Need a dose of reality to make sure I still have some common sense. My '83 fj60 has been leaking since I purchased her in August. Nothing too surprising, right? Typical areas; power steering pump, rear main seal, + clutch, oil pan gasket, side cover gasket, etc. All things which need to be fixed in due time. Got the power steering pump done last weekend in the Colorado snow. Luckily that is a pretty "stand up" job. Not too much rolling on the ground, unlike most of the others. Got a quote today of $2,600, parts and labor, to do the rear main seal + clutch, oil pan gasket + side cover gasket. It has been a long time since I have had major work done with a mechanic, I am wondering if this is a reasonable quote? Due to the weather, increase in the flow of oil from the leaking areas, and time, I am stuck getting it done with a mechanic instead of doing it myself. I asked if they offer a Mud discount, and to my surprise, they will knock 10% off the total bill. Sound reasonable?
Reality Check
- Thread starter pjskibm
- Start date
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Man, I haven't had any mechanic work done in a long time but holy crap that sounds like a lot of money
Way more than I would be willing to spend. Just keep putting oil in it until spring.
Just thinking aloud here... $2600 total ... so about $1300 would be labour ... that would mean about 13 hours of work. That seems like too much time for a professional mechanic to me. Can you shop around and get a second or third estimate?
For $2600 I could drive out there from CA and do the job and make money.
where I Colorado are you? re: oil pan gasket - I changed mine a couple weeks ago and could help you with that. re: clutch - shop mechanic or someone more familiar with it. re: side cover plate - not sure exactly where that is. re: rear main - I tried some Bars leaks "rear main seal" voodoo juice and it has not dripped a single drop in about 3 weeks....not sure how long that'll last, but it seems to be working.
have you tried franktown automotive? dont know if hes still around but he was really good and inexpensive
1911
chupacabra
Do the side (pushrod gallery) cover and the oil pan first; these two are common leak sources that are often confused for the rear main seal. You may not need to replace the rear main seal.
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
Agree x100.
If your clutch is good, replace the pan gasket first. That solves 99% of "rear main" leaks.
The rear pan arch is just above the rear main and it is a known leaker. It is likely this is your problem. The OEM gasket isn't cheap, but it's worth finding out if that's the problem and could save you like $2550!
LAMBCRUSHER
SILVER Star
yes, this first. I think the pan gasket was like 32 buck at the dealer. swapping the Rear Main Seal is the toughest part of you project, requireing dropping the driveshafts, tran and tcase and supporting the block while you peel the bellhousing and flywheel off. you will have to drop the pan to do this job as well, so may as well wait till you're ready to do it all. a clutch kit with pressure plate, friction disc, throw out bearing and pilot bearing should cost less than 300 including having the flywheel surfaced. the rear main seal will be about 40 and the pan gasket about 35. the side cover is 25-30 and the valve cover gasket is 20. If I could do it again, I would have swapped the transmission input seal/gasket while I had it out, so add 50 more. Now, do your valve cover gasket then side cover gaskets first. you'd be surprised how those 2 can look just like a pan or rear main. as spring comes, get your clutch set and gaskets and go to town. have a stout buddy help you with the trans and t case and you could be done in a day. and IMO for far less than ONE thousand dollars.
I was able to do the rear main with out removing the oil pan.
1911
chupacabra
You can, but it's so much easier to change it without buggering the crankshaft and the new seal with the oil pan off.
To the OP: If your clutch is shot and needs replaced anyway, then by all means replace the rear main seal and the oil pan gasket while you've got the tranny/transfer case off, whether either is actually leaking or not.
If your clutch doesn't need replacing soon, then just do the oil pan and the side cover gaskets first.
If you want to positively diagnose the rear main seal, then take the tin flywheel cover off of the bottom of the bell housing and see if there is a lot of oil being thrown radially out on the engine side of the flywheel. You'll probably have to clean off any old dripped/leaked oil with brake cleaner first and then run the engine again. If it is, the main seal (or possibly one of the camshaft or oil galley plugs in the back of the block) is bad and then you can make a decision if it is bad enough to warrant pulling the tranny and transfer case to replace it. If you're going to, then wait to do the oil pan gasket then because as above it will make replacing the rear main seal so much easier.
hth.
If all that stuff actually needs to be done.... that is a pretty fair estimate based on the huge labor time involved in doing all that stuff.. our shop rate is 77 per hr plus parts and thats in OR
TS888
Almost the person my dog thinks I am...
But if I fix the leaks, how will I keep the bottom of my truck rust free?
LAMBCRUSHER
SILVER Star
try paint.
LAMBCRUSHER
SILVER Star
you forgot to mention you'll also have to change fluids rather then just cycle them out.....
