rear main seal renewal while engin and box still in car

[jas98]

hey guys wel at me holden wrekers they said that i can change the rear main seal while the engin is in the car with the auto still in there alls i have to do is undo the main beaing cap bolts a little so the crank drops a bit then scrap/push/rip lol the old (if any left) wick seal out then slid a new seal back in ......some new neaprean seal that is supposeably a hell of alot better and easyer to intall (and expensive lol 40 bucks haha)

car is a vn v6 1988 runs fine but has massive oil leak from sump and maybe a little from rear main (or alot cant really tell lol)

the guy who told me i belive as he seeem like a good bloke and has done this to countless number of engins

what i want to knw is has anyone else done this before??? with engin still in car and sump droped(gonna replace sump gasket....crossmember droping aswell)

cheers

[Just_a_stocker]

yood have to remove the trans.

get him to do it if its cheap. hes probably talkin ****

[jas98]

yeh thats what i have read but also at me mechanics (well hes a old friend) he has changed them with the whick heaps of times and reckens its pretty easy to do with engin still in car.......even told us how (but expensive for them to do it though)..........but i dont wanna be ripping it apart and find out that it wont work....if ya know wat i mean


hmm might go back and make sure and if he can show us how to do it lol

cheers

[immortality]

the crank won't drop if you just loosen the rear main...... and good luck getting the sump off without either lifting the engine or dropping the K frame. it can be done without the trans in (mines a T5) and the flywheel was off (getting surface ground cause i blew the clutch presssure plate), you have to reach inside the sump (a double jointed wrist would help greatly with this bit) to remove the oil pickup to get the sump out. not a simple 2min job at all

[azkwazere]

ie. Its proably just easier to remove the engine lol....

aZk.

[jas98]

yeh well im dropping the k fram out to replace the sump gasket etc.....but was thinkig at the same time do the rear main.......as its an auto would i still be able to drop the crank in i undo all the main bearing bolts?


alot may say y not just take it out and do this...well i perfer not to if i can do it while its in there then its alot better for me

thanks for all the help

[PaRaDoX]

personally id remove the engine to do it, do a sump seal aswell, i removed my vn s1 rear main out of the car and its a pain in the ass to even get out , out of the car

but year, kframe and rack off shouldnt be too har but still not alot of fun

[Matt_vp]

if u don't have access to a hoist then pulling the motor and box out would be easier and probly faster, it only takes about an hour to get a v6 out, then u are working in comfort and will find it easier to do the job right instead of getting ****ed off and doing a half ass job. u will also be able to go right over the motor and fix anything else u find.
Have fun
Matt

[burnz]

top seal remove trans
bottom seal drop sump 15mm ..so yes he is right.

[friedchicken]

I would suggest you clean up around the sump and try to stop it with silicone or something first, or just to find out where its coming from. My vn didnt have any of the rope seal left and it didnt leak, so i dont think the rear main is going to cause a big leak...

[jas98]

hmm well i may just change the sump gasket as im 99% sure its that as it stopped leaking any oil after i jacked the engin up from under the sump when i changed me mounts but started dripping oil again about 1 week later.....and the gasket looks really bad...as in split lol


thanks for the help much appreciated

[PirateJoe]

the crank won't drop if you just loosen the rear main...... and good luck getting the sump off without either lifting the engine or dropping the K frame. it can be done without the trans in (mines a T5) and the flywheel was off (getting surface ground cause i blew the clutch presssure plate), you have to reach inside the sump (a double jointed wrist would help greatly with this bit) to remove the oil pickup to get the sump out. not a simple 2min job at all

This is a massive thread dig but anyway... You could buy a tool called a 'sneaky pete' for engines with wick rear main seals. Remove the rear main cap and pull out the old wick seal with the cork screw part of the sneaky pete kit. Then the other part was a long bit of wire with metal clips/clamps, you insert it over the recess above the crank, clamp it onto the new wick with some vaso and pull it over and around the crank. Old school tools, I still have one hey.

[bcw61]

hey guys wel at me holden wrekers they said that i can change the rear main seal while the engin is in the car with the auto still in there alls i have to do is undo the main beaing cap bolts a little so the crank drops a bit then scrap/push/rip lol the old (if any left) wick seal out then slid a new seal back in ......some new neaprean seal that is supposeably a hell of alot better and easyer to intall (and expensive lol 40 bucks haha)

car is a vn v6 1988 runs fine but has massive oil leak from sump and maybe a little from rear main (or alot cant really tell lol)

the guy who told me i belive as he seeem like a good bloke and has done this to countless number of engins

what i want to knw is has anyone else done this before??? with engin still in car and sump droped(gonna replace sump gasket....crossmember droping aswell)

cheers

Not saying it would be the easiest job to do, but if you have the two piece rope type rear main bearing seal, it is possible to carry out repairs without removing the transmission. The process is detailed in the VN factory service manual (and I believe the Gregorys manual has this procedure as well), and basically involves gaining access to and removing the main bearing cap, using a brass type tool & hammer to pack up the upper half of the rope seal on both sides, and then adding small pieces of new rope seal into both sides of the upper seal half. You then install a new piece of rope seal into the lower half of the bearing cap.

As I stated, it probably wouldn't be the easiest job to do, and I certainly baulked at repairing the rear main seal in this way on my old VN V6 before I got rid of it, however it would be an option. I am fairly sure the later VN V6s (Series 2?) were furnished with a one piece Neoprene rear main bearing seal, that is mounted on the rear of the engine block, and requires the removal of the transmission (and flywheel/driveplate), to replace it.

[clubsport999]

I have a hoist can I change the rear main seal with engine still in the car. How much clearance would I require to remove sump ?