Confirming job time to change out rear main seal and torque converter...

[russg]

My local shop told me 5-6 hours to change out the rear main seal and also the torque converter while they are back there.  He said he estimated a little high just to make sure there were no surprises.  What do you think?

[TylerCharger69]

5-6 hours....MAX!!!

[J-440]

  Interesting question.  So you can change the seal with the motor in the car?  Drain oil, remove pan, remove the #5 cap and that's it?  Please tell me it's that easy as I have a weird oil leak coming from the same area.  B/C dammit, I swear I put the seal in correctly during my buildup.

[gtx6970]

what kind of car ?

[Cooter]

Depends on the make and model of car.....One piece rear main, or two piece rear main...I can't see anybody pulling an oil pan AND transmission for no 5-6 Hours Max...

I've built Chrysler small blocks and Big Blocks, and one thing is for sure...If it has a two piece rear main seal, it IS gonna leak...How bad depends on if you pull it back out or not...

[russg]

The car is a '73 charger but the motor is a '67 383.  Just getting tired of the dripping and pretty much undercoating of the car at speed.  It does look like the oil pressure sending unit is leaking out the top and down the bell housing but I don't think it is leaking as fast as the drip I see coming off the trans inspection plate

[gtx6970]

Just pulling the trans and replacing the convertor is going to pay on average 4 or 5 hours by itself.

dropping the oil pan and rear main seal replacement is , I'm guessing a 3 or 4 hour job

if you want actual times let me know I now have the labor and time guides for the older cars

[68chargerboy]

  Interesting question.  So you can change the seal with the motor in the car?  Drain oil, remove pan, remove the #5 cap and that's it?  Please tell me it's that easy as I have a weird oil leak coming from the same area.  B/C dammit, I swear I put the seal in correctly during my buildup.

yep dont need to pull the motor or the #5 cam 2 piece seals are a breeze to replace, just not all that fun

[oldkimmer]

....................Just make sure the rear cam plug isnt leaking.................kim..........

[TylerCharger69]

i use a 2 piece seal....and no leaks....still after 10 years!!!  When I changed out those components on my friends coronet...it took.....30 minutes to drop tranny.....15 minutes to pull oil pan....(plus another 15 to jack the engine up so the pan would clear)....about 20 to 30 minutes  to loosen crank shaft mains enough to remove seal after removing number 5 main totally...prepping, cleaning, and installation of new seal....45 minutes.....reassembling number 5 with lower half of seal (not forgetting those two "sticks" that go on the sides of the main with silicone...which is why we pulled the entire cap so they, too, could be changed which may have been a contributing factor to the leak) and then re-torquing crankshaft  mains...another hour....cleaning and prepping oil pan with new gasket and reinstalling.....30 minutes....setting engine back down and bolting motor mounts....5 minutes....chaning torque converter and front tranny seal.....10 minutes.....reassembly of tranny to block, driveshaft, linkages, etc.....45 minutes....topping off new oil and trans fluid 10 minutes......so if you do the math.....it's right close to maybe 4 hours....throw in a sandwich and a cold beverage in the duration....5 hours.....the removal was done with air tools and impacts, so that may change the equation a bit...but i wouldn't recommend using air to re torque engine components or the oil pan.  A cherry picker engine hoist was used to hold the engine in place while the oil pan was removed. The secret to no rear main seal leaks??  Clean, clean, clean!! Silicones or seals will not adhere to any foreign matter....but that's a no-brainer right there...So yes...you can change it with the engine still in the car.  I'd go ahead and change that sending unit too while you're there. In case the question arises....you have to raise the engine a bit so the pan will clear the pickup tube assembly which as you probably already know....hangs low.  Anyway...that was my timeline on a 68 coronet 383....there were no surprises on this one, other than the knowledge of learning that those rope seals suck.