Rear main seal replacement cost 1fz-fe (1 Viewer)

[99fzj105]

Hello just wondering if anyone on here has had a rear main seal replaced within the last few years? I have found a few posts about rear main seals and replacement but the only thread I found about the cost approx. was from 2007. I need to get mine replaced as it’s the last thing I need to stop leaking in my cruiser. Everything else has been attended to. So I’m just curious as to how much I’m looking at price wise, I’m in Australia and I’m regional. Far from the cities. I also realise this is a very high labour job due to having to remove the transmission to get to the rear seal on the engine. For a competent and trained mechanic/s this should be relatively straight forward considering they should have all the right gear needed to tackle the job hence being a mechanical workshop. Cheers guys

 

[dallen341]

I suspect most will direct you to “pan arch seal” as likely source for the leak as opposed to the rear main seal. Far more common than the rear main seal.

 

[99fzj105]

I suspect most will direct you to “pan arch seal” as likely source for the leak as opposed to the rear main seal. Far more common than the rear main seal.

Sorry I should have said, I have had lots of work done recently to the vehicle and I’ve had the pan arch seal reseated recently

 

[99fzj105]

Sorry I should have said, I have had lots of work done recently to the vehicle and I’ve had the pan arch seal reseated recently

Resealed *

 

[TurboDennis]

Having done a few of these, i would rather pull the engine instead of tranny (if automatic). I find that pulling the engine is easier (although may take SLIGHTLY more time), and makes it much easier to address other common things on the engine "while you're at it".

As far as labor hours, i would say 7-8 hours as absolute best case scenario for someone with a lot of experience doing this exact job on this truck. 10-12 is probably more realistic for an average shop.

 

[99fzj105]

Having done a few of these, i would rather pull the engine instead of tranny (if automatic). I find that pulling the engine is easier (although may take SLIGHTLY more time), and makes it much easier to address other common things on the engine "while you're at it".

As far as labor hours, i would say 7-8 hours as absolute best case scenario for someone with a lot of experience doing this exact job on this truck. 10-12 is probably more realistic for an average shop.

Thanks for the info Dennis!

 

[99fzj105]

Ok so just an update - I got more curious after reading a few threads on here and went to follow exactly where that oil is coming from that is running down the bell housing! I followed it all the way up to the back of the rocket cover - so I just had the rocket cover gasket replaced, what does this mean? The mechanic hasn’t done the gasket properly?

 

[Road Apple]

Having done a few of these, i would rather pull the engine instead of tranny (if automatic). I find that pulling the engine is easier (although may take SLIGHTLY more time), and makes it much easier to address other common things on the engine "while you're at it".

As far as labor hours, i would say 7-8 hours as absolute best case scenario for someone with a lot of experience doing this exact job on this truck. 10-12 is probably more realistic for an average shop.

@TurboDennis … Besides motor mounts, what would you suggest as items to do while you’re pulling the engine? I’ll be doing this at some point too.

 

[Kernal]

@dallen341

So the Valve cover has recently had a new gasket installed? And after that is when you started to see oil dripping off the bottom of the bellhousing??

If that's correct then the gasket may have gotten sideways as the valve cover was being reinstalled causing a leak.

Try taking a mechanics mirror to check for the leak near the rear of the valve cover where it mates to the head.

Either way I'd take it back to the mechanic who did that work.

 

[99fzj105]

@dallen341

So the Valve cover has recently had a new gasket installed? And after that is when you started to see oil dripping off the bottom of the bellhousing??

If that's correct then the gasket may have gotten sideways as the valve cover was being reinstalled causing a leak.

Try taking a mechanics mirror to check for the leak near the rear of the valve cover where it mates to the head.

Either way I'd take it back to the mechanic who did that work.

Yes correct, new gasket recently installed, then started seeing oil dripping from bottom of bell housing. Got underneath car at night time and used a torch to follow the oil trail all the way up to the back corner of the valve cover, definitely will be taking it back, thanks for replying

 

[mudgudgeon]

Another possibility is a previous repairer may have used RTV silicone as well as a gasket.

IMO If the silicone isn't all cleaned off thoroughly, it only takes a small chunk to prevent the gasket fully sealing in the groove in the rocker cover.

I just did this on my 1fz-fe. It took a good hour to clean all the old layers of crappy silicone out to start fresh.
The rubber gasket doesn't need silicone to seal. It just needs to clean surfaces.

 

[mudgudgeon]

To answer your first question, I have no experience dealing with an auto trans, but if yours is manual, I'd expect a mechanic to pull the gearbox out, not the engine.

Far less disruptive.

I've removed the gearbox and transfer as a unit under the car on my garage floor to replace a throw out bearing for the clutch (was supplied the wrong one).
It took me a lot less than 8 hours on my back on the floor. A mechanic with a hoist, and the right tools should be able to do it in 8 hours

 

[TurboDennis]

@TurboDennis … Besides motor mounts, what would you suggest as items to do while you’re pulling the engine? I’ll be doing this at some point too.

Lots of things, depending on what has been done before. Here is a list of common maintenance items that are FAR easier to do with the engine out:
-Rear main seal
-Pan arch seal
-Front main seal + oil pump cover seal
-PHH
-Water hose under the intake manifold (aka PHH on steroids)
-Wiring harness repair/rewrap in EGR area.
-EGR delete?

On the most recent job, i also replaced the valve stem seals without removing the head.

To answer your first question, I have no experience dealing with an auto trans, but if yours is manual, I'd expect a mechanic to pull the gearbox out, not the engine.

Far less disruptive.

I've removed the gearbox and transfer as a unit under the car on my garage floor to replace a throw out bearing for the clutch (was supplied the wrong one).
It took me a lot less than 8 hours on my back on the floor. A mechanic with a hoist, and the right tools should be able to do it in 8 hours

Yes, if you're JUST doing the rear main seal, AND have a manual tranny, then pulling just the tranny is a better plan. But if you have any other issues from the list above, then pulling the engine makes much more sense.