installing rear main seal

[Mats 0]

Hey guys,

 

 

this is the second new rear main seal i install on the car and its still leaking. like WTF. Is there a specific way to install these?

 

 

I made sure to use oil on it to soften it up and then made a custom plate so i tighten this plate with flywheel bolts to make sure the seal goes in evenlly and then carefully tapped it in a little further to make sure its seated properly. and it still leaks.

 

 

Any info would be greatly appreciated guys!

[aphxero 0]

How did you take the old one out? You didnt scratch the crank did you?

[Mats 0]

we thought we might have but we triple checked it and there are no signs of a scratch or anything of that matter.

 

 

 

well after about 30 mins of looking up different rear main seal installs i noticed BMW suggests to saok the seal in oil for x amount of time so what i did is put it in oil for roughly 20 some mins to soften up the seal. well after re installing it there are no signs of a leak right now. i will confirm for sure once i get tranny back on and start it saturday!keeping my fingers crossed.

[JimmyHoffa 0]

Where is it leaking? the seal on the crank side, outside the seal or from around the rear main seal retainer?

[Bill 0]

and it's not the flywheel bolts right? just checking.

[iheartMX83 0]

ha as soon as i saw this thread, did you use sealant/ loctite on the flywheel bolts ? if you didnt. go ahead and do that.

 

on the JZ cranks. the flywheel bolt holes go all the way through.

[aphxero 0]

yeah and run the motor with just the flywheel and no tranny for a bit. Just find some shorter bolts and bolt the starter to the block. Saves hella time.

[Mats 0]

Thanks Mark ill try that out with the flywheel.

 

as for the leak its been coming between the seal and the crank. i looked under the car and still no signs of a leak. i tihnk i might finally got it. and yes i was always using loctite so it wasnt leaking from bolts.

[Rufio 0]

Also on the verge of replacing my fucking 3rd rear main seal, I hate this job and it makes me angry. I keep getting hassled everytime I go over the pits in my car as the gearbox is just covered in oil.

 

I've been told to pull the little carrier plate out from the back of the motor, insert the seal in backwards (as opposed to slipping it over the crank ) with the inside packed full of grease, also been told a speedy-sleeve is worth investing in too so it has a new wearing surface.

 

Will try that fly-wheel trick, but it also sounds dangerous as fuck if you don't torque it up hahaha.

[aphxero 0]

Man I never have probs with these. Sometimes I put a little grey rtv on the outside and just push it in with my thumbs. You have some room as far as the depth it can go in. Sometimes they leak because of the surface ya know? So don't push it in quite as far.

[JimmyHoffa 0]

^^ You probably don't want to put the rear main seal in backwards from the inside out. oil seals like that are mostly hydro-dynamic and the little angled grooves in them push the oil back into the motor as the crank spins, if you put it in inside-out the seal might pump the oil out and cause more leakage than having a shitty seal.