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rear main seal

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sonicnofadz

15+ Year Contributor
782
12
Sep 12, 2003
Baltimore, Maryland
This is the crankshaft seal on the flywheel side of the block. Does the replacement require dropping the oil pan and removing the entire little housing behind the flyhweel, or can you just pry the little sucker out and rtv a new one in? My oil pan is not leaking and I would rather not have to replace it's gasket as well. I am in the middle of a clutch swap and I want to change everything on that side while I have the tranny off. Thanks.
 
No you dont have to drop the oil pan, at least i don't remember doing that. you will have to remove the flywheel and take off seal. i believe there are bolts that hold the seal on, correct me if im wrong. then replace the seal and reassemble.
 
Ok I guess I just need to RTV everything back into place...is there more than one seal to replace or is it just the seal surrounding the actual crank?
 
to remove the rear main obviously you will need to get behind the flywheel. after that, take a small screwdriver and pry the old seal out, be careful not to scratch the crank sealing surface. coat the inside of the seal with oil. then just press the new seal back in. no rtv required, only one seal to replace, and you do not need to remove the oil pan. what i used to put mine back in was the water pump pully (fit perfect), but then again the car was down to just a short block in the engine bay at the time.

jim
 
you will also need the paper gasket that goes behind the rear main seal backing plate. just squirta lil rtv for safety reasons on top of the oil pan gasket where the plate sinches down on it. as far as putting the new seal/ring in i used the old one and a hammer and tapped it around in a circle and it slid rigth in. good luck :thumb:
 
this is the best rear main seal thred i've found in my search for the following question / issue.

I ordered the rear main seal to do with im doing a clutch job.

Im ready to start putting everything back together but I didn't get the paper gasket for this backing plate. i cant seem to find the part number to order it.

i would like to button this job up and the seal does not appear to be leaking. im thinking of :

a: forget the seal and just put it back together :shhh:
b: make my own gasket for the backing plate out of the do it yourself cork gasket i have here and some rtv. the cork stuff i have is a little thick, maybe ill but some of the cardboard stuff.LOL
c: figuring out the part number and ordering the gasket. potentially have to wait another week or 2 for the part :notgood:

lastly.. so I suppose i need to drain the engine oil, then remove the plate and the rm seal should just pop out the old and the put in the new one and it will go in pretty easily?
 
I am wondering about the real main seal cover thing. I have the paper gasket to put behind it, but cannot get the cover off. My manual says I need to drop the oil pan, do I?

Yep, you have to drop the oil pan because the rear main seal housing bolts to the oilpan. You might be able to undo the bolts that go through the oilpan into the rear main seal housing and tap the housing out with a pry bar, but this is not recommended. Here is the procedure:

(assuming you have tranny/flywheel off)

1. undo all bolts and drop oil pan
2. remove rear main seal housing
3. install new rear main seal
4. reinstall rear main seal housing with new gasket
5. reinstall oilpan with new gasket
 
Im ready to start putting everything back together but I didn't get the paper gasket for this backing plate. i cant seem to find the part number to order it.
I am wondering about the real main seal cover thing. I have the paper gasket to put behind it, but cannot get the cover off.
4. reinstall rear main seal housing with new gasket.

Anybody got the Mitsu part number for this gasket for a 7-bolt engine? I can't find it in CAPS, nor can I locate it for sale on any vendor website.

I called my local Mitsu dealership, and they show to use RTV. I could have sworn it had a gasket when I took it apart last year....
 
I just came back to this...

You DO NOT have to remove the housing that the seal sits in. Just take a small screw-driver (or something similar) and pry the seal out being careful not to scratch the crank sealing surface, then re-install the new seal. Simple.

I've done several this way (mine included) without any leaks.
 
I recently purchased a 92 TSi AWD. After doing a oil change and switching to mobil one synthetic, I have a leak at my rear main seal.

The question is: Should I look for a particular brand rear main seal that'll handle synthetic oil, stay away from certain brands, or will any new seal do the job?

Thanks
 
I just came back to this...

You DO NOT have to remove the housing that the seal sits in. Just take a small screw-driver (or something similar) and pry the seal out being careful not to scratch the crank sealing surface, then re-install the new seal. Simple.

I've done several this way (mine included) without any leaks.

I have been working on these things for the last five years, and I cannot see how you can remove the seal without removing the seal housing, without destroying the housing and the seal, let alone install it. There is a lip on the front that the seal sits up against. It is smaller than the seal itself, which nessesitates the removal of the housing to press it off and remove it from the back.

I have never seen anybody try to install the seal the way you described, however, I have seen some damaged housings where it looked like sombody gouged it with a screwdriver. Thus a good reason why that way isn't the right one....

