I recently just bought my first car, a 1988 Pontiac Firebird with a 2.8L V6.
I bought it off an older lady for $1200. It only has about 80 000 miles on it.
It needs a little bit if TLC, but the main problem with it is that the rear main seal is shot, so it's constantly leaking oil.
I bought it as a fixer-upper for automotive class in school, but there's one problem. I want to get the car in good running order as soon as I can, but our main mechanics teacher has left for personal reasons and may not be back for up to a month, and the substitute teacher knows next to nothing about repairing cars.
I was wondering what exactly it takes to replace a rear main seal. Do I need to pull the engine or to just change the seal can I lift up the car and just drop the tranny? We do have lifts at the school shop.
Also, If I have to start the project myself, where can I get a good repair manual that gives step by step instructions on how to do a job like this?

Thanks for the help,
Regards,
Eric

 

You can access the rear main by pulling the tranny.

However, most of the time it is the distributor that is leaking. There is an O-ring at the top of the housing that dries out and cracks. Replace this first. Will need to pull the distributor, but it sure beats doing a rear main and it not being the issue.

The other area that leaks is the rear cam cover. If you end up doing the rear main, do the rear cam cover at the same time. It is accessed by pulling the flywheel/flex-plate as required for the rear main.

For a manual get the factory one: www.helminc.com, here on the classifieds, or e-pay

Welcome aboard.

RBob.

 

Thank you so much for the help.
I now have a very good idea of where to start.
Thanks again,
Regards,
Eric