Need to have rear main and front seal replaced......curious to a ballpark figure?

[mrblotto]

Good day all,
No, this is not a thread about my 97 Celica....lol. It's been running fine ever since my last thread.

Our other vehicle is a 2001 Jeep Cherokee, inline 6, 4WD, AT, with about 112,000 miles on it. Just the other day I took it to our local garage to have them do a 'once over' and point out any work that needs to be performed. It's more of a 'standard used vehicle check' one might have done prior to purchasing a used vehicle, but it serves the same purpose.......

Among the list of repairs needed are:
-Rear main seal, valve cover gasket, front crankshaft seal and the oil pan gasket are leaking oil.......

I was like 'yikes!' when I saw that. The mechanic is straightforward and trustworthy. He mentioned he doesn't like doing that kind of work on Jeeps, as he has had hit or miss success in the past. Therefore, he recommended a different garage.

I'd rather have a mechanic tell me that, rather than fix it incorrectly 'cause he didn't have a clue.

Anyhow, I have read that replacing the rear seal is among the most labor intensive jobs to do on a vehicle. He gave me a ballpark guess as to around $700 or so to have a garage perform the work, but I would like y'alls input as well. The more info one has, a more well informed decision can be made.

Other than listed above, the vehicle is in good shape body-wise (southern car), and has presented minimal problems. I would like to keep this as I dread a $350-400/ month car payment and higher insurance that goes along with a new car......

Also, is there anything else of note that should be taken care of in the area, since it's probably gonna be apart anyhow?

Cliffs:
-2001 Jeep Cherokee 4WD,AT, 112K, needs rear seal, valve cover gasket, front crank seal, and oil pan gasket replaced
-Mechanic estimates around $700 or so
-Any other parts replaced while mechanic has it?
-Dont want another car payment, so want to hang onto this one as long as feasible
-Ballpark estimate for work stated above?

 

[iamwiz82]

Are they just seeping a bit? How much oil are you losing? The 4.0 is famous for all of those leaks, so I would not fix any of them unless you were adding a quart per week. They WILL leak again.

 

[BUTCH1]

To do the rear seal involves dropping the tranny to get to it so there is a lot
of the labor charge right there. I agree with Iamwiz82, if it's a slow stable leak
just live with it, the front seal should not be nearly as bad to replace and the
valve cover gaskets you can do yourself...

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: BUTCH1
To do the rear seal involves dropping the tranny to get to it so there is a lot
of the labor charge right there. I agree with Iamwiz82, if it's a slow stable leak
just live with it, the front seal should not be nearly as bad to replace and the
valve cover gaskets you can do yourself...

You don't have to drop the transmission. You pull the oil pan, it's a 2 piece seal (hence the leaks).

 

[BUTCH1]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: BUTCH1
To do the rear seal involves dropping the tranny to get to it so there is a lot
of the labor charge right there. I agree with Iamwiz82, if it's a slow stable leak
just live with it, the front seal should not be nearly as bad to replace and the
valve cover gaskets you can do yourself...

You don't have to drop the transmission. You pull the oil pan, it's a 2 piece seal (hence the leaks).

How can you replace a rear main seal without separating the engine/tranny??
not talking about the oil pan gasket, the rear main crank seal right?

 

[Squisher]

Originally posted by: BUTCH1

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: BUTCH1
To do the rear seal involves dropping the tranny to get to it so there is a lot
of the labor charge right there. I agree with Iamwiz82, if it's a slow stable leak
just live with it, the front seal should not be nearly as bad to replace and the
valve cover gaskets you can do yourself...

You don't have to drop the transmission. You pull the oil pan, it's a 2 piece seal (hence the leaks).

How can you replace a rear main seal without separating the engine/tranny??
not talking about the oil pan gasket, the rear main crank seal right?

Loosen all the bearing caps, remove rear bearing cap, half of the seal will be in the cap, tap on seal going over the top of the crank on the end with a punch and hammer until you get it to move a little, grab other end with pliers and pull out. The new one slides back in the same way.

