Rear Main Seal

[CAM]

YEP,rear main seal leaking,dealership ordered a new one,to be installed when it gets here. My mileage to date is 8510

 

[Challenger-II]

GET under your truck and trace the oil leak yourself!!! My dealer told me the same thing... . oh it's clearly the rear main! I wiped everything off, sprayed some foamy engine cleaner all around and hosed it off. After all was dry, I took it for a spin and found my oil coming from a rear pan bolt. I tightened them all up and whola..... no oil leak. The dealer was going to yank my trans and drivetrain out to get to the rear main for nothing!! They never think to look for the obvious or simple things first. Good luck!!

 

[JWimberly]

Did you have a leak all of the time? Mine leaks after I drive for 75-100 miles at interstate speeds. Does not seem to leak at slow speeds.

 

[CAM]

No I did'nt ,I noticed oil around my oil pan and & trans,about 6500 miles,took it to the dealer, they checked it out and said they could'nt find anything,and if it still look like oil was still leaking to bring it back. So I did. They put a die in the oil and told me to drive it for around 600 miles and bring it back. Thats when they said it was my main seal. Mike

 

[rob10858]

check the pinion seal, where the drive shaft enters the rear end housing. of all of our dodges from 92 to 01 they have always had a problem there. i say problem, but we have usually had the leak diagnosed and repaired in one working day. i usually glance under the truck while hooking up to my trailer for the day, and you can see the tell tell signs of leakage, from a rear seal or something further up the drivetrain. its like our dealer tech has always told me , on any truck, start from the front and work your way to the back when looking for leaks.

 

[CAM]

Thanks,I'll check with the Service Dept. Wednesday & make sure they checked it out .

 

[Ram4Sam]

Don't forget a possible valve cover. If you have a valve cover that is not sealing, the oil will run down the side of the block. Since the bellhousing is the lowest point, it will drip from there and look like a rear seal is leaking. Climb up and run your hand(cool engine, of course) around the valve cover seal and see if it is dry. Dealers have been known to miss this.



Sam

 

[Challenger-II]

Sam is absolutely correct... . my valve cover was also the source of what also looked like a rear main. They typically leak towards the back.



Climb on up and run your finger around the back. In my case they had to replace not only the gasket, but the cover as well due to warpage. Just replacing the gasket didnt quite get rid of it.

 

[CAM]

Got my truck back today, and the shop said that it was the rear main seal leaking. They also said it took 6 hrs. to do.



Mike