Rear Main Seal

[AJBH]

Since I had such good luck with the ICM replacement, I need a little input on the rear main seal in my 460. It has been leaking for a while, only getting worse. As I don't have time to do major surgery anymore, I took it to the shop I use to see what they could do. They came back with EXPENSIVE! This seal replacement needs the oil pan to drop, but there is a frame rail in the way so the motor goes up?! This is not a good thing... I have so much stuff under that hood that I have added in myself , extra battery/wiring, fuel booster pump wiring, plow stuff, headers,etc, not to mention the Texas sized motor, that I know it won't go well. Not only that, they were worried about getting hurt working with the tranny/transfer! Remember when men were men? Anyway, is this true? Is there no other way to fix a badly leaking rear seal?? Someone give me some magic here...

 

[Fellro]

The rear main is a two piece seal, so it requires the rear main cap to be removed. That then requires oil pan removal, which as noted,t he frame cross member gets in the way, so you have to lift up the motor a ways, and the oil pump being mounted on the front of the motor makes it to where you have to lift it a bit more. Many times it is almost easier to pull the motor than do it in frame, but I have done it without taking the trans loose.

As to their worries about getting hurt, they must not do much, as it is no worse than the newer stuff. Proper equipment and there shouldn't be any concerns with that... Almost sounds like they really don't want to do it.

Now, there is some products that MIGHT band aid it. I know of some decent results from using products like Bars Leaks rear main seal additive, but I can not attest to how the rest of the motor does with that in it. It has some seal softening agents that may help, but I have also had decent success by simply replacing a quart of oil with a quart of Dex/Merc transmission oil.

 

[AJBH]

I have heard about using tranny fluid before, but wasn't sure if it was for real. Can I leave the Dexron in there, or do I need to change the oil sooner than later? I have tried a bunch of different rear main fixes in a bottle, none seem to help. I will try the Dexron and see how it goes. Thanks for the help.

 

[Fellro]

I usually do it for a regular cycle. The high detergent helps clean things up, and the seal swell agents sometimeshelp with seal leaks. If the leak is from a torn/cracked seal, there is no additive that will fix it.