rear seal question?

[motroman]

My rear main seal is leaking(what's new),..and my mechanic wants to pull the tranny to replace it. Because I haven't worked on these cars before(owned for 2-weeks), does he also have to pull the oil pan and main bearing? Or can he get to the seal after pulling the tranny and flywheel? Thanks

 

[OKTurbo]

Actually you don't even have to pull the transmission, but the oil pan and rear main bearing cap will have to come off.

You will have to raise the engine a bit to get the oil pan off though...enough to get the pan to clear the K-member.

John

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

i guarantee there is no need to pull the tranny to get that seal out-

just stick a piece of mechanics wire to shove the old seal out, and try not to touch the crank with that wire-

RTV no stake seals, DO NOT put rtv below the cap to try and seal it-
use the RTV white tip and a washer to push the RTV into the holes to seal up the square holes...

im sure there is a article somewhere how to do it on

www.gnttype.org

 

[motroman]

The mechanic seems to think it's easier and safer to pull the tranny, the flywheel, and then the rear main, then fooling around with the rear main bearing cap, etc. He says it's a 3-hour job at most. I just want to make sure he can get at the entire seal by pulling the tranny and flywheel. Thanks

 

[TWISTER]

2 motor mount bolts and jack the engine up and set a couple of blocks in where the bolts were, Just enough clearance for the pan to come off. You can pull the top half of the old rope seal out with a screw.VERY easy job.No need to pull the trans cept for a mechanic makin a little extra cash.

 

[TurboDave]

Originally posted by motroman
The mechanic seems to think it's easier and safer to pull the tranny, the flywheel, and then the rear main, then fooling around with the rear main bearing cap, etc. He says it's a 3-hour job at most. I just want to make sure he can get at the entire seal by pulling the tranny and flywheel. Thanks

Your mechanic is obviously mistaking our two piece rear main seals with the one piece units on later GM's, etc. Remind this guy that these are old style two piece units. Trust us, HE CANNOT get it out without pulling the pan and the rear main cap.
Oh, and NO the tranny does not have to come out.

 

[motroman]

Turbo Dave,..you're right. He's probably thinking it's the same type of seal as my Camaro,..which, so far, doesn't leak.

I'm taking it in tomorrow and we'll have a nice discussion about how to do the job.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[turbosam6]

Also, the pan can be easily pulled without unbolting any motor mounts. Just drop the pan, the cap, and have at it. Make sure this guys qualified to work on your car, sure seems like a lot of people getting screwed by incompetent mechanics lately.

 

[needforspeed]

rear main seal

Originally posted by motroman
The mechanic seems to think it's easier and safer to pull the tranny, the flywheel, and then the rear main, then fooling around with the rear main bearing cap, etc. He says it's a 3-hour job at most. I just want to make sure he can get at the entire seal by pulling the tranny and flywheel. Thanks

i just had my rear main seal done 2 weeks ago at a garage,the mechanic there seem to think the same think that the tranny had to be pulled,It didn't.If I remember correctly the Chilton labor guide had it at 2.25 hour job.

 

[digorok]

Rubber rear seal

I kind of remember reading somewhere about a rubber lip seal to replace the rope seal.
Has anyone tried this seal???? Seems like the rope seal is old technology.

 

[salvageV6]

The books and computers and all think you have to pull the crank out to replace the rope seal. Priced accordingly.

However if you explain the process to him on how to get the old one out and replace it with a neoprene new style one he should understand and charge you accordingly. I hope.

My guy figured it out after I went when he said he was going to pull the crank out.

 

[BlackBandit]

Here's the address for the instructions on gnttype. I just did mine about a month ago. Didn't move the motor or tranny. Just dropped the pan and main cap. Rope seal pulled right out. Followed these instructions and the whole job only took about 2 1/2 hours, start to finish. Used rtv instead of the rubber seal things on the side and it doesn't leak a drop. (I run Mobile 1.....for now)

 

[BlackBandit]

My bust. Forgot to throw this in.

http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/engine/rearmain.html

 

[motroman]

Done!

The rear seal is in!

Took several hours, dropped the pan, the rear main cap, the old rope seal which was in pretty bad shape, and put the new neoprene seal in.

One important note. The oil pump pickup screen was pretty clogged so we replaced that. That could have been a disaster down the line.

Anyway, thanks everyone for your imput.

 

[rocco2in]

How would replacing the rear main seal be effected if you also wanted to replace the stock stall converter at the same time? My mechanic believes this should be done at the same time since the tranny would be out but now I'm realizing this isn't the case. Thanks for the feedback.