jpparker88

so i went to get my oil changed today and was informed that my rear main seal is leaking, and it was gonna be about 800 to fix it. mostly labor. now im pretty sure i can do this myself, but i didnt know how hard it was, how long it would take, etc. i also have a leaking tranny or oil cooler line, all i know it goes to the bottom of the passenger side on the radiator. im also going through coolant like a mad man. but the car isnt overheating. is it because im not using enough antifreeze? i replaced the thermostat and everything but it sill bounces around on the temp gauge. and last but not least, how hard is a tranny flush on these cars? mine was sitting for a year before i bought it and im pretty sure it could use one.

Kevin91Z

iTrader: (1)

For a rear main seal fix, you have to remove the transmission and attempt to drop the oil pan. It is a pain in the butt in the car, so $800 sounds about right.

The line going to the bottom right of the radiator is your tranny fluid line. Tranny fluid flush is pretty simple. There's a machine for that.

I have no idea on the coolant issue, unless its a head gasket?

Russ-So Cal

Don and I did it at his old shop on the 1989 6 cylinder Rs I used to have. A machine is not needed. You just disconnect the return line to the transmission from the radiator and put the end of the line into a catch pan. Start the car and add fluid to the top as it comes out the bottom until It is clean or until you have run about 12-16 quarts of fluid through the system.

I just realized that you had a couple of questions and this answer is kind of ambiguous. I am talking about flushing out the trans.

RU-QWIK

iTrader: (3)

If it is a 1 piece rear main, you do not have to drop the pan. The seal is about 25 bucks @ Kragen and is easy to swap once the transmission is out of the way...

Jason

Parrydise7

iTrader: (1)

I would have someone like Dyno Don confirm that it is the rear main seal before going any further.

I bought a car which, I was told, had a leaking rear main seal. It wasn't. The oil pressure sending unit was loose.

Russ-So Cal

I thought about the same sort of thing. I thought I had a rear main seal leaking, but it was the back of one of the valve cover gaskets leaking down the back of the block.

Russ-So Cal

I just anoticed another question that you asked in the original post about going through coolant. Our cars are designed to run between 180 & 220 degrees. If you don't have enough antifreeze, you could have water boiling out at the higher temps. You could also have a bad radiator cap, or a bad thermostat not opening, or a fan switch not turning the fan on correctly. Those are just a few things off the "top of my head."