Rear Main Seal Questions

[rstinnett]

I have had an oil leak that I took my 95 Camaro V6 to the shop for this morning. They called and informed me it appears to be the rear main seal leaking. The stinker is, I just had a 94 V6 engine dropped into this thing in January.

Anyway, assuming it is the rear main seal (they are doing a dye in the oil test), is there ANYTHING else I should have them do while they are tearing this thing apart to fix it? I assume they will have to drop the engine?

Anyone have a ballpark cost for such a thing? I'm figuring at least $800 if not more.

[magnethead794]

huh

i thought the rear main seal was in the Diff?

[Joe 1320]

The rear crank seal is the only thing back there except for tranny related parts. If you were going to change clutches or converters, now would be the time to do it. As far as the cost, my best guess would be roughly 4 hours max to R&R the trans, an additional ½ hour to do the main seal. Multiply those hours by you shop's labor rates and you'll be close. If they charge $65 per hour, expect to pay roughly $300 plus the cost of seal and taxes. Hope this gives you an idea. No way I would pay $800

[rstinnett]

Thanks for all your help, guys...

They called back this morning and did a dye test and they said it was the intake manifold (I've heard of this problem on the V8 engines before, but never on the V6) and they want to do my alternator at the same time since it is only putting out 11.3V.

They quoted me about $430 for the intake manifold, plus about $230 for the alternator.

Can anyone shed some light onto what is a common cause for the intake manifold to leak like this? The engine has about 58K miles on it, is a 1994 3.4L V6 SFI.

Thanks,

Robert

[Joe 1320]

personally, I think that is a little high for labor to R&R an intake. I suppose some shops get that much, but that is a 3 hour job, tops. That would even include a sandwich break. Granted, the cooling system must be drained so there will be the cost of coolant as well. Labor on an alternator should be cheap. I've done it on my 3.8 in a ½ hour. So the major cost of the alternator is the cost of the part. As far as what caused the leak? Don't know unless is was a poor install from the beginning. The LT-1s had the notorious intake oil leak, but that was due to the EGR pipe causing an overheat of the rear edge of the manifold. The 3.4 is a totally different animal.

[magnethead794]

diy

do the alt your self and save money...no way an alt can cost 230 bucks!

[rstinnett]

Thanks guys, I think I am going to do the alt. myself -- the part itself is $80.

I have the Chilton's and Haynes manual -- any tips you guys care to throw in for doing this job?

Rob

[Joe 1320]

It is Really simple. Just follow the step in the manual. Shouldn't take more than ½ hour to R&R.

[rstinnett]

Well I'll give it a shot! Never done anything this "big" before, maintenance wise, but always willing to learn more!

Is it best to go at it from below or above?

[Joe 1320]

All you'll need to do is remove the belt from below, the rest is done from the top. A wrench is used to rotate the tensioner to relieve the tension on the belt, then slide the belt off. After disconnecting the battery, the alternator is held in place with a couple of bolts, the electrical connections are just a plug in harness and a bolt for the major hot lead. The only snag you may run across is the pulley. Some alternators come with the pulley, others require the pulley be transferred. If you have the latter, the parts shop will usually swap them for you on the spot. Then it is a simple re-install in reverse order.

[rstinnett]

THanks Joe! I'll tackle this probably next weekend (the car won't be back from the shop until Monday) and let you know how it goes!

It's putting out 11.3V, or so they say, but I am sort of wondering about that myself. I'll have Autozone test it first before swapping.

Rob