rear main seal help

[Micah 89LXi]

Okay, it wasnt the headgasket that seems to be the problem...its not messing with my coolant or radiator pressure at all..also its dry..thank god..but now a whole new problem surfaces.

The hunt for my oil leaks began by basically looking at the engine and seeing where fresh oil was coming from...the oil pan gasket leak is confirmed..as the oilpan is always covered in oil. but we noticed a lot of new oil collecting just below the oil filter area on the back of the block.

now correct me if im wrong but isnt the filter/ assembly higher than the oil pan gasket? that makes us think the oil filter gasket seal whatever the hell is bad...in addition to the oil pan gasket...

but this thing is loosing a good bit of oil now..it is dripping directly off the transmission case but the odd thing is, it seems to be wet on both sides..the block side and far side because it is dripping through the plastic turtle shell directly in front of the outer side of the tranny case. This in turn makes us think its the rear main seal that is leaking.

Now the question is how hard is it to replace the rear main seal?

Oh and another thing...what the hell is it called as far as auto parts are concerned..cause I cant find anything thats called main seal or output shaft seal or anything close on any websites

i cant find oil filter gasket thing either

Also am I going to have to pull the axel off to replace the oilpan gasket?

cause i think its in the way of some bolts..

your thoughts are appreciated 3geez forum,



Micah

[Ichiban]

I'd say pressure wash the thing after soaking it in engine cleaner. Find out exactly where your oil leak is, if it is the rear main you should be able to pull out the inspection plug in the bellhousing where the timing marks are visible on the flywheel and see oil everywhere inside. If it's dry, the rear main is fine. Did you try tightening/replacing your oil filter? If it's leaking it'll blow oil everywhere. Determine exactly the source of the leak before you try to fix it. Just because the oil pan is covered in oil doesn't mean it's leaking, like you said the filter is above it, and the oil runs down the back of the block. Check the filter, my toyota actually barfed out the filter gasket while I was driving it.

[paso100]

I'm going to replace the oil pump seals(#4, 11, and 9). The diagram is from South Bay (CA) Honda http://www.hondapartscheap.com/southbay/jsp/prddisplay.jsp?inputstate=5&catcgry1=Accord&catcgry2=1988&catcgry3=4DR+LXI&catcgry4=KL4AT&catcgry5=OIL+PUMP&vinsrch=no if you need to order. Majestic on the East Coast is the same.
This is after I replaced the oil filter base gasket, the oil pan gasket and the valve cover gasket. I've heard the crank seals on these cars aren't to blame for most leaks.
http://www.hondapartscheap.com/southbay/jsp/catimgs/13se00_a06.gif
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#10 is the culprit on the oil filter base
http://www.hondapartscheap.com/southbay/jsp/catimgs/13se00_a05.gif
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Here's the crankshaft seals. I would not mess w/ them until replacing the others first.
http://www.hondapartscheap.com/southbay/jsp/catimgs/13se00_a09.gif

[Ichiban]

The one piece rear mains on jap 4bangers are virtually indesdructible. The leak is most likely from somewhere else and from what he said, more the rear of the engine, not the front where the oil pump is.

[Micah 89LXi]

well...we had a nightmare with the thermostat..bolt broke off inside the housing..fun fun...but anyways I didnt change the oil filter base gasket...it was actually fine...the problem was that something on there had been changed at some point in the cars lifetime and they didnt bolt the thing on tightly at ALL..the bolts came right out...so we siliconed it up and im driving it now...we will see if it fixed that huge leak in the back soon enough...it blew my mind that the whole assembly was not tight to begine with so uhh i think thats why it leaked in the first place..good thing cause I couldnt find that gasket for shit..anyways thanks for everyone's help on this you guys are life savers..or more like 3g savers

thanks again,

Micah

[Micah 89LXi]

oh also...not gonna mess with it for a while...but next time im under the car i want to check the inspection plug on the bell housing..you wouldnt have a diagram where that is cause i couldnt find it unless it was that weird squarish bolt screw thingat the bottom corner..and if its that how in the world does that come off?

['89AccordLX(Rus)]

The inspection plug is actually at the front of the engine. Its square and has a little handle. The location is right next to the engine code below the distributor. As far as I know, there is no inspection cover on the bottom of the bell housing. Hope this helps.

[Oldblueaccord]

I'm going to replace the oil pump seals(#4, 11, and 9). The diagram is from South Bay (CA) Honda http://www.hondapartscheap.com/southbay/jsp/prddisplay.jsp?inputstate=5&catcgry1=Accord&catcgry2=1988&catcgry3=4DR+LXI&catcgry4=KL4AT&catcgry5=OIL+PUMP&vinsrch=no if you need to order. Majestic on the East Coast is the same.
This is after I replaced the oil filter base gasket, the oil pan gasket and the valve cover gasket. I've heard the crank seals on these cars aren't to blame for most leaks.
http://www.hondapartscheap.com/southbay/jsp/catimgs/13se00_a06.gif
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.
.

#10 is the culprit on the oil filter base
http://www.hondapartscheap.com/southbay/jsp/catimgs/13se00_a05.gif
.
Here's the crankshaft seals. I would not mess w/ them until replacing the others first.
http://www.hondapartscheap.com/southbay/jsp/catimgs/13se00_a09.gif


for all that Id go for a new pump. It will help your oil pressure as well if your car has any miles on it.


wp

[POS carb]

i've replaced both of those... the driver's axle and exhaust need to go as well as all the other crap associated with removing the axle. you have to remove the transmission to remove the rear main seal

the seal is also referred to as a "Crankshaft seal" because it basically keeps oil from slipping out beween the crank and the block.
drive it without a cover on the inspection hole, within a day you should have a nice slatter pattern all over your radiator fan and your hood if the rear seal is leaking.

other usual trouble spots are the oil pan, valve cover, distributor shaft gaskets, and PCV breather tank...

[88Accord-DX]

I didn't remove the axles to replace the oil pan gasket. Had to remove the exhaust from the headers & flexpipe. (cause car was on lift)

You will need to pull the tranny, axles & remove the oil pan to replace the rear main seal. It is good idea to loosen all your main bearing caps, so the crank will come down a little. It will give you some room to remove any of the seal that could be stuck on top of the journal. Remove any silicone on the bottom of the 5th main bearing cap & re-place it with fresh silicone. Torque main bearing caps to specs. Use new oil pan gasket.

If you have auto tranny, might want to think about replacing the front seal behind the torque converter. If the converter spline has any grove on it, sleeve it before you put it back in.