F*&k, I think my brand new rear main seal is leaking!!

[steve91tt]

Time will tell if it solved my leak. I hear the oil pans are a bit finicky

What brand of gasket did you use? Did you use any RTV or did you put it on dry? My pan is wet around the edges again. Not bad but it looks like I have to do my oil pan again some time in the future.

[cozye]

What brand of gasket did you use? Did you use any RTV or did you put it on dry? My pan is wet around the edges again. Not bad but it looks like I have to do my oil pan again some time in the future.

I used a Fel-Pro gasket I ordered last month from Rock Auto. Manual calls for gasket cement, but usually that is more of a function of keeping the gasket in place when installing than it is for sealing. I ended up just putting it on dry, very carefully, and only after cleaning all surfaces very thoroughly and wiping down with a grease remover solvent. If I have to do it again with cement, it wont be a big deal. My theory is that gaskets work better when the surface is super clean and dry anyway. It went in so easily, that the gasket was not disturbed. I just went around and loosely started the pan bolts to make sure the gasket was centered in several sections. Then I threaded all bolts finger tight. Then I torqued gradually around a couple times until I got proper torque. It should be fine.

[steve91tt]

Sounds good. Let us know how it holds up.

[cozye]

Ok,

So here is the final prognosis.

the oil pan gasket is not leaking so far. I put about 100 miles on the car and it seems to be holding up good.

That brings us to the other side of the story. My leak at the back corner is still there. So with the oil pan gasket no longer seeping oil, that only left one thing.

I quit whining about it and pulled the tranny tonight. Only took me an hour and 10 minutes. The verdict is that the rear main seal was leaking.

I don't know why however. I inspected it on the car, definitely leaking slightly, oil was all gathered up around the bottom of it and was the source of the oil dripping from behind the aluminum bell housing cover.

I pulled it out carefully and inspected it some more. I don't see any nicks in it, cuts, nothing to indicate any reason for a leak. I also inspected the inside of the block and crank. No nicks or groves that I can feel.

This bothers me. I don't know why it was leaking. The only thing I can come up with is that perhaps I drove it on a bit too hard, and that maybe the back edge of it rolled up on this slight ridge/machine line on the bottom crank cap. Pic below.

It's either that or the gasket MSA sent me "made in japan" is faulty. The new one I have is a felpro and seems to be more solid metal with slight rubber coating. The other one had a metal sleeve, but thicker plastic/rubber molded around it.

Any tips to make sure I do this with success would be appreciated. I'm thinking of trying the sealer around the outside of it like previously suggested, but then I wonder if I have to do it again that the dried sealer will be a pain to clean up.

notice slight edge on bottom before the back stop

Edited January 27, 2011 by cozye

[Jeff G 78]

I can't tell what I'm looking at. Can you explain the picture better?

[cozye]

I can't tell what I'm looking at. Can you explain the picture better?

That is the hole in the block where the seal drives in. the top third blurry part of the photo is the end of the crank. The bottom third is the bottom end cap, and thats where the very slight ridge is just before the back stop (what the light is reflecting) where the seal should sit I reckon.

It was hard to get the camera up in there and get it to focus on that ridge. The other half (the upper block side) doesn't have that machine ridge in it. It's like the part is cast, then machined out for the surface where the seal drives in.

I'm thinking maybe just not drive the seal in that far. But I want to be sure.

[ktm]

Is the seal still in place in the picture? If so, it looks too far in. I install the seal to be flush with the block.

[madkaw]

So glad to see this thread, but not happy to see you having issues. I am having the same leak I believe on my engine-that has just 3000 miles:mad:

The oil is leaking at the rear corner of the block and it doesn't seem to be the oil pan gasket. I tried prying the "shield " back away from the block and it does look slightly wet up around the main. I need to find some more pics of that area since my memory sucks and I am having a hard time picturing what is going on.

I guess I have that final excuse for getting a trans jack now.

Please take many pics-close and not so close for us wannabee mechanics!

[cozye]

What brand of gasket did you use? Did you use any RTV or did you put it on dry? My pan is wet around the edges again. Not bad but it looks like I have to do my oil pan again some time in the future.

Is the seal still in place in the picture? If so, it looks too far in. I install the seal to be flush with the block.

no, the seal isn't in. The pic is for reference of the slight lip on the cap surface.

[cozye]

So glad to see this thread, but not happy to see you having issues. I am having the same leak I believe on my engine-that has just 3000 miles:mad:

The oil is leaking at the rear corner of the block and it doesn't seem to be the oil pan gasket. I tried prying the "shield " back away from the block and it does look slightly wet up around the main. I need to find some more pics of that area since my memory sucks and I am having a hard time picturing what is going on.

I guess I have that final excuse for getting a trans jack now.

Please take many pics-close and not so close for us wannabee mechanics!

It's an easy job really. For me the hardest part is getting the drive shaft loose. Sway bar and rear differential mount is kind of in the way and the nuts are tough to get too. The 240 might be a little easier, I don't know. You will need a clutch alignment tool.

[gryt57]

Coyze,

Did you replace the two little rubber side seals when you replaced the pan gasket? Also when replacing the crankshaft seal, did you check to see if there was a wear line on the crank, from the previous seal. If there is, you need to position the new seal where there is no wear line.

[cozye]

Coyze,

Did you replace the two little rubber side seals when you replaced the pan gasket? Also when replacing the crankshaft seal, did you check to see if there was a wear line on the crank, from the previous seal. If there is, you need to position the new seal where there is no wear line.

I did not replace the side seals. I've got some, looked at them and opted not to disturb them. This rear main seal wasn't leaking until I proactively replaced it during my clutch install a few months back. If I'm looking at it correctly, I don't think the cap is leaking on the seems that I would presume the side seals to seal. Once I got the fly wheel off, it was very obvious that the rear main is the culprit.

On the crank, you can't feel any wear, but I can see a dull area that i presume is where the seal was riding.

Another thing. On the last seal install I didn't think to smear a bit of oil around the inside of the seal that rides on the crank. I wondered if a little friction on it on first start up caused any issue? Again, there is no visible indication on the new seal for why it was leaking.