lv6l

97 accord lx. i was told that the seal between the motor and tranny is bad and needs replacing. I was wondering is it a hard job to do? I have done motor swaps and such before so I have all the tools needed. I just was wondering mainly do I need to take off the oil pump, crank shaft etc...or can I just drop the tranny and the seal should be replaceable. Thank you.

lv6l

bump

hondamark35

if you are comfortable removing and reinstalling a tranmission, the seal is nothing. (make a mental note or take a digital pic of the seal position so you can get the new one back in the same place)

it's a $15 seal, called the rear main seal. and once you get the trans out of the way and the flex-plate off, use a small flathead screwdriver (or seal remover, but i never bother with those) and carefully pry out the old seal. use a clean shop rag to wipe out the area behind and around the seal gap. check to be sure you didn't nic the rear case or cranck snout where the seal mates.

putting the new seal in, grease up the ID of the seal with some multi-purpose bearing grease and lightly press onto the crankshaft just so it says in place. be carful to keep it from cocking to one side or the other, you want it to be flat and parallel with the face of the crank. use a small hammer and lighly tap around the seal untill it's flush with the crank. then to drive it home, use a 3/8 in. extension with the hammer.

when i finish i like to clean everything up real well with some break-parts cleaner or Purple Power type cleaner so i can tell if it ever leaks again.

lv6l

oh thank you for the information. do i need to drain the oil before changing it? what about the automatic transmission fluid, do i need to drain that too?

when you said grease up the "ID" of the seal, what do you mean by that.

thanks.

hondamark35

you don't have to drain oil, but draining trans fluid is part of taking the trans out so yes.

ID is short for Inner Diameter. when you see the seal this will all make more sense... but the inside of the seal that contacts the crankshaft has a groove and flexible cuff with small directional "helical" grooves. (these help redirect the oil back into the engine as the shaft spins.)



this is a similar type seal used on a trans bearing. that inside lip is the cuff with the helical grooves, although you can't see them in this pic.

lv6l

Oh I see. Thanks a lot. One more last question, when putting back the torque converter onto the flywheel is there a way it should go on? I mean there is several bolts that connect them together, can I match any hole on the converter to any hole on the flywheel or there is a groove or notch it should fall in. Thanks.

hondamark35

there is a 8mm hole in the crankshaft between two bolt holes, there is a corresponding hole in the flex-plate (and small bolt plate if equiped). sometimes but not always there is a pin in the crankshaft hole. if the pin is there, you have no choice but to line it up. even when there isn't i line it up just to be sure

supermotothud

my 96 f22b1 needs this done also.

I have the skills to remove the tranny....but not the time.

what was the quoted prive for this job?

hondamark35

a quote for this job would include 3-5 hours labor, 4qts. of trans fluid and a $14 seal. depending on your area and what type of shop it is, labor is $50-90/hr...

lv6l

Yeah, I got quotes from 350-450. I end up doing it myself. It's a good amount of work but if you have all the tools it's not a super tough job. Just I never replaced the seal before and is still a bit new to automatic transmission but overall I did it today and got it done in 7 hours by myself.

hondamark35

sweet.

Bad_dude

Hi,
Could you describe the leak location? Is under the tranny area going toward the front of the car? Is the leak on the left side looking from the front?
I have a leak in this location and 3 mechanics told me that it's the distributor. So I changed out the o-ring and the inner seal. The leak area where it used to be is dry and nothing seems to leak any more from the distributor. However, the leak is still in that location. I am not losing oil as I check it every other day and the dip stick level is the same each time. I put my hand on the leak and it's seems to be fresh oil so I don't think it's from the old ramnants of the distributor leak. Do you guys think it's the rear main seal?
I have a 1990 accord LX, with only 125k miles on it. I bought it second hand.

Thanks.

lv6l

Mine was coming from the passenger side. Between the transmission and motor there is this metal plate that covers the flywheel of the transmission. My leak was coming from around that area, it spilled out of there and covered most of the underside of the transmission.

hb_guy

im doing another clutch on my f22 soon and this is a must when doing a clutch. i can change my clutch in like 4 hours. done it many times. my first time HOWEVER took me like 6-7 hours

markov314

Accord 97 with 260K miles has been profusely leaking oil for about 2 months now. What I see is that the underneath of the car on the driver side along the car's entire length is covered with oil. Needless to say, I keep topping the oil (about 2 quarts every 500 miles). After reading other folks description, I am tempted to guess that it is either the front main or the rear main oil pump seal that is broken. But not sure. When the car is parked after a long drive, the driveway gets stained with fallen oil droplets along entire length of the car on the driver side. Even the driver side rear tire has become little sticky (the inside tire wall), possibly due to the oil spray. Will be thankful on any advice, suggested repairs and approximate cost. I love this car, still gives 30 mpg. So, if it can be repaired, I am willing to spend reasonable money. Thanks.