Rear Main Seal

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Oct 14, 2002 | 12:51 AM

priley

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Joined: Jan 2000

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Rear Main Seal

All;

I have an '88 F250 460 C-6 4x4. Have a leaking rear main seal, and am getting tired of it leaking like a Ch**y. How much work is it to replace it?

Thanks, Paul

Oct 14, 2002 | 01:42 AM

vkaro45

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Joined: Apr 2001

Posts: 100

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From: Stafford USA

Rear Main Seal

I'm looking to do the same thing on my '87. According to the manual you nearly have to pull the engine to get the oil pan off. Once you get the pan off you need to loosen the main caps and remove the rear main, replace the seal and put it all back together. I had a shop quote me $400.00 to do the job. Tempting...

Rodger

Oct 14, 2002 | 07:45 PM

FORDNUTTZ

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Joined: Sep 2002

Posts: 137

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Rear Main Seal

might as well freshin it up when you have it out and apart

put you some new barings and new rings

relap your valves

put new vale steem seals in

Oct 23, 2002 | 02:14 PM

dpoelstra

Senior User

Joined: May 2002

Posts: 484

Likes: 1

From: Garden Grove USA

Rear Main Seal

Here is something to consider. I bought an 86 F350 w/460 and it leaked like crazy. It also pushed oil up through the dipstick tube and blew it everywhere. Because of that, I replaced the PCV valve and Viola! The rear main seal leak went away too. Now I only get a drop or two after a long hot run, and I think this is mostly coming from the drain plug.

I was shocked to see that a bad PCV valve can create enough pressure to make the rear main seal leak puddles like that.

Worth looking at.

Oct 25, 2002 | 05:10 AM

DeenHylton

Elder User

Joined: Jan 2000

Posts: 966

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From: Crooked River Ranch, OR

Rear Main Seal

It goes something like this:
Unbolt exhaust and motor mounts and remove fan and anything else that will get in the way of allowing the engine to be jacked up 2 inches.
Jack engine up 2 inches.
Insert small 2 X 4"s between motor mount and frame adapters.
Pull oil pan.
Remove rear main cap ONLY, do NOT loosen other main caps.
Have friend manually rotate engine with a breaker bar while you push on upper rear-main seal with a small punch or other small object being very careful not to scratch crank with punch. Make sure your pushing on seal the same direction the crank is being rotated.
Rotate new upper seal into place after lubing seal lip and making sure you have seal lip facing towards the FRONT of the truck.
Replace lower seal.
Use a small dab of silicone sealer where the two seal half butt together.
Replace rear-main cap and torque into place.
Clean oil-pan, install new gaskets and seal with silicone sealer.
Reverse the dis-assembly.
Reward your self with a beverage of choice!
Deen

Oct 25, 2002 | 09:18 AM

laptopgeek

Elder User

Joined: Apr 2001

Posts: 997

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From: texarkana, tx

Rear Main Seal

H'mmm...beverage of choice. That sounds like Miller time.... or head for the mountains of B-U-S-C-H....

Dean - the manual states to skooch the lower seal up into the upper seal bore a little ways on one side and have the upper seal skootch down a little bit into the lower bore...so all the mating surfaces don't "match up" --- have you ever done that?....