ANY TIPS FOR REAR MAIN SEAL?

[jimdrechsler]

I'm having my mechanic put a new clutch and rear main seal in this weekedn hopefully. Is there anything he needs to do (tricks he should know about) to ensure that the rear main is done correctly and wont leak after? Ive read somewhere that people have rear main seals leaking shortly after changing to a new one!

Thanks,

Jim

 

[4G-KDMP]

if he's a mechanic then he'll know what to do.
but there is no guarantee that i know of that it won't leak again, it's the nature of the beast.

 

[Fett]

Someone once said, show me a 5.0 with a dry rear main...and I will show you a 5.0 with no oil left in it.

How old is your balancer? If it is the stock one and it has a lot of miles on it, you should inspect it. Depending on miles, I would go ahead and change it. A bad dampener can help ruin a rear main or front crank seal. I had it happen on mine, so I replaced both seals and the balancer.

 

[bloopbloob]

make sure the work is waranteed! i had to get mine fixed, cost me like $1500, and they had to redo it twice within 3 weeks. i guess it wasnt seated correctly or something the first 2 times?

 

[Darkwriter77]

A good start would be to use a decent rear main seal, in the first place. I threw in a Felpro Teflon seal when I swapped out my clutch and flywheel, and I haven't leaked a drop since. (Oh crap ... does this mean I'm outta oil and my dipstick isn't reading true? ) Make sure he DOES NOT use RTV when installing a Teflon seal, and hopefully he'll know well enough not to mangle the thing or score the crank while putting it in, or you'll have another leaky mess all over again.

 

[HISSIN50]

I guess we should also ask if your crankcase ventilation is up to par. If not, no RMS can keep dry (the RMS is often the next-least path of resistance when the PCV valve is overwhelmed).

Good luck.

 

[Roland69]

mine is the original from 88.....no leaks

 

[jimdrechsler]

A good start would be to use a decent rear main seal, in the first place. I threw in a Felpro Teflon seal when I swapped out my clutch and flywheel, and I haven't leaked a drop since. (Oh crap ... does this mean I'm outta oil and my dipstick isn't reading true? ) Make sure he DOES NOT use RTV when installing a Teflon seal, and hopefully he'll know well enough not to mangle the thing or score the crank while putting it in, or you'll have another leaky mess all over again.

can this be purchased at a local parts shop, or would it have to be ordered? i have a good mechanic that works in his garage, one that i trust and is really cheap. been taking all my cars to him for 10 years now. im sure he knows what he is doing, but i was reading about how they leak right after sometimes. hissin, i think i got all that taken care of last year. he made a baffle somewhere and there hasnt been any oil in TB at all. ill try and take pics of what was done and post them. im not sure about the balancer, so ill have him check it out and possibly replace if it is a cheap part.
thanks for all replies- just making sure we get it done right the first time.

 

[HISSIN50]

Last time I checked (which was a couple years ago), you could get the Felpro Teflon seal for 20 bucks at Autozone.
Because of the brand name, I'm sure you could have it special ordered, worst case. A lot of the time it seems to only take a day to get something from a warehouse in an adjacent city, if necessary.

Good luck.

 

[ShortThrow50]

if i were you I wouldnt give your mechanic tips on putting you rms in. You know why? cause your gonna insult him. If you do that, he may put it in wrong on purpose. Mechanics dont usually warantee work like that

 

[jimdrechsler]

if i were you I wouldnt give your mechanic tips on putting you rms in. You know why? cause your gonna insult him. If you do that, he may put it in wrong on purpose. Mechanics dont usually warantee work like that

i agree to a degree. ive known him for over 10 years now though and i know he would never do anything like that on purpose. i will recommend he get the felpro teflon gasket with no rtv, or i may pick one up tomorrow if they have one. ive brought about 7 different cars to him through the years ive known him and taken it back if things aren;t right (which is rare). i always give him extra money too when he gives me the total cause i know how much he has saved me through the years. im sure he knows, but i want to be sure.

thanks for all replies!

p.s.- he actually has my rider mower and snowblower he is fixing for me now! he also has my friend's and my 1975 RV!!!! he's had that for the winter so far doing mainifold work and odds and ends.

 

[HISSIN50]

Though it doesn't really apply to Jim's friendly relationship with his mechanic, there is always a way to be subtle with suggestions to someone working on the car, and it can be done in a way that pats the mechanic on the back.

E.g.: "I did some research on these teflon RMS's. It seems like like you have to do A,B,C to get them installed but I knew that as good as you are, it would not be a problem......... But in your experience, if you think a standard RMS is better, I can go swap this one in on a rubber version."

You've just spewed the additional things needed for the install, while showing your faith in him by suggesting you know he will have no problem with the tougher install. You also gave him a gracious way out if he really is not comfortable with the install.

That's just how I see it.

 

[302RollinHard]

^^^ Good advice right there.....