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Rear main seal leak - cost to repair?

Old 05-11-2006, 12:12 AM
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Question Rear main seal leak - cost to repair?

I apparently have a rear main seal and oil pan leak on my '01 SS. What might I be looking at to have these repaired?

Last edited by PJ234; 05-11-2006 at 07:29 AM.
Old 05-11-2006, 12:23 AM
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I "apparently" had a rear main leak on my '02 but it turned out that the oil pan bolts were loose...at 14,000 miles. So hopefully thats your problem because when it was originally looked at I was told it was the rear main. But what your looking at to have them repair I am not sure of.
Old 05-11-2006, 11:45 PM
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I hope it's that simple.

Has anyone had this done or know what it might cost?
Old 05-13-2006, 09:47 PM
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I was told about $500.
Old 05-13-2006, 10:28 PM
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Originally Posted by 9silverbird8
I was told about $500.
Ouch!

Is this a critical repair, or is it something I can live with?

Thanks for the help.
Old 05-13-2006, 10:31 PM
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I think its pretty critical. My tuner wouldn't even tune me when he thought mine was leaking.
Old 05-14-2006, 07:56 AM
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Its something that you Dont want to live with. just going to be a bigger head ache down the road
Old 05-15-2006, 07:50 PM
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Yeah, I definitely just had that done on my 99' WS6 along with the pinion seal and the machanics fixed all of the seals for under $400 so I hope this helps you...Oh yea and it's definitly critical because when mine leaked for a while I seriously felt a difference when I shifted.
Old 05-15-2006, 10:23 PM
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Well, I was quoted $450 at a performance shop which I thought was high until I called a dealership...$1100!!! They also wanted $125 for the pinion seal, and if I recall, $500 for the oil pan.

I need to find someone to do them all for $400, but I'm not feeling hopeful.
Old 07-01-2006, 07:00 AM
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i had to have the dealership replace my transmission and headers because of hitting a road hazard and now i also have an oil leak. i'm wondering if mine is a rear main seal also. i'm going to check to see if the oil pan is bolted tight later today as well
Old 07-01-2006, 01:58 PM
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the rear main seal costs a lot because in order to get to it you have to pull the tranny, and flywheel. so it all depends on how honest the mechanic is.. i know for a fact with a lift it only takes about an hour to drop a tranny, i just did it, and after the tranny is out about 2 minutes to pull the flywheel.. and the rear main seal is right there.. so total its only about 2-3 hours of work. plues like 20 for the seal. around here mechanics charge on average 50/hour.. so i wouldnt pay more than 250 for the job.
Old 07-01-2006, 03:23 PM
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RMS for the f-bodies pays 3.7 hours for MT and 2.3 for AT. At $90/hr labor rate, it should be $333.00 labor plus parts/tax. AT cars should be $207.00 plus parts/tax. I'm not sure what a RMS runs but it should be more than $30-50. $400-$450 is what you should be looking to pay.
Old 07-01-2006, 04:07 PM
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I hope nobody has to go through what I did to get this repaired. I took it to a reputable shop. They doubted highly the oil pan was leaking, so they went after the rear main for $350.

Then it continued to leak after they test drove it, so they did the oil pan for $450. Still leaking at this point...

They pulled the tranny again, put dye in the oil, and used a blacklight to discover where the leak was. It turns out there had been a gouge in the crank and the oil was leaking out thru the gouge.

After about a week and ~$1000, it hasn't leaked again but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Old 09-22-2016, 10:00 AM
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Originally Posted by joshp14
RMS for the f-bodies pays 3.7 hours for MT and 2.3 for AT. At $90/hr labor rate, it should be $333.00 labor plus parts/tax. AT cars should be $207.00 plus parts/tax. I'm not sure what a RMS runs but it should be more than $30-50. $400-$450 is what you should be looking to pay.
10 years later dealership has 7 hours listed at shop rate of $114 for the AT. I guess as the years went by, they realized that this job takes longer lol.
Old 09-22-2016, 01:45 PM
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I know this thread is 10 years old, but since it's back....

Not sure why so many people commented above about this repair being "critical". I don't agree, unless of course it's leaking badly. My '02 had a minor rear main weep for several years, it never got any worse and wasn't even bad enough to have any effect on the amount of oil used between changes (vs. before the leak.) I just ignored it with no ill side-effects at all.
Old 09-22-2016, 07:46 PM
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Originally Posted by RPM WS6
Not sure why so many people commented above about this repair being "critical". I don't agree, unless of course it's leaking badly. My '02 had a minor rear main weep for several years, it never got any worse and wasn't even bad enough to have any effect on the amount of oil used between changes (vs. before the leak.) I just ignored it with no ill side-effects at all.
Not all oil leaks are equal. It could become a pain in the *** to deal with if it's a large enough leak that produces an oily film on the underside and back bumper as well as having the potential of ruining a clutch.
Old 09-23-2016, 12:25 AM
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Originally Posted by SS RRR
Not all oil leaks are equal. It could become a pain in the *** to deal with if it's a large enough leak that produces an oily film on the underside and back bumper as well as having the potential of ruining a clutch.
Yep, as I said, "unless of course it's leaking badly." Mine was an auto so I had no clutch concerns, perhaps those posters above were all M6 people....
Old 09-25-2016, 12:03 PM
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If you find someone who will not rip you off.....they should charge about $150 total. You bring the new seal.

My friend drops my transmission in 20 minutes. Seal goes on in 15 minutes. 20 minutes to put the transmission back up.

Try to find someone in a local car group that does side work. I paid my friend $100.00 for the total job. A little over an hour we were done.

.
Old 09-29-2016, 08:49 AM
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For those that have changed theirs, how did the flexplate look? I was told 9/10 times the flexplate is cracked. Seems unlikely.
Old 09-29-2016, 09:15 AM
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Originally Posted by 5.7stroker
For those that have changed theirs, how did the flexplate look? I was told 9/10 times the flexplate is cracked. Seems unlikely.

9/10 is pretty high. High horsepower will definitely make it more likely to crack one. Most the cracked flex plates I've seen were on Diesels. I've seen a few cases where the problem was a missing dowel pin. It ripped the center out of the flex plate. In my experience if the flex plate is cracked, you'll know.


As far as the rear main being critical, I disagree, unless it is pouring oil out on the ground. Slow leak and no time or money to fix it? Just leave it be and check the oil level from time to time.

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