I have the trans out of my '93 del sol Si and was considering replacing the rear main oil seal. The car has 83k miles on it, and the seal is currently not leaking.

Is there a way to replace the seal without dropping the oil pan (the faq I found had the guy pull the oil pan and seal housing). Or, should I leave it alone since it isn't leaking?

Thanks
Mike M.

 

It is only a matter of time before it will start to leak and no you do not have to drop the oil pan to do it. You should be able to pull the old seal out with a pick or a seal removal tool. just make sure to seat the new seal in the same amount as the original

 

Drill a tiny hole in the seal, the face of it has metal in it. Then take something to pull it out. Its in there really tight, just make sure you don't break whatever you are using so that it falls in the oil pan...

MAKE SURE TO NOTICE HOW FAR IN THE SEAL IS RIGHT NOW AND PUT THE NEW ONE JUST LIKE THAT. Yes, i am yelling. I didn't do that on mine and its leaking, so i gotta take it all apart yet another time.

 

If the seal is not leaking why do you want to replace it?

I would not put a drill in it.

You can easily drill something that you don't want to drill.

I have always dropped the pan, removed the seal housing, installed a new seal into the housing, put the housing back on the block, and then put the pan back on.

 

are you guys talking about transmission pan or motor pan..

i always though you had to take the tranny off to install a new rear main seal so im confuse now...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sloshy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">are you guys talking about transmission pan or motor pan..

i always though you had to take the tranny off to install a new rear main seal so im confuse now...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yea how can you drop the seal and housing without removing the flywheel?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by zfreak &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have the trans out of my '93 del sol Si</TD></TR></TABLE>

reading &gt; both of you. lol. i suggest taking the oil pan off as well.

 

I've done it on a few cars without dropping the oil pan. I just did it on my Z6 when I replaced the clutch and it hasn't leaked a drop since. Just be careful and make a mental note of how far the old seal is pushed in.

 

If you have access to it, ALWAYS replace the rear main seal. It's a $5 part that is a PITA to change due to the amount of labor involved.

If the tranny is already off, do what the others said and remove the seal with a pick or something of the sort. Pop a new one in, and make sure it doesn't sit above the lip on the housing.

 

Thanks guys. I'm on it this weekend. The new clutch parts came in the mail today.

 

its going to be really hard for you to replace it without taking off the pan. Taking off the pan and putting it back doesnt take longer then 30 minutes. whats the big deal??

 

even when you take off the bracket that the seal is connected to the seal still is a lil hard to pry it off. Dont break you head just take off the pan!

 

its also a bitch to seat the seal in haha , but if you're doing it professionally expletive dropping the pan thats time right there

 

I have never dropped the pan for a rear seal unless doing a build and already had the pan off.

Drop the pan and go ahead and replace your pickup tube gasket and oil pan gasket while you are there.