Rear main seal worth replacing?

Rear Mai shouldn't be getting oil on your shock.

 

Quite. I was confused about that. What do you think that could be?

 

Mine looked the same. Around 230k. It’s was the valve covers leaking down and it looked like it was the rear main sseal

 

Something leaking above your shock

Wise ass answer but without being able to look myself its the only one I'm confident in giving. Just because you have oil on the main doesn't mean that's where it's leaking. That's just the lowest part of the bellhousing so any leaks above will show up there. You have to find the highest point that has a leak and work your way down.

And just because you find a leak higher up doesn't mean your main ISN'T leaking as well. Leaks tend to happen in bunches. If 1 seal is x years old and fails, all the other seals are just as old as the failed one. Same reason you replace both headlights at once even if 1 still works.

Really clean your engine, it will make finding a leaks source a lot easier.

 

So what are all the points I need to check for leaks? Just rear main and valve cover gaskets?

 

I thought mine was leaking as well but it turned out to be the passenger side valve cover. Oil was finding its way down along the engine, across the front face of the transmission and onto the steering rack. After wiping everything down and watching it daily, it was obvious it was coming from the valve cover.

 

Saw your concern over a rear main seal leak, I purchased a product called "

$15 AT-205 Re-Seal Stops Leaks, 8 Ounce Bottle

AT-205 RE-SEAL" for my leaking 2.7 litre engine. I was quite surprised to see that it did in fact seal up my engine leak that was 2 weeks ago. Lots of youtube info on this stuff and of course literature. I have no vested interest in this product. I am very happy with the results. My 2 cents worth.

 

I had the dealer charge out a leaky RMS on my '01 2.7l (225K) when they did the frame replacement. Under the circumstances, it was easy as they had the engine out, and I only paid a minimal amount for the addition labor/parts.

It drives me crazy when I have an oil leak, so there was no question about either me fixing it, or in this case, the dealer. The valve cover gaskets also seem to be a common leak point that is worth checking out. Might catch a break there if they are the source.

 

Yup. Highly doubt any and play.

 

Auto. Front seal isn't leaking at all. I agree with you about the crank play thing too. When the first mechanic told me that the crank could have play, I was thinking to myself "ok he really doesn't know these trucks", but then when a second mechanic told me the same thing, I started getting scared. Still it's hard for me to believe that this motor would develop that bad of play to where the rear main won't seal properly at only 227k. I just don't think that's the case.

 

Probably valve covers and cam plugs leaking. What mine looked like. There was oil everywhere!!!

 

OP, please check the valve covers first. Take your clean hand and feel around gently on the rear of each head. Do you have oil on your hands? Report back here.

 

Just checked. Back and sides of the engine are clean. It's not valve cover unfortunately...

 

How about checking then just barely under the heads with youre hands, if you havent yet.

 

Ok a lot of people telling you to do a lot of stuff. Let's summarize:

1) Clean Everything with brake cleaner/rags. Get all the oil off. Make as though youre gonna eat off that thing.
2) Drive it/run it for 1 day.
3) Start from the top of the engine (valve covers etc) and work your way down. (back of the heads down to the bell housing etc) Since you cleaned everything any oil leaks will be very easily visible.
4) Once you found the source, or area, it should be fairly simple to know what to replace. If you need help use a parts diagram of the area to eliminate what you know is not leaking.
5) Assess the cost and or skill level of doing it yourself vs shop doing it.

Bottom line:
This method will pinpoint exactly where the issue is and how much it should cost. I think we are all just pointing at stuff where it could be leaking since we can't be there to look.

 

How about cleaning up all signs of oil leaks, refill oil to proper level and every day you look around the engine to see where its leaking. Rear main seal would not splash oil over your front shocks. It would be splashing it all over your flex plate, transmission cover and lower transmission.

 

Subscribed.

 

Cleaned it all off Sunday and watched it all yesterday. I'm %99.99 sure it's rear main. Going to go to a friend of mine today who owns a shop that does great work and see what he thinks the best option is.

It's also getting worse by the day. Puddles getting bigger and bigger every morning...

 

It is absolutely worth replacing. While you're at it, replace the front main seal, do the valve covers, coolant hoses, thermostat, radiator cap, PCV and a good thorough inspection by someone you trust. Give her the love she's given you, and you can expect many many more years of devoted service.