-Will they need to drain the transmission fluid to drop it out the transmission? If so then might as well replace the filter and fluid again. (just had this done last summer)

-Anything else that I should consider replacing in the general area while they have it apart? (I'm reminded of the timing belt job where other parts were replaced)

-What about those transmission cooler lines... really necessary to replace them as the FSM says? I suppose to be safe I should follow the FSM recommendations.

-Any other advice about this?

It seems from my research that rear main seal is a fairly common issue so I suppose I should not complain but I'm going to anyways...

Mini rant...

It just seems to never end... sigh. I seem to be slowly rebuilding the car piece-by-piece. Will it ever end? I just want to drive the thing and enjoy it. Maintenance I don't mind but these timing jobs and rear main seal jobs are big deals.

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Jul 07, 2008 9:39 pm

Well those lines are 7 years old so new ones might not be a bad idea regardless. I think there have been a few recently on here that have failed, along with the cooler in the radiator.
If they actually have to pull the ATX then the halfshafts will need to be pulled, which will let some fluid out. I think that if the shop was good enough, the trans mount could be removed, and the Passenger side axle stub nut so the ATX could be shifted over enough to access the rear main. The TQ bolts would need to be removed so the TQ stays engaged in the front pump and then the flex plate removed. I would think 6" of room should be enough to get to the cap screws that retain the rear main seal. Of course they would charge you for the whole amount of hours alloted, if it was most dealers. This is why I did the clutch in my Raider myself. They wanted to charge for removing both driveshafts, transfer case, and trans. ($450 in labor) All I did was pull the radiator/engine.

Paul56 · Post by **Paul56** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 11:43 am

Thanks for your comments.

I'm going to hold off on the repair for a while. It is leaking but does not appear to be leaking all that seriously.

Drove 5 miles to work this AM, since that the car has been sitting for 3 hours with no drip under. It seems to take overnight or all day for any drip to appear... and it is just a few drips.

I'm not going to worry about it... it will keep for a while.

Thanks to Dante for providing the part numbers in the other posts... I have them jotted down and will pick them up sometime soon.

2kLX · Post by **2kLX** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:32 pm

I did mine
not real hard
Battery comes out
AF box comes out
both 1/2 shafts
remove the trans braces
remove the TC bolts
drop the trans
remove the flywheel - make sure to mark it location - so it goes back in the same clocked postion
remove the rea main seal with a pick
clean the area - tap the new one in
re assemble
3/4 day job or so....
just take patience

Paul56 · Post by **Paul56** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 11:03 pm

2kLX wrote:I did mine
not real hard
Battery comes out
AF box comes out
both 1/2 shafts
remove the trans braces
remove the TC bolts
drop the trans
remove the flywheel - make sure to mark it location - so it goes back in the same clocked postion
remove the rea main seal with a pick
clean the area - tap the new one in
re assemble
3/4 day job or so....
just take patience

Yes, I have been reading up on the job... a good bit of disassembly but it isn't rocket science.

There are times I wish I had the facilities for a jobs like this along with a 2nd car.

Back when there were 2 cars in the family I never hesitated to rip into the old 1972 Ford Pinto to avoid the labor expense.

Paul56 · Post by **Paul56** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 8:00 am

While on holidays last week I raised the front end up enough so I could crawl under there (barely).

The oil pan gasket is definitely leaking. I will have that replaced this week or next. It has been like this for at least a year.

I've been monitoring the oil consumption. Around town I never need to add any. After a 750 mile round trip I needed to put in 8 ounces to bring it back to max level... so the consumption may be a combination of the engine burning a small amount along with seepage out the oil pan gasket.

With CDN taxes the gasket cost me $49.35... might have been cheaper to continue topping up the oil. LOL

After that job is done I will monitor... it could be the rear main seal is also leaking some but at this point the major issue appears to be the oil pan gasket.

2kLX · Post by **2kLX** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:07 am

double check your oil pan - may not have a gasket - mine did not - the alum pan is sealer with just sealer. not just any RTV - if this is the case - the is a different sealer...

Paul56 · Post by **Paul56** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:00 am

Well...

The 2001 Neon parts manual indicates there is an oil pan gasket and around the upper edge of the oil pan it looks very smooth as though there is a gasket rather than RTV as with the automatic transmission pan. Haynes manual also indicates there is a gasket.

Paul56 · Post by **Paul56** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 2:06 pm

Got the job done this morning. Excluding the parts (oil pan gasket, oil filter & oil) it cost $141.61.

It would appear the rear main seal is fine... phew! But, I will be keeping an eye out on oil consumption and leaks over the next little while.

Previously I would need to add 8 ounces over the course of a 3100 mile OCI to keep it topped up. I was pretty happy with that level of consumption but expect it will go down some what with the oil pan gasket leak now fixed.