This is the best way to take out your rear main seal.

[yellowstang1994]

Just thought i'd leave some advice to some of you guys that never changed a rear main seal before. I just got done doing my 3rd one this year, lol. First of all, you could spend hours and hours trying to pry it out with a screw driver or a small pick. Bottom line is you aren't going to get it out (you might eventually) but your going to dick up the surface around it. Well on my 3rd removal I got really smart. What you can do is take 2 wood screws and carefully put one in each side no more than a 1/4in deep, using a hand screw driver. Then just take a hammer and use the claw to pull the seal right out. When I did it that way it took me 2 minutes and I didn't damage anything at all.

And on a side note, I have yet to see a brand new seal not leak. Most people will say you'll get leak no matter what and this is true. And yes I did buy the $120 seal installer tool and if any of you want to buy it from me for $70 it's yours. But you just have to embrace the fact that your going to loose a little oil at the rear main seal, no big deal.

Hope I could help!

-Ted

 

[stang_dan]

good to go thanks
dan

 

[HISSIN50]

Ted, that works well on cam seals too, esp when you dont have much room to work with. Nice tip.

 

[95CobraMike]

nice work!

is your rear main leaking because of grooves in the crank?

 

[Zero Signal]

I read the Ford shop manual on it and it says to use their removal tool which consists of punching two holes into it, inserting some hooks then using a puller.

Thanks for that idea, I'll keep that in mind this coming weeked when I go to do mine.

From what I've read, you should be able to get it nearly leak free if you seal it with some RTV between the block and the seal then use plenty of thread sealant at the flywheel bolts since it can leak through those too. Then the consensus seems to be that you should always use the repair sleeve to keep any grooves from causing another leak, so I plan to get that and the tool for it.

Anyway, what seals have you been using? I was gonna try the Fel-Pro Teflon one which is supposed to be installed dry.

 

[RIO5.0]

I used the Teflon one in my FRPP gasket set....Believe it's Fel-Pro made....I have zero leaks....Been in 2 yrs and I just checked it 2 weeks ago...bone dry...I used no RTV either....You must have something thats affecting it for 3 in a year... :damnit:
Your right tho...I dubbed with mine for 2 hrs not knowing the screw trick...

 

[rockin_rick]

Thanks for the tip.

Rick

 

[a50sn95]

Ted, that works well on cam seals too, esp when you dont have much room to work with. Nice tip.

Cam Seals?

 

[HISSIN50]

Cam Seals?

I work on many vehicles, not just stangs.

John, I am with Andy on the teflon RMS. IIRC, AZ sells them for 20 bucks (cant recall if they stock them or not). Napa might sell them too.

Good luck bud.

 

[BDAWK2002]

When the rear seal leaks does it leak only when it's running or does it leak all the time.I just replaced mine two weeks ago and on the way to work tonite my low oil lite came on.I changed my oil when I changed the seal so it should be good and I havent seen any oil mark's in my driveway.I hope that friggin seal isnt leakin..the last thing I want to do is rip everything out to change it again.I should of left it alone the only reason I changed it was because I was doing the AODE to 5spd swap and had everything out.Well I guess now I can fix my squeaky t.o.b......

 

[Zero Signal]

John, I am with Andy on the teflon RMS. IIRC, AZ sells them for 20 bucks (cant recall if they stock them or not). Napa might sell them too.

$20 sounds like a deal. Checker wants $26, I've been pricing this whole thing out down to the liquid wrench for the H-pipe. I've been thinking of doing an FRPP clutch and O/R H-pipe while I'm at it, but we'll see.

For the screw trick, did you drill a hole in it first then put the screw in? I checked out the stock replacement seal and it's just rubber coated metal so just screwing them them in without punching a hole seems like it would be difficult.

 

[a50sn95]

I work on many vehicles, not just stangs.

I didn't know there were any other vehicles.....

 

[95Vert]

...

