Leaking rear main seal

[SwiftRunner]

Resurrection

Allow me to resurrect this thread. I was wondering if the original poster did the job. A tune-up garage told me that my seal was leaking badly. I knew that. However, I don't have that puddle of oil the size of a soccer ball on the garage floor after every outing. Nevertheless, it stinks. I thought there was a thread somewhere that included pics and had a detailed account of a replacement. In the search I found an amazing amount of threads started by guys who had leaks. I'm going to check and see if it is the oil cooler, too.

 

[SwiftRunner]

Time isn't a cure for all ills.

Although I have been waiting since the last post here, my leaking seal has not fixed itself. I have tried prayer but that doesn't seem to bring on the miracle. As a matter of fact, some ditzy woman rear ended me in one of my other vehicles and that has given me something else to work on. There's nothing like the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" as Hamlet put it. I probably should buy a lotto ticket, but I don't really want to open that can of worms right now.

 

[ozzyleven]

Just saw this up again. No, I have not done the seal yet. Waiting for warm weather, plus I picked up a 22re pickup that is full of all sorts of fun electrical gremlins (yay!). The leak doesn't seem to be any worse, but maybe that could be attributed to the colder weather... I don't really get a puddle on the ground. A few drops here or there. I'm just living with it for now and checking the oil a lot.

 

[RockinRunner]

WOW...the nonsense in this thread.

Just to clarify. 6 to 9 hours for an auto transmission removal, depending on the 4 banger or v6. Yes, it can be done quicker, IF you know what you're doing and have done it before.

Lets remember, it takes 30 minutes just to get the truck in the air, (unless you're moving at pit crew speeds) you're looking at the better part of a day, but I would recommend a weekend. Sometimes there are problem bolts that can take 20 minutes just to get off.

Lets be realistic here.

As for the Rear Main, Monitor it. if it's just drops, deal with it until you can get extra time to fix it.

Also, try Valvoline high mileage 10w-30 or 40 oil. From the reading I've done, this helps with minor oil leaks and the 4runners seem to like this oil.

Lets keep the pissing match down to a min. and Help people. And NO shop will charge you 1 hour labor for a rear main seal. That's just silly. Everyone needs to make money and pay the bills, especially when book time is 6-9 hours.

 

[SwiftRunner]

Actually, I found my head gaskets are leaking albeit slowly. The seems to run fine, though, and I have not been putting a lot of oil in the engine. In fact, while running, it doesn't seem to leak, but it does smell. I've added some thin pieces of sheet metal to keep it from leaking on the exhaust pipes, but the smell seems to persist. I was wondering about a rebuild with 165,000 miles. Would that substantially improve the performance of the vehicle?

You Specificly said he would be "charged" 30mins for removal and 30mins for reinstall. Thats talking about money not just how much time its takes. I was educatingo you and the OP on whats would acutally be charged by a shop to do the job. Average hourly rate for a shop is 60/hr. Dealers will charage up to 80/hr.

The dealer nearest me charges $100 an hour.