Engine rear main seal - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

bolink654 · 09-15-2011, 12:20 PM

98 Camry 5SFE Auto as in sig. I'm going to have the transmission out hopefully by next week. Rounding up all the seals and misc things now.

Should I do the engine rear main seal while I'm in there? If so, how does one get to it? Obviously the flywheel has to come off... any special tools needed?

frankjc · 09-15-2011, 12:41 PM

I would change the rear main...

EEngineer · 09-15-2011, 12:57 PM

yea, always change it when u pop open your tranny cuz you might as well.

it's behind the flywheel and you'll need to drill a tiny screw into the seal in order to pull it out.
and it's always a great idea to resurface the flywheel, but it's optional and depends on the condition

frankjc · 09-15-2011, 01:00 PM

It's an automatic....

WaxonWaxStillOn · 09-15-2011, 01:04 PM

I don't like the idea of using a drill that close to critical surfaces, so I bought one of

these

. Worth every penny.

bronzemaxell · 09-15-2011, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WaxonWaxStillOn

I don't like the idea of using a drill that close to critical surfaces, so I bought one of these. Worth every penny.

i have this exact same tool but don't know how to use it.

WaxonWaxStillOn · 09-15-2011, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bronzemaxell

i have this exact same tool but don't know how to use it.

I didn't either until I watched the vid, lol. It's simple, but brilliant.

You Tube

Woodyg · 09-15-2011, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bolink654

98 Camry 5SFE Auto as in sig. I'm going to have the transmission out hopefully by next week. Rounding up all the seals and misc things now.

Should I do the engine rear main seal while I'm in there? If so, how does one get to it? Obviously the flywheel has to come off... any special tools needed?

I am curious why you are removing the engine?

bolink654 · 09-15-2011, 02:26 PM

I am replacing a leaking front transmission seal mainly. It's leaking at a rate of a quart per tank of gas now and getting worse.

One question... I'm lookin at the FSM. Why cant I just remove the rear main seal retainer and then do the seal outside the car? Or is it also attached to the oil pan? (looks like it but not sure)

Woodyg · 09-15-2011, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bolink654

I am replacing a leaking front transmission seal mainly. It's leaking at a rate of a quart per tank of gas now and getting worse.

One question... I'm lookin at the FSM. Why cant I just remove the rear main seal retainer and then do the seal outside the car? Or is it also attached to the oil pan? (looks like it but not sure)

interesting, so are you removing the engine and tranny as one unit?.I assume you will be replacing the VC gasket, the oil pan, gasket, Tb and waterpump?.you might consider replacing PS lines if they are old etc?

bolink654 · 09-15-2011, 03:04 PM

I am not 100% sure yet. But probably as one unit yes.

And yes I'm going to replace alot of seals and gaskets... Probably not going to do the valve cover gasket, or anything that can be changed in the car, unless they appear to be leaking. Timing belt and water pump only have 30k on them so not doing that either. Things like PS lines depend on how they look. I need a new steering rack (leaks sometimes... but hasn't leaked in 8-10 months) and now would be the time, but money is somewhat of an issue.

mazdaverx7 · 09-16-2011, 06:47 AM

the rear main seal should unbolt in a plate form the engine and you should be able to change it off the car by hand. always replace the rear main seal when you have the trans down. i would not hesitate to buy the seal from Toyota, as their seals are of the highest quality!

bolink654 · 09-16-2011, 11:58 AM

Cool, that's what I thought by lookin at the FSM. Got a rear main seal and the gasket for its retainer plate thing ordered up.

bronzemaxell · 09-19-2011, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WaxonWaxStillOn

I didn't either until I watched the vid, lol. It's simple, but brilliant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtsGU2nLrJg

ok

i just did a few oil seals over the weekend using this tool

it works very good for a leaky cam seal, leaky crank shaft seal, something small, for crank shaft seal, it was difficult to push the blade in, but i used a flat head screw driver to poke a hole on the seal first, then slide the blade in, one pry, and the crank seal came out without any difficulty. this was on a 93 camry 4cyl.

while i was changing the transmission on my v6 solara
i tried to use the this tool for rear main seal, differential axle seals, this tool is too small for the job, i ended used a middle size flat head screw driver, inserted it in the rear main seal, one pry, and my rear main seal came out right away.
i almost broke this tool while trying to pull the differential axle seals, ended up using a prybar to pry out the passenger side differential seal, and huge channel lock wrench to pull out the driver side differential seal. the size of the driver side differential seal is 3" plus in diameter, the old seals were tight and dried on the outer surface, the size of the rear main seal is around 4 to 5" in diameter, but very shallow in width, mine was very easy to slide in and out.

bolink654 · 09-19-2011, 07:02 PM

I just finished my torque converter seal, rear main seal, diff axle seals today. Well I still got some suspension stuff to bolt back up.

For the rear main, I bought this
http://www.oriellyauto.com/site/c/de...2303&ppt=C0026

So I just removed that retainer plate, did the seal outside the car.

For the axle seals I used this

http://www.harborfreight.com/seal-puller-91352.html

For the torque convertor seal, I took a paint can opener, put the business end in a vice and gave it a few whacks with a hammer to make it into a hook. Hooked the seal, stuck a screw driver through the handle of the pain can opener stuck small piece of wood on the shaft that sticks out, and pried it out... much like that tool you guys are talking about.