Should i get it done or not?

[Icenzder]

I have a very small rear end seal leak, a drip here and there.

My mechanic says its not worth doing....he says if it was his car he'd leave it.

Hes been a great machanic for me for years and i trust what he says.

However he told me to think about it....

I got him to qoute me to get the job done and he says about $1600.00 which is not bad.

Im no mechanic but i do love my cars.

Thats replacing the Rear Main Seal,Front Crank Seal,Rocket Cover Gaskets,Sump Gasket plus labour...

He says without a Full rebuild he cant garenty every leak will be sealed....

What do all reckon i should do? yay or nay....its not bad....but he says without a full rebuild it might blow up after 20000 kms and then it might not.

Some experience and some good advice needed.....please comment.

[wraith]

Find a low km motor for $500 and go from there. That's what I did and didn't look back.

[304runner]

No point spending 1600 bucks on having seals replaced.. Is this a 6 or an 8? You can pick up a full rebuild kit for a v8 for $750 including gaskets!

[Icenzder]

its a 6 3.8 yeah im thinking along same lines......

[Icenzder]

yeah im thinking along same lines

[304runner]

Yeah I gotta be honest mate........

If my mechanic who I 'trusted" told me to replace 2 or 3 seals for nearly $2000 on an engine that are cheap as chips then id be wondering if he was short of work that week....

Id almost be inclined to buy an engine from a wreckers for $400 and a VN-VP Workshop Manuel for $50 plus a set of gaskets mentioned for under $100 and do it in the garage at home then take the engine into him to have it installed....

It would be even cheaper if you could commit to taking the engine out yourself and doing it to that engine. But you would be without a car for a few days.

If you can read a book, then you can do this job on your own....

[pjdm1980]

Leave it or buy a new car.

[VR38]

What oil do you use?

[Icenzder]

What oil do you use?

I always use a high grade quality oil Valvoline is one i like........

[mr calais 5.0]

Find a low km motor for $500 and go from there.

Wher did you find a $500 motor from? I keep an eye out and have seen none under 1200..

My mechanic thought mine was leaking when i bought my car and he quoted me $1000 to pull the motor and put new main seal and clean the bay and motor and put back in.. Truned out to be a front seal gone and the old owner just left it to cover everything.

[Icenzder]

Wher did you find a $500 motor from? I keep an eye out and have seen none under 1200..

My mechanic thought mine was leaking when i bought my car and he quoted me $1000 to pull the motor and put new main seal and clean the bay and motor and put back in.. Truned out to be a front seal gone and the old owner just left it to cover everything.

i looked on trademe in nz theres engines on there between $450 and $550 good for transplants im leaning doin it that way cost less

[Icenzder]

Yeah I gotta be honest mate........

If my mechanic who I 'trusted" told me to replace 2 or 3 seals for nearly $2000 on an engine that are cheap as chips then id be wondering if he was short of work that week....

Id almost be inclined to buy an engine from a wreckers for $400 and a VN-VP Workshop Manuel for $50 plus a set of gaskets mentioned for under $100 and do it in the garage at home then take the engine into him to have it installed....

It would be even cheaper if you could commit to taking the engine out yourself and doing it to that engine. But you would be without a car for a few days.

If you can read a book, then you can do this job on your own....

Ive got another car so its no problem....Just i dont have all the tools to do the job or the room.....so im leaning towards a transplant can pick up a secondhand engine tested and under warrenty for 3 months for 550 on an exchange basis....got my (Swear Word ...ford fairmont gearbox from the same people no issues at all) so probably be easier to do that. i tend to agree to with the 1st comments in this thread....or maybe a bottle of Bars stop leaks....no ill pass on that one.

[304runner]

Wher did you find a $500 motor from? I keep an eye out and have seen none under 1200..

My mechanic thought mine was leaking when i bought my car and he quoted me $1000 to pull the motor and put new main seal and clean the bay and motor and put back in.. Truned out to be a front seal gone and the old owner just left it to cover everything.

Are you kidding? I can had a vr calais engine on ebay with no reserve only 160,000 and it sold for $2.65c....

The prick didnt even give me $3!

[VKCOMMO]

Wher did you find a $500 motor from? I keep an eye out and have seen none under 1200..

My mechanic thought mine was leaking when i bought my car and he quoted me $1000 to pull the motor and put new main seal and clean the bay and motor and put back in.. Truned out to be a front seal gone and the old owner just left it to cover everything.

I bought a buick V6 off eBay for $32 about a month ago..

[monkeys437]

My mechanic told me the same thing with my first car when the rear main and power steering were leaking. He didn't want to take my money for a car worth 3 grand when oil could start leaking from elsewhere soon after. I ended up just topping up slightly every month and took about 2 years and 40k to go through a full 5L bottle of oil(was still getting regular service done as well). Id just keep topping the oil up until the leak becomes a major issue.

[pjdm1980]

Are you kidding? I can had a vr calais engine on ebay with no reserve only 160,000 and it sold for $2.65c....

The prick didnt even give me $3!

BA HA HA HA HA, tell me about it. I had a VS motor didn't sell for $250 then took $200 from a JC member.

[DAKSTER]

Seems to me the mechanic also gave you bad advice. Maybe the motor isnt economical to fix, so he should be advising to replace. He certainly shouldnt be advising you to ignore the leak, apart from anything else it makes your car unroadworthy.

[Icenzder]

Seems to me the mechanic also gave you bad advice. Maybe the motor isnt economical to fix, so he should be advising to replace. He certainly shouldnt be advising you to ignore the leak, apart from anything else it makes your car unroadworthy.

Here in NZ its not a roadworty issue....it will get a warrent no worries....its only about an egg cup of oil once a week if that....maybe im too fussy?? no hes a good machanic althoughs hes steep hes good...done a lot of work for me on my previous cars for me and not 1 problem...he knows i like my cars mint and im very fussy i think hes more looking out for me as he said if it was his car he wouldnt worry about it, but apart from that it goes well no problems...I JUST HATE ANYTHING THAT LEAKS!! lol cheers.

[lemusa]

Replace the engine, heaps on trademe. I got my v6 and t5 for 400 bucks couple years back. And k's dont matter so much on it cos they go forever

[Andrew426]

I should point out that any replacement engine you pick up off trademe will probably also have a leaking rear main, and if you are going to the effort of pulling the engine out to swap it you may as well just change the rear main when its out.

Honestly mate, dont worry about it till it becomes a significant leak (like litres a week) - $1600 to fix a leak is probably more than the car is worth.

There will be guys on this forum who will tell you to fix it and bring your 20 year old car back to showroom condition and all that other forum hero crap, but who really cares at the end of the day? oil is cheap and its not a major hassle to pour a little bit more in each week.

[GRPABT1]

Commodores and rear main seal leaks go hand in hand. I would leave it unless it requires constant topping up. Then if it needs doing I wouldn't be spending $1600 on a $50 engine.

[VK SL 3800]

I go with you mechanic and just leave it be, doing a rear main properly is a big job, you are supposed to remove the Rear main bearing cap and re-seal it as well, there is a lot of labour involved. As others have said, its not worth the money.

[Icenzder]

Thanks all for your comments much appreciated Thumbs up!!!!