 

[WhiteDevil]

I just changed mine a few weeks ago with a felpro one. And i RTVed the **** out of it also. It still leaks a little but not nearly as much as before.

 

[yellowstang1994]

No problem guys. Mine doesn't leak to the point where i'll loose oil on the ground but it covers the transmission a little bit. I probably made a knick or something somewhere where the seal contacts it to make it leak like that the first time I did it. Which is why I wanted to let you guys know about the screw trick so the same thing doesn't happen to you. BTW, all 3 times I used the felpro teflon one and followed the directions that came with it. If I recall correctly I applied a thin layer of RTV to the outter layer.

Zero Signal - The first time I used the trick I used a very very small drill bit, I think the smallest I could find. But you really do not need it if you use the wood screws. They always tap into to most stuff pretty nicely. In this case the metal on the seal is pretty thin. If you can't get it though because a lot of seals are different I'd drill a very small pilot hole, you shouldn't even need to go through it to be on the cautious side.

 

[Zero Signal]

We just did the rear main and clutch today. With one drywall screw in there, it came right out no problem. Awsome idea I tried putting the screw in by itslef but I had to drill a pilot hole. In all, it took only a couple minutes to get it out so I was pretty happy about that. We actually got it out by putting vice grips on it and used a pry-bar on the vice-grips. Only thing I would say is mark the screw at about 1/4 inch or so (max) to keep from putting it in to far.

I'm just hoping the Teflon Fel Pro one holds up ok The instructions said not to use a repair sleeve with it so I didn't. The crank has some nice groves in it though. I think the shape of the Teflon seal is supposed account for it, but who knows.

 

[mo_dingo]

We just did the rear main and clutch today. With one drywall screw in there, it came right out no problem. Awsome idea I tried putting the screw in by itslef but I had to drill a pilot hole. In all, it took only a couple minutes to get it out so I was pretty happy about that. We actually got it out by putting vice grips on it and used a pry-bar on the vice-grips. Only thing I would say is mark the screw at about 1/4 inch or so (max) to keep from putting it in to far.

I'm just hoping the Teflon Fel Pro one holds up ok The instructions said not to use a repair sleeve with it so I didn't. The crank has some nice groves in it though. I think the shape of the Teflon seal is supposed account for it, but who knows.

I am sure you will find out after a few weeks though.

Yeah, we used a 1/6 drill bit and a #10 drywall screw and that works great. Like john said, if you drill to far, you will start drilling your crank, and no one wants that......

Also guys, if you need to do your pilot bearing, make sure you get the pilot bearing removal tool from autozone, b/c the one at checker has very thin arms and breaks easily, as we found out the hard way.

Scott

 

[Labora]

We just did the rear main and clutch today. With one drywall screw in there, it came right out no problem. Awsome idea I tried putting the screw in by itslef but I had to drill a pilot hole. In all, it took only a couple minutes to get it out so I was pretty happy about that. We actually got it out by putting vice grips on it and used a pry-bar on the vice-grips. Only thing I would say is mark the screw at about 1/4 inch or so (max) to keep from putting it in to far.

I'm just hoping the Teflon Fel Pro one holds up ok The instructions said not to use a repair sleeve with it so I didn't. The crank has some nice groves in it though. I think the shape of the Teflon seal is supposed account for it, but who knows.

Sorry to bump a old thread, but does anyone have pics of a repair sleeve?

As for the OP the 2 screws do work, but be VERY careful on how they are drilled in because they can mess up the crank/seal surface very easily. (My friend drilled in 2 screws with a power drill, if I had known I would have done it by hand with a pilot hole to be extra careful!)

 

[revhead347]

I always jam a screwdriver in between the block and the seal and pry it out. Takes less than 15 seconds, and it guarantees you don't break the seal and leave some behind. I must have changed at least 30 rear main seals. Tapped it back in with a hammer, no rtv, teflon or anything else. Never had a single one leak. The key is to sand down the crank a little before you put a new seal in. That ensures a fresh break in.

Kurt