Rear main seal leak - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

farside847 · 04-03-2006, 04:06 PM

Well, I am told that my leak is from my oil pan, and my rear main seal. So, like a good little weekend warrior I opened up my chevy manual to see how to replace this thing. For some reason I thought you had to back the tranny off to do it, but my manual only says I need to take off the oil pan, then take off the seal cap. Is this right? It seems too easy, but then again the illistrations are not too good on this procedure.

Overall, how hard do you think this would be to do? I know I will need to drain all the oil out, take off the pan, take off the cap, replace the seal, and put the pan back on with a new pan seal and put in new oil. Am I missing anything? Will I need any special tools to get the old seal off and put the new one on?

Thanks!

70rs/ss · 04-03-2006, 04:41 PM

Nope, you have it covered. It is not hard, just a PITA to have to drop the pan and all to replace a $5 part. Good luck.

farside847 · 04-03-2006, 06:21 PM

Cool. My manual also says to use sealant around where the two bolts go in on the cap. Do you guys use sealant too?

ozzyracing · 04-03-2006, 06:38 PM

Don't forget to get the torque specs for the cap bolts. Hate to have one of those get loose.

cdowns · 04-03-2006, 07:00 PM

get yourself a one piece pan gasket from FELPRO it's well worth the extra money

Ole Blue 68 · 04-03-2006, 07:45 PM

Yes, just don't get any on the seal itself or it could effect its ability to seal properly.

Also, I found the diagrams from this page helpful.

http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBr...3d800514cd.jsp

Quote:

Originally Posted by farside847

Cool. My manual also says to use sealant around where the two bolts go in on the cap. Do you guys use sealant too?

jcfoote60 · 04-03-2006, 09:34 PM

Cdowns has it right, spend the extra bucks on a Felpro one-piece. The other thing is if you do go for the one piece do not use any sealant, it's designed to eliminate the need for that mess. You can also take your pan back off and reuse the same one piece gasket. It's worth the dough believe me...

jcfoote60 · 04-03-2006, 09:41 PM

Oh and one more thing, make sure you know EXACTLY what your engine is and what year. You can find the engine code on the rear of your engine, drivers side below the cylinder head there is a flat casting. the number is there probably hiding under some grease. Once you get the number go here to find out all you need to know about your engine so you don't get the wrong gasket.

http://www.nastyz28.com/sbchevy/sblock.html

04-03-2006, 04:06 PM	#1
farside847 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bay Area, California Posts: 995	Rear main seal leak Well, I am told that my leak is from my oil pan, and my rear main seal. So, like a good little weekend warrior I opened up my chevy manual to see how to replace this thing. For some reason I thought you had to back the tranny off to do it, but my manual only says I need to take off the oil pan, then take off the seal cap. Is this right? It seems too easy, but then again the illistrations are not too good on this procedure. Overall, how hard do you think this would be to do? I know I will need to drain all the oil out, take off the pan, take off the cap, replace the seal, and put the pan back on with a new pan seal and put in new oil. Am I missing anything? Will I need any special tools to get the old seal off and put the new one on? Thanks! __________________ 1971 Chevy C10 Shortbed Stepside, 307v8 3-on-the-tree

04-03-2006, 04:41 PM	#2
70rs/ss Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Northern AZ Posts: 7,271	Re: Rear main seal leak Nope, you have it covered. It is not hard, just a PITA to have to drop the pan and all to replace a $5 part. Good luck.

04-03-2006, 06:21 PM	#3
farside847 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bay Area, California Posts: 995	Re: Rear main seal leak Cool. My manual also says to use sealant around where the two bolts go in on the cap. Do you guys use sealant too? __________________ 1971 Chevy C10 Shortbed Stepside, 307v8 3-on-the-tree

04-03-2006, 06:38 PM	#4
ozzyracing Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Arizona Posts: 260	Re: Rear main seal leak Don't forget to get the torque specs for the cap bolts. Hate to have one of those get loose. __________________ 65 SWB 454 350T

04-03-2006, 07:00 PM	#5
cdowns Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: daytonabeach Posts: 22,956	Re: Rear main seal leak get yourself a one piece pan gasket from FELPRO it's well worth the extra money __________________ 71c-10 350/2004r/4:11 lowered3/4 longbed/dead by hurricane MEANING OF DEATH::::: SOMEBODY ELSE GETS YOUR STUFF DONT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU THINK TAKE MY ADVISE;I DON'T USE IT ANYWAY

04-03-2006, 09:34 PM	#7
jcfoote60 Active Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Idaho Posts: 263	Re: Rear main seal leak Cdowns has it right, spend the extra bucks on a Felpro one-piece. The other thing is if you do go for the one piece do not use any sealant, it's designed to eliminate the need for that mess. You can also take your pan back off and reuse the same one piece gasket. It's worth the dough believe me...

04-03-2006, 09:41 PM	#8
jcfoote60 Active Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Idaho Posts: 263	Re: Rear main seal leak Oh and one more thing, make sure you know EXACTLY what your engine is and what year. You can find the engine code on the rear of your engine, drivers side below the cylinder head there is a flat casting. the number is there probably hiding under some grease. Once you get the number go here to find out all you need to know about your engine so you don't get the wrong gasket. http://www.nastyz28.com/sbchevy/sblock.html



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