 

[bruceb]

That sounds like it would work. You should consider fixing the Oil Pan Gasket, Valve Cover Gasket & the Front Crankshaft Seal. For the crankkshaft seal, you need a harmonic balancer puller & installer. Oil pan should only involve at most, lifting the motor a small amount to gain clearance. If you do drop the pan, then perhaps you should spend the extra $$ to do the rear seal as you will already have most of the labor done. You can do most of this yourself in about 3-4 hours.

 

[BUTCH1]

Originally posted by: Squisher

Originally posted by: BUTCH1

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: BUTCH1
To do the rear seal involves dropping the tranny to get to it so there is a lot
of the labor charge right there. I agree with Iamwiz82, if it's a slow stable leak
just live with it, the front seal should not be nearly as bad to replace and the
valve cover gaskets you can do yourself...

You don't have to drop the transmission. You pull the oil pan, it's a 2 piece seal (hence the leaks).

How can you replace a rear main seal without separating the engine/tranny??
not talking about the oil pan gasket, the rear main crank seal right?

Loosen all the bearing caps, remove rear bearing cap, half of the seal will be in the cap, tap on seal going over the top of the crank on the end with a punch and hammer until you get it to move a little, grab other end with pliers and pull out. The new one slides back in the same way.

Wow, that's a hell of a lot easier than replacing it from the outside, still don't see it as a
$700 repair though...

 

[bruceb]

You have to figure in both the cost of parts, in this case, should be under $100 for all the gaskets. Then the cost of labor which can be anywhere from $70 an hour on up. Figure it would be about a 5 hrs job, depending on if the engine needs to be lifted up to get the oil pan off and how many other parts need to be removed and replaced to get to the front crank seal. That would include power steering pump, alternator, ac compressor may be in the way, water pump, drive belts. So I think it would be closer to $500 or so + tax

 

[crosshairs]

Originally posted by: Squisher

Originally posted by: BUTCH1

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: BUTCH1
To do the rear seal involves dropping the tranny to get to it so there is a lot
of the labor charge right there. I agree with Iamwiz82, if it's a slow stable leak
just live with it, the front seal should not be nearly as bad to replace and the
valve cover gaskets you can do yourself...

You don't have to drop the transmission. You pull the oil pan, it's a 2 piece seal (hence the leaks).

How can you replace a rear main seal without separating the engine/tranny??
not talking about the oil pan gasket, the rear main crank seal right?

Loosen all the bearing caps, remove rear bearing cap, half of the seal will be in the cap, tap on seal going over the top of the crank on the end with a punch and hammer until you get it to move a little, grab other end with pliers and pull out. The new one slides back in the same way.

is it a rope seal or a one piece in the Jeep? he said V6..its ether a V8 or an inline 6..the V8 is one piece the inline is a 2 piece...

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: crosshairs

Originally posted by: Squisher

Originally posted by: BUTCH1

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: BUTCH1
To do the rear seal involves dropping the tranny to get to it so there is a lot
of the labor charge right there. I agree with Iamwiz82, if it's a slow stable leak
just live with it, the front seal should not be nearly as bad to replace and the
valve cover gaskets you can do yourself...

You don't have to drop the transmission. You pull the oil pan, it's a 2 piece seal (hence the leaks).

How can you replace a rear main seal without separating the engine/tranny??
not talking about the oil pan gasket, the rear main crank seal right?

Loosen all the bearing caps, remove rear bearing cap, half of the seal will be in the cap, tap on seal going over the top of the crank on the end with a punch and hammer until you get it to move a little, grab other end with pliers and pull out. The new one slides back in the same way.

Except that its a one piece seal in the Jeep...so removing the trans is a must.

No, it's a two piece on the 4.0. I have done a half dozen of them.

