Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Rear main seal, air conditioning

[Mike Cureton]

Tomorrow, the 2nd of July, I am taking my baby to the stealer for some warranty work on the a/c. It blows hot air and the truck is only 16 months old.





Do any of you know if, on the Cummins 24V, the rear main engine seal goes, will it coat the clutch with oil? The reason I am asking is because I am in the Navy, LDO, and don't have much time now a days to fiddle with dealer ships, so I am going to the local dealer. I change my own fluids and the last itme I did a change, I noticed alot of wettness on the bottom of the clutch housing, they said it was wet, but because it was not dripping, it didn't meet the 'criteria' to replace and said that it was impossible to get oil on the clutch. I'm curious as to what you all think, because when I'm out ot sea I don't want my wife to have to deal with the problem. It is leaking more now, if they say it isn't enough, what good if any would it do to call the factory?

Thanks for your advice,

Mike

 

[dsldoug]

Mike:

the rear main seals don't leak very often on 24v engines like they did on frist gen. trucks (and all that silly nonsense about not useing lube on the replacements) chances are that it's leaking from your crankcase vent bottle and running down the oil pan seam to the back or could be leaking from the oil pan either way it takes a lot of oil leak at the rear main seal to soak a clutch



a quick check on the rear main seal is to pop your barring tool plug out and check to see if there is oil on the flywheel



doug

 

[Mike Cureton]

Well, the dealer put in a half pound of R134, a/c works alot better. Does any one know how much R134 is considered a 'full charge'?

They also put dye in the freon and my engine oil to see where the leaks are.

 

[Amianthus]

Two pounds is the factory charge on the Ram. Don't ask me how I know this, as I'd rather not remember.



The dye in the system will help. But any good halogen leak detector should be able to find a leak that size. There are other tell-tale signs of a leak too (besides being hot).



The dye in the engine oil seems like a bad idea. The reason is because once your overflow bottle fills up, the oil vapor (along with the dye) will spread itself all over the underside of your engine. Masking any leaks you may have. Oh well. You will have a cool looking colored oil pan when you get done.

 

[andrewkoperdak]

Mike there has been alot of problems with oil pan seals. The dealer is aware of this but he is right. They won't fix it till you say " it drips". That phrase made the difference in them fixing my pinion seal and not fixing it.