Is changing rear man seal worth it? 1gen Tacoma 180,000 miles

I have a 1 gen Tacoma with 180 thousand miles and I want to know in you guys opinion if changing the rear main seal is worth it. There is also another seal that is leaking in the upper part of the motor. It is behind the exhaust. The mechanic is charging me $350 for parts and labor for both. From what I can gather, that is crazy cheap. As I got quoted $1000 and $850 for just labor in other shops. He always gives us good deals, as my father is the supervisor of a delivery company and is always bringing him business.

 

$350 for a rear main seal? Yes. Do it and don't ask questions.

 

No, you should just scrap the truck.

 

It requires pulling the transmission to access the seal, it could be a costly repair. I'd say if it ain't leaking badly leave it be.

Edit,
Missed the "$350 for both" part, yes do it!
DO IT NOW!

 

agree with this guy

 

I will read a little more into it then the question you asked because I "think" this is what is on your mind in asking it.

180k isn't "too many miles" and I think if it were very carefully maintained its entire life, and not abused in any way, then it could easily go another 180k before needing to be rebuilt but that's just a guess. it may also only go another 30-50k before having issues, you just never know and can only judge by if it smokes at all, especially in early morning cold starts, or if it uses any oil at all. being able to judge how much life is still left in an old engine is pure guess work but odds are, most of these trucks will go to around 250-300k miles trouble free. some trucks go 500k miles on an engine and some crap out around 200k, you just never know because a lot of that is luck and a lot of it is careful maint and changing oil regularly

I would ask the guy what it would cost to just rebuild the whole motor for you while he is at it? he is basically giving you a family discount screaming deal on pricing so don't miss the opportunity to get it rebuilt cheaply and made new again if you can. if I were you and the price to rebuild is something you can afford then go that way but only if you plan to keep the truck for another 5-10 years, if not then change seals and drive it for another year or two as-is

 

Hey guys thank you for the replies, I also think that $350 is a real good deal I cant pass up. To the guy that said to scrap it. It would take a bit more for me to scrap this truck as it was my Dads and it carries more than just car value to me. Although I'm sure you were trying to troll xD

@keakar Yeah my mind was around that, I just don't want it to turn into a bigger problem you know? thats why I was asking, since its an older car. But again, no other mechanic will change both those seals for that amount. The car besides that has been in my dads hands since around 76k miles. Its when he bought it from a Toyota dealership. And I can say that in the amount of time he had it, he has only changed oil and the timing belt (the timing belt due to the fact that he is a "change the parts before they break kind of guy") So its been in good hands. I will ask him those questions however, as I do intend to keep it for a while. Maybe in the future Ill gather up the cash and have it rebuild completely. Thank you.

 

Sell it to me for 1,000

 

???

 

funny @NEWBIETACO lol

 

I'll pay $2000.00

 

with that well known history and that it appears you have a good mechanic you can trust, ask the mechanic to evaluate the engines compression and condition before he fixes the seals and give you his honest opinion on if its time to rebuild it or not. since you dad had it since 76k miles and maintained it well, its probably still in great shape but let him tell you that. I don't see it makes sense to replace seals and rebuild later since the seals will need replacing again when its rebuilt so keep that in mind.

"if" the engine is going to get rebuilt, then its best to not spend that $350 on the seals that will just be basically wasted money on a temporary fix. this presumes of course you can afford the rebuild at this time even though I think he will come back and tell you that its not needed, but that's my advice just in case

 

Sorry to thread-jack, but what do you guys think about replacing a 175k rear main that's NOT leaking? I'm going to be putting a new clutch on my 3rz and thought about just putting a new rear main on since I'll have access to it. What do you all think? Thanks

 

If you replace it, use a Toyota brand seal. If you're gonna use aftermarket junk then leave the factory one. Otherwise, really it's not much of a question.

 

prevailing wisdom is yes definitely but only use the oem seal when you do it, as mentioned the aftermarket ones are junk and don't hold up

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll go ahead and get me an OEM replacement to swap out while the tranny's out.

 

180k the 3.4 just broke in. Fix the seals and run that thing

 

Fix it

 

I'm glad to inform you guys that I did go ahead and asked the mechanic to replace them. $350 and 1 day later and she looks real good. No more oil spilling from the top part. There is a slight bit coming out from the seam between the tranny and the motor, but I'm sure that is due to the old oil that is still there, from the previously damaged seal. The guy showed me the previous seal and it wasnt damaged or cracked. It was just toasted, old, and completely hard. Will be checking her periodically for any signs of oil trouble. For now she is ready to Rock and Roll! Literally.
@keakar @Pabloeeto @smmarine @Xyphon112

 

Now just power wash that shit off at the car wash. It'll look almost brand new!