2.5l rear main seal

[Jeeplander]

hey guys, I got a really bad rear main seal leak, From what I understand, its one piece. I can't find any qrite ups on a DIY. or how hard it may be. Its a 97 se auto. thanks for any help

[sharpxmen]

hey guys, I got a really bad rear main seal leak, From what I understand, its one piece. I can't find any qrite ups on a DIY. or how hard it may be. Its a 97 se auto. thanks for any help

in summary
remove tranfer case and transmission, remove converter flex plate, pry out the seal and put in the new one. is not as easy as it sounds but no big deal either. removing the transmission and put it back in is probably the challenge if you do it in the driveway.

[Jeeplander]

how far back does the trany etc have to move to get the seal on?

[sharpxmen]

how far back does the trany etc have to move to get the seal on?

are we talking about the oil pan or the crankshaft seal behind the flywheel (or flexplate in your case)? if it's the rear crank seal then you'll have to take the transmission off completely with the torque converter on it, then remove the flexplate to reach the seal - you might be able to reach in there and do this if you move the tranny back like 1 ft but that still counts as removing it. - if you think of doing this by pushing back the transmission 1 or 2 inches forget it, not going to happen. (i mean in theory you could given that you have a auto but i don't see how can it be achieved in practice)

[Jeeplander]

Just a thought, wouldn't it be a easier to shift the engine ahead. Although I don't think I have a foot of space ahead of the engine without moving the fan shroud..

[dwtaylorpdx]

The rear main cap has to come off too as I recall, Or maybe I was fixing
something else,,, I forget now, I've had the darn thing out so many times... 

Dave

[sharpxmen]

The rear main cap has to come off too as I recall, Or maybe I was fixing
something else,,, I forget now, I've had the darn thing out so many times... 

Dave

cap doesn't have to come off, i replaced mine just by prying it out and pressing the new one in.

[Mousejockey]

Just a thought, wouldn't it be a easier to shift the engine ahead. Although I don't think I have a foot of space ahead of the engine without moving the fan shroud..

Not really, there are alot more things that can go wrong going that route