well i was under my truck today cause i have a vibration problem i think is now cause from my bad pass. side axle seal. and possibly has zero fluid left in it and causeing it idk. anyways, i got under there to see some oil dripping from the front of the trany on to my cat(seemed to run from between the engine and trany down). by chance i spotted this and im fearing the rear main is the cause? anyone else help me out thatd be great. just when i was ready to spend money on cool **** this has to happen.


Also correct me if im wrong but i believe these later 5.0s i dont have to pull the motor to get to it and i just have to take the trany off or get it out of the way to get at it. which makes me feel a little better. Also some say that if its leaking just a drip its ok, or managable but if its a puddle you got problems. either way i wana fix t im sure.

here are some pics to help show what i saw.

 

Yea from those pictures it does look like the rear main seal, especially since I don't see anything running down the oilpan.

I replaced my rear main seal a couple of weeks ago because I hade on laying around and the trans was already out. On my 93 302, the rear main seal was a solid one piece and definately required pulling the trans because its directly behind the flexplate. I don't see any way around pulling the trans and plate to get at it. Good Luck.

 

yeah i knew i had to pull the trans. but i gota buddy to help me with that. but it beats having to rip apart the motor to get at it like the older 302s.

whats the process of getting it out. just pry it out somehow? and how does the new one go in, just push it in?

 

Mine was a pain to take out. It took sometime with a screw driver and a pair of pliers. It's in there pretty good and mine had been there for 15 years. One good thing is it doesn't matter how much you screw it up getting it out since you'll never need it again. As for installing the new one its a standard press fit style gasket that needs to put in with force. I took a 3/8 drive extension and slowly worked my way around the seal til it was seated properly. It took some time but it did seat properly. If you have some huge sockets you could use that to hammer the seal in all at once. I'm pretty sure none of that advise is the proper technique, but for a backyard mechanic it works.

 

hah exactly, but works for me.

it hardly drips so im hoping i can wait till saturday. its only a few drips here and there, but its dripping onto the cat and that kinda bothers me

 

pull the trans, and take off the converter or clutch, then the flywheel, then you should be able to get to it. what we do a work is we use a pick, like a 90* pick and poke a hole into it and just yank it out. when you put the new one in, try to find some sealer to put on it. we us some aircraft stuff, seem to work pretty well. just make sure you put it in str8 and level/even

 

sweet. am i going to have to drain the trany fluid at all? i need to do an oil change so i'll drain the oil and then put in the seal and then fill it up after.

so you put like an RVT type compound on it?

 

You don't have to drain the tranny fluid, but your going to have to completely remove the trans, and i'm sure in that process that your going to lose some fluid. When I replaced the rear main seal I didn't even lose any motor oil when I did it, all the oil was sitting down in the pan. As for the RTV, I use it on everything I seal for the motor, but I didn't for the rear main, on my truck the seal was so tight I personally did not find it necessary.

 

right on, cause i was going to change the oil today and maybe do the seal saturday. so i was gona ask if i'll lose any oil.