I recently purchased a 92 TSi AWD. After doing a oil change and switching to mobil one synthetic, I have a leak at my rear main seal.

The question is: Should I look for a particular brand rear main seal that'll handle synthetic oil, stay away from certain brands, or will any new seal do the job?

Thanks

Just use conventional oil.
 
I recently purchased a 92 TSi AWD. After doing a oil change and switching to mobil one synthetic, I have a leak at my rear main seal.

The question is: Should I look for a particular brand rear main seal that'll handle synthetic oil, stay away from certain brands, or will any new seal do the job?

Thanks
Replace the seal and your leak will depart. An OE seal will do just fine.

I have been working on these things for the last five years, and I cannot see how you can remove the seal without removing the seal housing, without destroying the housing and the seal, let alone install it. There is a lip on the front that the seal sits up against. It is smaller than the seal itself, which nessesitates the removal of the housing to press it off and remove it from the back.

I have never seen anybody try to install the seal the way you described, however, I have seen some damaged housings where it looked like sombody gouged it with a screwdriver. Thus a good reason why that way isn't the right one....
I'd have to agree with this statement.

My seal replacement was stubborn enough with the housing removed. I'd have to imagine that it would be ten times more difficult without removing the housing.
 
there is no way that seal is coming off without pulling the housing,the housing carries five 10mm bolts on the block and two that goes through the oil pan and yes you can do it without pulling the pan has been done countless times as for the gasket if you buy the housing it will come with the gasket and the seal retainer which keeps the seal in place in the housing
 
This is a wacky thread. I just replaced mine and all I did was pry it out with a flathead and slide the new one in. I neglected to oil it so it was a little fussy going in but I think it will be fine. There is no obstruction to the seal and the pan certainly doesn't have to come off. I'll even update this with a picture.

-iPhone
 
Last edited:
This is a wacky thread. I just replaced mine and all I did was pry it out with a flathead and slide the. We one in. I neglected to oil it so it was a little fussy going in but I think it will be fine. There is no obstruction to the seal and the pan certainly doesn't have to come off. I'll even update this with a picture.

You have a 7 bolt which is different from a 6 bolt. On a 6 bolt the seals comes out of the back of the retainer, the retainer has to be removed. On a 7 bolt the seal comes out of the front of the housing so it can just be pryed out and a new one installed.
 
You have a 7 bolt which is different from a 6 bolt. On a 6 bolt the seals comes out of the back of the retainer, the retainer has to be removed. On a 7 bolt the seal comes out of the front of the housing so it can just be pryed out and a new one installed.

I was hoping it'd be you who would chime in. Clearly, there was a disconnect between the folks in this thread because I was under no impression that anyone was a complete idiot (or the like) so I was certain that their accounts were true and that there must be a year or generational difference.

I only had my phone and searching/thread abilities can be limited. I'm sure there was a thread that connected all the dots within the last 5 or 6 years. :)

EDIT: Surely, no picture required.
 
I was hoping it'd be you who would chime in. Clearly, there was a disconnect between the folks in this thread because I was under no impression that anyone was a complete idiot (or the like) so I was certain that their accounts were true and that there must be a year or generational difference.

I only had my phone and searching/thread abilities can be limited. I'm sure there was a thread that connected all the dots within the last 5 or 6 years. :)

EDIT: Surely, no picture required.

Yeah the person who started the thread didn't state what year or engine that they were working with, so there were all kinds of answers, LOL.
 
I am looking to replace my RMS as a newbie mechanic. The only job ive done succesfully is the Slave cylinder. For me that was hard, bleeding the breaks and getting it air tight, the whole process of the SS took me about 2 hours. I am confident in my ability to do things but should i save this one for a Pro? or roll up my sleeves and dig in?
 
If you can handle the slave you can handle a seal.

Just don't forget that you still have to pull the transmission. ;) But that's not really a matter of difficulty, more a matter of logistics and practicality. Get a hoist or a friend and you'll be fine.
 
I just got an early 92 (6 bolt) and the rear main seal housing was cracked. I ordered a new one got it in, but idk how the seal and the metal retainer go back together. When I pulled it off it came apart so I couldn't see how it came off. BTW The kit I ordered was from Ebay and it came with the housing, seal, retainer, and a felpro gasket for the housing. I paid like 50 bones for the kit
 
dragging this one up...
2g 7 bolt. I got the full OEM mitsu gasket/seal etc kit and it didn't come with any paper gasket to go back there. Just the actual rear main seal. Do i need the housing gasket or do i need to put a bead of gray rtv?
It's a 7 bolt, i have only seen the paper gasket on the 6 bolts but i want to be 100% sure.
 
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