So at the end of day 3 of the rear main seal saga, the transmission is ready to go back in tomorrow. I severely underestimated the time involved for this job. Dealing with corroded and rusted parts adds days to the removal process. I should have figured this, but I was just being foolishly optimistic.
This is now the 3rd rear main in 240K miles. The first replacement was done around 100K miles under warranty by Caldwell Toyota in West Caldwell, New Jersey. It was installed incorrectly as it was not flush with the mating surface and slightly skewed as well. When they removed the original one, they did a superb job of trying to destroy the crank seal surface. It was gouged with screwdriver marks both on the rear edge and on the seal surface. What a fine job from a dealership by factory trained mechanics. This is why I never let anyone touch anything on my truck. Freaking idiots. Oh, and let’s not forget the missing transmission mounting bolt. Apparently the top passenger side bolt hole was too difficult to get to so they decided just to leave that one out. Pretty scary stuff.
Luckily, since the old seal wasn’t seated correctly, the new one is actually riding on a fresh spot on the crank seal surface and is further inboard of the longest screwdriver score mark. Dave and I both feel this seal should last a good bit longer than the last one. On a positive note, we had a chance to look at the lower half of the 4th main bearing and it was in pristine condition as was the crank journal. Not too bad for 240K miles over 21 years. Oh what a feeling. The motor is now sporting a fresh rear main, a fresh oil pan gasket, after spending hours cleaning the front and rear pan arch surfaces. I was never able to really get to the rear one before. Also I bought all new (22) oil pan bolts as every single one I removed was stripped. Once again, thank you to the previous guerrillas that call themselves mechanics. Also the use of hub studs screwed into the block in 4 or 6 spots really makes locating the gasket super easy when you’re trying to wrestle the giant oil pan into place. Spent a good half day cleaning all parts as well.
While the tranny was out I rebuilt the wiring harness and cleaned up all the connections to the unit, drained the transfer case oil, repaired any damages to O2 sensor wiring. Dave welded up the holes in the exhaust. Having all that room underneath really makes everything so much easier. If I had more time to spend, I would sound/heat insulate the transmission tunnel. That’s not going to happen.
Below are some pictures for your amusement.
1st pic is the old rear main.
2nd pic is the A440F and HF2a on the forklift.
3rd pic is the new rear main in and the tranny mounting plate going back on.
