i am replacing the rear main seal. does anyone have any tricks how to get it off. i am having a lot of trouble with it. any help would be appreciated.

 

The rear cover seal is a bich to get off. I've read all kinds of tech info about installing new ones, and special tools you can buy to press them back into the cover, but, so far, I've found nothing about how to remove the seal.

It's a bi-directional seal...one lip faces the crankcase, and the other faces the tranny. In between the two seal lips, is a steel ring that seats on the rear cover seal bore. I hate to tell this on myself, but if it helps someone else....

I removed/replaced the front cover seal with no trouble. When I tried to remove the rear cover seal, I actually distorted the rear cover. I ordered a new rear cover from the Pontiac dealer near my house. The parts counter guy said it came with the seal installed (PN 12561243, I believe...the invoices aren't too detailed, and GM's favorite trick is superseding part numbers every 5 minutes), so I ordered it. I thought it was going to cost big bucks, but was surprised to find that the cover and seal came to $60.00!

I would go to a Pontiac dealership, and talk to a tech to see how they remove the rear cover seal without distorting the cover. I know they have to be pressed back in, but you can buy the tool from GM, and Wheel To Wheel Performance. I'm sure others, like Snap-On, make a similar tool, too. The W2W & GM tool double as a rear cover alignment reinstallation tool, too.

When you find out how to properly remove the damn thing, could you post up the information?

 

i am probebly going to just go to the dealership since i have the rear cover off the motor anyway.

 

You need special tooling for this. Go to your dealer or see a tuner.