geminis2k

Well, bout to order a clutch but before I do I want to see what H-T thinks - Just an educated guess and if the general opinion is that it's my rear main seal leaking oil then I have no choice but to drop the tranny and I might as well throw a clutch.

Quick background,

I changed my oil pan gasket because it was leaking oil slighltly - when I tightened it I didn't realize it had specific torque settings, patterns, etc so the gasket got pinched - the car didn't start leaking oil again until 2 weeks later when I noticed my car was smoking from the engine bay and I traced it down to the oil pan leaking oil on the headers..

I drop the oil pan again this weekened, new gasket. This time with proper torque applied. 15 mins idle, no leak - I go step on the car... come back, OIL EVERYWHERE... leaking from flywheel cover. moreso than ever.. I talked to MadCow from H-T and he said the oil pan gasket has washers and to make sure I only had 1 on each side next to the flywheel cover - dropped oil pan AGAIN..

Sure enough.. 2 washers instead of 1, put 1 washer on each, bolted it back up.. (this was all a huge PITA btw cause I have no power tools)

Take the car for a spin.. OIL. OIL. OIL.. GRR! Although this time not as bad but still noticeable and STILL from the flywheel cover area.

The only reason I don't straight up say it's the rear main seal is because it would be a HUGE coincedence for that to happen and me to leak double the oil when changing the oilpan for the 2nd time.. or maybe it was a combination of both things and I fixed the pan but the rear main seal got worse..

Anyways, if you guys got through this much reading - THANKS! but will the rear main seal leak that much? I don' want to go droppin the tranny, putting a clutch in, etc to find out it still leaks oil.

I am positive it's coming from the flywheel cover area.. drips right off it where the tranny meets the block..

/sigh

m R g S r

After the tranny is off it takes like another 20 minutes to change out the rear main seal. Drop the oil pan and then unbolt the seal housing (or whatever its called). Don't oil the outter part of the seal or it will pop out. Also, its fairly cheap, so go ahead and change it.

KDKane

When I replaced my rear main seal (the first I had ever done and it wasn't even leaking) i didn't realize there was a special tool for installation. So i just tapped in the new one with a hammer around the edges. Well a week later I noticed oil dripping off of the muffler, so yes, they can leak a lot of oil Pulled the tranny again and saw that i had nicked the edge of the seal, so be careful with install and be very gentile

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

*sigh* my oil pan gasket is leaking very slightly (not enough to even drip onto the ground) but I'm afraid to change it because that gasket is soooo finicky and even the slightest warp in the pan will cause a leak.

Just remember to NOT use any sort of Hondabond or other type of gasket sealant on the oil pan gasket. Be sure all the bolts, nuts, and washers are in the correct place and tighten them in the correct order to the correct torque amount.

I bought a new rear main seal before replacing my clutch and flywheel, but after I pulled the tranny off, I chickened out replacing the seal because I was afraid I woud mess something up and something might happen like with KDKane.

JimBlake

Another hint for the oil pan gasket. Mine came bunched up in a plastic bag. I wish I'd opened it up first, & laid it out flat for a couple of days so it would lay down straight & flat. It was a pain getting it to sit flat on the pan while I tried putting the pan back onto the engine.

IN VTEC

iTrader: (3)

The manual specifies 10lb*ft of torque for the oil pan bolts/nuts. I've found that 6lb*ft is more appropriate. Anything more than that crushes and squishes the gasket out and distorts it from properly interfacing with the block skirt.

AK94GSR

I think my rear main seal is going out to since when i swapped trannies, the inside of my stock gsr was covered in black like oil substance. So im pretty sure its leaking.
Im gonna change it when i replace my clutch again and install a lighter flywheel

anyone else got anymore tips for installing the rear main seal???

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AK94GSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">anyone else got anymore tips for installing the rear main seal???

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If you want to change the oil pan gasket at the same time, you can drop the oil pan and then remove that whole piece from the block that contains the rear main seal. Changing it while off the car might make it easier to get the old one out and the new one in. Just a thought.

And about the torque, most 1/2" torque wrenches are pretty inaccurate below 15-20 lb-ft, so when you get to something as picky as those oil pan bolts, you might want to look at getting a smaller inch-lbs torque wrench, and just multiply the ft-lb number by 12 (10 ft-lbs = 120 in-lbs and 6 ft-lbs = 72 in-lbs).

IN VTEC

iTrader: (3)

I like the little in-lbs torque wrench for the oil pan fasteners too. The longer ones make it too easy to overtorque b/c of the longer lever arm.

stumpyf4

Glue the gasket onto the pan. A few daps of rubber cement will hold it in place.