Tips for vt rear main seal job at home?

[yz300]

Hi everyone. I have a 98 vt wagon. It just passed 500k so if anyone says ecotecs are crap then they're very wrong. I got a quote from a mechanic to change the rear crankshaft seal (or main seal, whatever you call it) and the whole plate too but it's too much for me. So I'm looking for tips on how to best do the job at home. I've done jobs on cars like head gaskets, timing chain and changed gearbox and rear main seal on an old manual van for examples. I have jack stands and ramps i could use and a gregory's manual which is quite detailed but nothing really beats asking those who've done it themselves. I live in Geelong, Victoria if anyone might knowany mechanic who'd do it at a reasonable ptice too. Thanks, Gus.

 

[Grimes]

You’ll need to jack the car up, remove the transmission and drop the sump a few mm.

Once that’s done it’s straightforward. My only tip would be to jack the car up as far as possible so you can sit up straight in the trans tunnel. If you don’t it’s a PITA reaching up scraping the old gasket surface on your back.

 

[Lex]

Hi everyone. I have a 98 vt wagon. It just passed 500k so if anyone says ecotecs are crap then they're very wrong. I got a quote from a mechanic to change the rear crankshaft seal (or main seal, whatever you call it) and the whole plate too but it's too much for me. So I'm looking for tips on how to best do the job at home. I've done jobs on cars like head gaskets, timing chain and changed gearbox and rear main seal on an old manual van for examples. I have jack stands and ramps i could use and a gregory's manual which is quite detailed but nothing really beats asking those who've done it themselves. I live in Geelong, Victoria if anyone might knowany mechanic who'd do it at a reasonable ptice too. Thanks, Gus.

Hi Gus. Here's a link to the oem vt - vz workshop manual pdf.

Won't work on your phone.
Pc or mac only.
2.69 gb. Has to be downloaded to look at it.

Hope it helps, if you decide to do the job yourself.

 

[yz300]

You’ll need to jack the car up, remove the transmission and drop the sump a few mm.

Once that’s done it’s straightforward. My only tip would be to jack the car up as far as possible so you can sit up straight in the trans tunnel. If you don’t it’s a PITA reaching up scraping the old gasket surface on your back.

Thanks for your reply

 

[yz300]

Hi Gus. Here's a link to the oem vt - vz workshop manual pdf.

Won't work on your phone.
Pc or mac only.
2.69 gb. Has to be downloaded to look at it.

Hope it helps, if you decide to do the job yourself.

Thanks for your reply

 

[Immortality]

Agree with the above, you want the car as high as possible to give yourself more room to work under the car.

Do a trans service whilst your at it and drain the trans pan or otherwise, if you have an old driveshaft, remove the yoke and shove it up your trans and tie it in place so that when you tilt the transmission down the fluid doesn't leak out the extension housing.

Long live the ecotec

 

[Heavy VT]

I would do your transmission pump seal too, while you're transmission is out.

 

[yz300]

I would do your transmission pump seal too, while you're transmission is out.

Thanks for your reply, what's the transmission pump seal? Is it something that can only be accessed with the trans out? Is it expensive?

 

[yz300]

Agree with the above, you want the car as high as possible to give yourself more room to work under the car.

Do a trans service whilst your at it and drain the trans pan or otherwise, if you have an old driveshaft, remove the yoke and shove it up your trans and tie it in place so that when you tilt the transmission down the fluid doesn't leak out the extension housing.

Long live the ecotec

Thanks for your reply. I've been told the plate holding the rear seal has to be lined up perfectly etc or it may leak. Are special tools needed or is it just a matter of cleaning surfaces properly and lining up bolt holes properly? Are aftermarket seals/plate suitable?
Is 1 person able to remove and install the transmission? I've heard the torque converter can somehow be a problem when removing the transmission, something that has to be watched out for. Do you have any knowledge/tips?
Gus.

 

[Immortality]

Unless you have a transmission jack I would highly recommend 2 people minimum pull the trans out so one can hold the trans on the jack (with a piece of wood in between) and the other to work the jack.

Just unbolt the converter from the flex plate and push it back into the transmission as far as it will go. Only when you remove the converter from the transmission do you need to ensure it goes back in properly and engages properly with the pump and stator shaft etc (you should feel 3 distinct thumps or clicks as it slides and engages whilst spinning the converter).

Genuine rear plate is the best option (not actually seen aftermarket plates). See attached PDF, The big thing to note is that the seal and plate are centred around the crank flange (the weight of the seal plate might push it down some). Holden show a special tool to assist with this but you can probably eye ball it (just make sure the gap around the plate/flange is even the whole way around).

I do believe genuine rear seal plates come with little plastic bushes to help centre the plate with the bolts.

Ohh, clean the crank flange and put engine oil on it before pushing the seal/plate on. Without any oil on it the seal will run dry and can risk burning up causing leaks.