 

[crosshairs]

^^yeah, you got me before the edit.I read the OP as a V8..then I saw V6 and was like HUH....they don't make a V6..🙂

No doubt the 4.0 is a 2 piece, I have done about 100 of them..
sometimes it sucks working at a Jeep dealership..🙂

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: crosshairs
^^yeah, you got me before the edit.I read the OP as a V8..then I saw V6 and was like HUH....they don't make a V6..🙂

No doubt the 4.0 is a 2 piece, I have done about 100 of them..
sometimes it sucks working at a Jeep dealership..🙂

There was never a V8 in the modern Cherokee. They were available back in the day on the FSJs.

 

[crosshairs]

Now your just playing semantics..there were V8's in the Grand Cherokees...

Cherokee, Grand Cherokee....WTF is the difference.
don't bother trying to tell me either, its a rhetorical question.



This is the reason I don't post in here...

 

[mrblotto]

Ooops....sorry guys/gals, it is an inline 6. My apologies. Will edit.

I'm not too keen on doing it myself, except maybe the valve cover gasket. I'll be replacing the plugs anyhow and I have to take off.....well, whatever that thing is called that isn't plug wires.....lmao. I know my way around a computer, but not an engine. Plus it's been in the 90's every day here and I'd rather not be out in that stuff for hours on end.......lol!

So, if I'm reading it correctly, one does NOT have to separate the tranny from the engine to replace the rear seal, just drop the oil pan, which happens to need its gasket replaced already.

I'll start calling around some places starting Monday and getting some (gu)estimates. Thank you all for your input and insight!

 

[Bignate603]

If the rear main seal isn't dripping I would just leave it. Almost every single 4.0 I6 I've seen has that seal a little bit wet. The oil pan gasket isn't really hard to do, it's just an absolute mess. I've done a few of them on other vehicles and I can tell you that dropping a pan is something best done in clothes you never want to wear again. I'm sure that people that do it more and can do it on a lift can be more clean about it, but I always end up with a bit of a mess.

However, if your money is tight it would be the way to go. It's not really hard if you go buy some quality seals and follow the directions.

 

[mrblotto]

On the report I got from the mechanic, it noted 'plugs are due for a change'. I guess its been about 50k since I changed them last. So I went down to Mr. AutoZone, got some plugs, and pulled the front half of the vehicle into the garage. I forgot what a PITA it is to take off whatever that thing that holds all the plug wires. I mean OMG it took me almost an hour and a half to change them. That last one is nigh impossible to get to.

Anyhow, after they were all changed and the plug wire harness thingee back in place, I decided to take it for a spin to make sure everything was ok. Got the little doggy in the car for the ride, and barely made it out of the driveway. It was running rough when I started it, then almost immediately the CEL light came on and it stalled........

I'm like 'oh........great'. Thankfully the wife was taking a nap, so I still had time to fix things. Popped the hood back open, started it up, and noticed a 'click click click' noise. Upon further inspection, I noticed that one of the plug 'caps' had not made its way onto the plug. I hadn't noticed it. So, off go the 4 bolts, tug on the harness thingee, replace it making sure the plug in question is now 'capped'. Restart....same thing!

Aaaarrgghhh!! It is very difficult to tell if all of the plugs are 'capped'. You cant move the harness thingee around too much to see. I must've missed another one this time. By now, the engine is getting kind of hot. Hoses that run along the valve cover are very uncomfortable to even push out of the way. But, again, off go the 4 bolts. This time I manage to touch the end of the ratchet to the battery terminal, creating my very own fireworks show....lol. Pull up on the harness thingee, do my best to make sure every plug is 'capped', and hand-push the harness thingee back on. This time I leave the bolts off until I've started it.

Starts fine, blip the throttle a few times, sounds great. Phew! But, CEL is still one.......argh! Put bolts back on, get doggy again, and take a spin up and down the highway (w/cellphone handy, just in case). Runs great.

