dth0ng69

Okay so I have a 1998 cx with a d16y7. There was a oil leak coming from either the oil pan or the rear main seal.

I just did the oil pan gasket, and I paid a shop 350 to do the rear main Seal. So I'm not sure what they did, they seem like a shop that does good work..
What kind of trips me out is that it tooks 2 weeks for a leak to appear again, would a improperly installed seal take 2 weeks to start leaking?
and I don't know what factors can cause rear main seal to leak again, except worn main bearings, but someone told me you would hear a noise if your main bearings are worn.??

do you think the shop installed it wrong? should I explain to them how people do it on H-T (flip the old rear main seal inside out and use it to gently tap it in the new one with a hammer?) or will i sound dumb? should I tell them to use rtv on the outside edges of the rear main seal? since the service manual doesn't tell you to.. I'm just really scared/frustrated that the rear main seal is going to leak again after 2 weeks.

I'm going back to the shop tommorow. any help/suggestions feedback tips would be great
thanks for reading.

rick_rabies

when they put it on they prolly had the spring come off the seal and just bolted it on.
^people do this and not realize the spring is off(causes leak) tell them to fix it or start tossing bricks

dth0ng69

hey what spring are you talking about?

rick_rabies

the round spring that is inside the seal. its easy for it to pop out when trying to get that over the end of the crank. on the inside seem of the rubber part, it sqeezes the rubber tightly over the end of the crank for a good seal.

Slo-mo

^^take it back and tell them to fix it.seen lots of people have problems with that spring popping out

dth0ng69

Hey rick_rabies thanks for the help, but im still confused what spring you are talking about, are you saying there is an actual spring Inside the rear main seal? or ??

heres a diagram is the red square (the actual rear main seal) where the spring is?

jooky5

about about a leaky distributor O ring?.. it drips down and looks just like an main leak

dth0ng69

nope didn't see any oil coming from the top end of the engine. its definatly the rear main...

rick_rabies

im on a gov cpu, i cant see pics. but the rubber ring is kinda folded the small diameter spring is inside of that, il try to find a pic for you

rick_rabies

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...6safe%3Dactive

Former User

If you are absolutely sure that the rear main seal is leaking and it was replaced by a shop only two weeks ago, then why haven't you promptly returned the car to the shop so that they can do the job right???

redline7070

how many miles on the car? my rear main seal cut in to the crankshaft and had to get a new one

dth0ng69

only about 72,000 on the d16y7 but oil wasn't changed every 3,000 previous owner said he changed it around 5,000-6,000 and when I did full tune-up pcv valve was clogged, which means crankcase ventilation wasn't really great. (I heard crankcase pressure can cause oil leak.)


I just hope that it is them installing it wrong, and not their seals that are causing the leak im almost sure they aren't using a Honda rear main seal..
I wonder how I should tell them install the seal, I mean it really isn't rocket science, but at the same time I heard its only 1/10" between correct and failure..

thanks alot for the feedback.

93egSLEEPER

installing that rear main is tougher then it seems. you have to put it on 100% square or the seal will roll causing a leak, tear causing a leak, or get jarred loose and yes causing a leak. it needs to be lined up, put on, checked, checked again, spin the crank and check one more time it has a complete and unobstructed seal all the way around. one imperfection will lead to a leak.

dth0ng69

Okay So I took my car to the shop and they are going to take it apart inspect it. I told him about how if 1/10" of the seal is off it can cause a leak. He said the mechanic is very very good, and can almost gurantee he didn't do it wrong.
He thinks its transmission fluid thats leaking, and said I might have to get a new transmission.

?? I don't get it, when I checked whats leaking it looks black (from oil mixing with the dust from the flywheel housing) and yellowish, kind of like oil, but I'm not too sure.
I hope hes not bullshitting me.

speedooo

new trans? input shaft seal..

theres a little spring inside the seal that pushes outward to help it seal. same thing with output shaft seals on the trans...

Vindicator9000

Honda MTF Transmission fluid looks remarkably like motor oil, because it's based on motor oil... he could be right.

ramonjones16

Very true are you positive that its oil coming from you motor???

ramonjones16

and if so are you positive its coming from the oil pan??

Former User

The problem has been that the OP has completely dismissed the possibility that the oil leak could be coming from anywhere except the rear main seal that was just replaced. While the new main seal could be leaking, it's important to be open minded about the possibilities.

dth0ng69

true, he could be right it cold be transmission oil, but why would replacing the rear main seal stop any leaks for 2 weeks?
I'm thinking my main bearings might be worn.. but I do not know how to tell..

thumper64

The bearings wouldn't cause a leak. You could have bad bearings, good bearings, no bearings... and get a leak.

dth0ng69

I know the bearings wouldn't cause a leak but if they are worn they can cause the crankshaft to move and cause a the rear main seal to leak..

Here is what a guy said to make me think this.
QUOTE=JCCLARK;2741785]Rear main seals start leaking because the main bearings (crankshaft) wear and the
crank wobbles. It's only a small fraction of an inch, but that's the problem.
If you don't replace your main bearings, then any new seal you install
won't last long. Believe me, I learned this the hard way after changing one
several times. Once I changed the main bearings, it finally lasted.
Any "good" mechanic knows this.[/QUOTE]

I don't know how valid it is??

B serious

iTrader: (1)

hmmm I think my main seal may be leaking as well. I really don't want to do the work myself as I have no time. I just put a clutch in and I was stupid enough to neglect installing a rear main seal.

Keep us posted, OP.

dth0ng69

Okay So When I brought my car in again, telling them theres a leak again They told me its the oil pan that was leaking again. and said they fixed it.
Everything was fine, 2 weeks later I see a tiny drop again!?! in the same exact spot!
WHY am I CURSED with this LEAK?? WHY? I just hope its the oil pan again.
I'm going to bring it back when its leaking a little more, so they won't try to tell me its not leaking.