rear main seal

dnihan · #1 (**permalink**) 07-05-09, 08:00 PM

Hello all, I am getting ready to install my engine and i am putting a new rear main seal in. it has a metal insert and i have ruined one seal so far and i just don't get how i am supposed to get this insert out. has anyone else done this before?? Dan

submariner409 · #2 (**permalink**) 07-05-09, 08:16 PM

I believe there's a not-so-cheap installation tool that does the job. Tateos or Jake might chime in.

dnihan · #3 (**permalink**) 07-05-09, 10:27 PM

I have talked to Jake but did not want to bother him again b/c i still don't know what to do. Maybe i have to locate this tool. thanks

tateos · #4 (**permalink**) 07-07-09, 04:25 AM

Yeah - a special tool - I think I paid almost $300 for it, and used it once for 30 seconds! The tool presses 1/2 the seal on the crankshaft flange, and the other 1/2 into the block recess

A poster 6 months or a year ago found one on e-bay for $25-$30 including shipping - what a deal!

Let us know if you can't find the part # for the installer, and I will look it up - it was on a TSB - probably Jake knows the # by heart!

For what it's worth, I replaced my RMS when I did my HG project - it was leaking pretty badly - leaving a lot of oil spots on the street. Anyway, I installed the new design seal with the special tool, and I still seem to have a smell of oil when the car is warmed up and I am stopped at a light with the windows open; I think I still have a leak in that same general area - RSM leaks down on the crossover exhaust pipe. I haven't spent a lot of time trying to be sure, but I think I still have the leak, and just can't magine why.

I am tempted to turn my car in for a new car in the cash for clunkers deal about to come out. I like the car a lot, but $4,500 sounds sweet. I mean, I don't think my '97 ETC with 151K on it is worth that much, right?