rear main seal

[cfo20]

Changed the oil today and noticed a small leak in the rear main seal where the bell housing meets the engine. It is oil leaking, not ATF. My question is how much would it cost to have that seal replaced? I don' t think that it is something I could do myself. anyone have any experinces that they would like to share? Oh yeah, it is a 93 sport 2wd. Thanks in advance!

 

[jimbo74]

rear seals are kinda a pita to replace...... depending on mileage you may just want to rebuild the whole engine..... or start using thicker oil..... like the maxlife... they have additives that help clog up impurities and leaks in the older cars

 

[88vert]

Jim

Is the rear main a split seal?

 

[jimbo74]

i dont know
but they normally involve pulling the engine and disconnecting it from the tranny at least a little bit

 

[2001gt]

Is your truck an automatic or 5-speed?

I replaced mine when I had to fix the slave cylinder and clutch, It is a solid circle gasket not a split gasket.

Since you car is a two wheel drive it is not as time consuming to drop the tranny, yet not an easy task.

If it only leaks a little I wouldn't fix it until, absolutely nescessary.

if your truck is a 5-speed wait until you need a clutch and do it all at once.

With the tranny out of the way it's not that hard to replace the rear main seal.

 

[Goober]

Mine has been leaking ( no puddles, but a few drips ) for a couple years. It may cause the truck to use a little more oil, perhaps, a quart over 5000 miles. The cost of replacing the seal on mine at 194,000 miles, goes way over the cost of a quart of oil between oil changes. Mine will stay that way til the motor comes out for a rebuild. The seal isn't that much, but it is very labor intensive. I was told around $400.

 

[jimbo74]

wow... only a quart every 5k....that is great..... 1 quart every 1k miles is normal on old engines

 

[snooper0069]

the rear main seal isnt as big a job as you would think. also if your exporer is a standard shift the oil leaking from the rear main will ruin your clutch . the oil will soak into the clutch and it will start slipping so its kinda of either change the seal or wait and change the seal and the clutch.

just my 2 cents worth .

 

[Jason_25]

snooper, can you explain how to do this?