Oof, rear main seal.

[exitreality1]

Here in about a month I'm going to be replacing my rear main seal (I still need to double-check this but I'm fairly sure that's the problem). While I have a fairly good idea of what I need to do (if the Haynes manual is at all accurate), I've never attempted a repair of this magnitude before and need general first-timer advice/tips as well as special tools I might need for the job.

I'm assuming it would be wise to rent a cherry picker and possibly buy some blocks to drive up on, though I'm not sure if that's a good idea if I'm going to have to jack it up to take the axles off anyway. I'm not in a rush to get this done, I'd rather take a couple days and do it right than screw myself over by rushing things.

Anyway, any pointers or advice for the job would be appreciated.

 

[Splitpi]

I thought you only have to remove the transmission ... not the engine. And then the flywheel, clutch to get to the rear main seal. Then it quite litterally picks out... or so I am told.

I would consider a clutch job while you are in there.

 

[exitreality1]

The cherry picker would be to hold the transmission when it's pulled, I was under the impression that I could jack the front up and drop the tranny down to get to the seal.

I'm auto (bleh...) so the process is slightly different. Reading the Haynes manual, the process looked like remove the transmission, remove the driveplate and axles, drop the transmission down and replace the seal.

 

[exitreality1]

Another question: Is it best to get the seal from the dealership or is there somewhere else I should look?

 

[rich3389]

The 420a is known for leaking rear main seals, it most likely is leaking.

 

[oldman420]

Me and my buddy did his in his driveway, all i can say is after dropping that tranny it's PITA to get it back in without removing the shifter fork bracket. Trust me. Benching that thing up and down 20 times while nate was trying to direct it from the top was something else, save yourself the hassel.