My 97 F250 with a 460 is leaking oil around the area of the rear main seal. I'm trying to decide if I want to tackle this myself or farm it out to my mechanic shop. Does someone know about how much it would cost for me to have it done? I live in KC if that helps any with hourly rate.
Thanks for any help.

 

Last time I checked, a decade ago, a rear main seal was $700.

 

On my 94 I was quoted $2200 a few months ago. Very mild leak for me and not worth opening that can of worms. If it gets worse, I will do.

 

I wonder if the cost reflects the labor in pulling the engine?? Man, that's a lot of money and fortunately mine isn't bad yet either.

 

You pull the transmission to replace the rear main seal.

 

I agree, but I've talked to a few mechanics who say it's easier to replace the RMS when the engine is out.

 

Quote was for removing transmission. I go under every few weeks and wipe it down. Only a few drops and never hits the driveway.

 

Those mechanics are out of their mind. Unless we're talking about a front wheel drive vehicle. But I assume you're talking about your truck.

 

Asking for a friend....do 7.5L engines use a one or two piece rear main seal?

 

Looking on Rockauto. Two piece.

 

If you are a real professional mechanic, then you are out of your mind to be in the profession.

Some of us work hard and stand by our work. Many just pretend to be mechanics and make the rest of the industry suffer with their incompetence.

If the rear main seal leaks [and it probably is] and you put in a new one and it leaks again [probably will] then the mechanic gets blamed. Not because it's just a poor design from Ford, but because you were the last one who worked on it. One of the tricks of the trade is to price the job a bit higher than it might take. Takes care of the issues that you will come up with when you dive in. If the customer takes on the job at the price you quoted, then you know you can do a really good job. Sure beats quoting $500 and dealing with all the nasty rusted hardware and broken components. Remember, these trucks are knocking on the door of being 30 years old.

If you elect to do it yourself and buy the cheapest parts on Rock Auto, you can join all the other people that complain about the products they sell. Why not go to Ford and see if they got the real deal?

 

I have to ask you, if you buy an ignition part from Rock Auto, say Standard brand because Ford Motorcraft is no longer available, will the same part number I buy from a local parts dealer be the same quality.

I ask because because I recently bought an ignition part locally and it was $32.00. it was about 15.00 on Rock Auto.

 

Same quality, If Rockauto has it you can also check on Amazon if they have it and get it cheaper if you have a Prime membership. I've done that a few times were, when taxes and shipping is calculated it tends to equal Amazons price and I get it in 2 days vs. 4 or more days depending on shipping speed from RA.

Also never heard of the engine coming out for a rear main seal replacement, always the tranny coming out.

 

#1} Buy locally. Your neighbors would appreciate that.
#2) The return policy is probably much easier locally. No shipping back the part to Rock Auto and waiting for a reply.
#3) $17 is not a lot of money to be saved. Certainly worth it for me to keep the locals employed.
#4) Not all, but I think most buy from Rock Auto because they have cheap parts. Yes, some may be name brand but only Rock Auto could say what their highest moving parts are. I suspect they are on the cheaper end of the parts choices.
#5) When returning the defective part, are you willing to wait weeks while your part is being processed? Usually a bad part gets returned before they send out another one. Who pays for shipping?

I get that sometimes $17 is the entire life savings for some, but honestly, it's not worth the hassle. Same as the professional that gives a large estimate for a job that probably will come back, it's not worth the hassle for the money saved/earned.

Of course, we all have a different experience and opinion. If you like Rock Auto and they provide great service or the locals are a bunch of pirates, I get it.

 

Thanks for the replylies wystang and 1Butcher. Yes I usually buy auto parts locally especially if I am in a hurry. It is just amazing how cheap the part can be atleast before shipping.