Re: John L. - Rear Main Seal

[jlandry@domain.elided (John A. Landry)]

In a brilliant stroke of genius, Mark A Pepe <mpepe@domain.elided> blurted
out:

>John, I was wondering about how  long it took you to install a new rear
>main seal? I've been getting the itch to do it and get rid of that
>occasional burning oil smell. Not to mention I hate getting under the
>traveller with everything coated in oil. Rust protection is good, but in
>Arizona there is usually more dust than water and dust sticks to oil.
>Messy, Messy, Messy!

It can easily be done in a weekend.  I can't tell you exactly how long in
hours, because I was doing so many other things at the same time.  I
dropped and pulled the auto tranny, then cleaned it with a couple of cans
of Gunk degreaser (to be Landryesque of course).  I also was installing a
rebuilt Dana 20 xfer case.  I replaced the front seal on the auto tranny
for good measure (at the recommendation of Digest members).

The actual job of replacing the seal was simple.  It's best to get the
tranny completely out so you have room to work... I can't imagine trying to
just move it back.  You just pry the old seal out with a large screwdriver
or pull with a slide hammer.  I used a combination of both, because it was
pretty stubborn.  Make sure you do nothing to damage the rear face of the
crankshaft in the process.  Then the new seal is installed and tapped into
place, making sure you get the seal lip in the right place (by using
something to help it slip over the rear face of the crankshaft).  Some
brands of new seals come with a special piece of thin plastic sheet which
goes inside the seal to assist in the installation.  I can give more
details in the future on this when you're ready.

The biggest PITA about the rear seal replacement is supporting the engine
properly and the raising the truck high enough so the tranny can be
removed.  I did everything by myself and was sore for a week.  When trying
to put things back together, I dropped the rear crankshaft spacer on my
right hand index finger.  My nail is just now finished growing back after
it almost fell off several weeks after the accident.  Ouch... I hate that!

Regards,

John
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