"I really wish that CEL light would go out", I think to myself. I imagine it will go out eventually after so many 'cycles'. But I really dont wanna hear from the wife telling me 'you shouldn't have been doing that in the first place'. Back down to AutoZone for one of those OBD reader things. Pick one up, plug it in, reveals a P0340 and P0301 (Crank Position Sensor on Bank one, and a cylinder misfire on cylinder 1). Erase them both. CEL has not come back on. I'm guessing the 2 codes are related

I dont think I'll be attempting to change any of the gaskets or seals.....lmao

 

[Bignate603]

Just for future reference, if you're pretty sure that you know why the CEL turned on and it's fixed you can clear the code by disconnecting the battery for a second.

Don't worry too much about taking a while, you got it done and learned how to do it. Any home mechanic that actually fixes what he's trying to is doing pretty well.

 

[iamwiz82]

You also have the ability to read the codes right from your odometer, at least I think they left that functionality there, it worked on my 1999.

Anyways, put the key in and turn it to On (not ACC or Start!), then off, then on, then off, then on. Your odo will then read out the error codes, which you can look up online.

 

[Iron Woode]

it cost me $300 to get the rear main seal replaced on my 318 Lebaron back in 1991. It was leaking more than I liked and causing oil pressure drops while turning, so I got fixed. It was the factory rope seal and it was replaced with a neoprene seal. No leaks ever since.

There was no way I was going to get involved in that type of repair. And, yes, you have to drop the transmission to do this on my car, considering the torque converter is connected to the flywheel which is connected to the crankshaft.

 

[mrblotto]

Wow,
Almost 2 years later and I haven't gotten the seals/gaskets changed. Not that they're leaking more, but the wife now thinks it's a 'safety issue' that it's leaking at all. I've told her till I'm blue in the face not to worry about it (there's just a smidge of oil on the driveway after all this time), but of course, the garage monkey at the oil change place has her all worked up, filling her head with all sorts of catastrophic scenarios....sigh.

There's no way I'm even attempting to change any of these things. I just read back about the nightmare I had w/the spark plugs. Plus, I DONT need the grief if something goes awry (I dont/cant guarantee my work on autos lol).

I'm gonna make an appt for someone around here (dont know who yet, but someone local around Raleigh, NC) to take a look and give me an est for:
-front and rear seals
-Oil Pan gasket
-Valve Cover gasket
-'baseball card in the spokes' sound coming from the front. varies with speed - no idea what that could be

oh, and I think it was iamwiz82 (?) that maybe had the turn signal relay thingee that he could ship? Yes, the turn signals started......ehhhhhh......going 'on the blink again' and just plain quitting after 8-12 blinks (that was as painful for me to type as it is for you to read.....my apologies!)

*goes off to find out if it's Iamwiz82*

oh, almost forgot:
2001 Jeep Cherokee, 140k, 4WD, In-Line 6 (not V6 lol)

 

[Bignate603]

Is it dripping all over or is it just slightly wet? If it's just a little wet just tell your wife to deal with it.

 

[boomhower]

On my spare car, a 93 Accord, I spent $1200 on a front main seal, rear main seal, distributor seal, distributor, clutch, water pump, and timing belt. At least I think that was it.

 

[Bignate603]

On my spare car, a 93 Accord, I spent $1200 on a front main seal, rear main seal, distributor seal, distributor, clutch, water pump, and timing belt. At least I think that was it.

That doesn't really help, he doesn't need a good chunk of that (he doesn't even have a timing belt) so the price is irrelevant. Also, the price on the seals is going to be very dependent on the car. A honda with a transverse mounted V6 isn't the same as a jeep with a longitudinal straight 6.

 

[Zorba]

I drove my first car around with a leaking rear main seal for 6 years, never caused any problems, except when mechanics acted like I was a moron for not paying them to fix it. I read something a while back that said rear main seals can get blown out from over filling your oil. I know that every quick lube place that touched my Grand Marque over fill it massively, because they didn't wait for the oil to drain down to the pan and they would check the oil the second the engine was turned off. This is why I never let places like that touch my cars any more.