I took my Maxima to a local shop to check an oil leak and the culprit is the rear main seal. The price quote for the repair was about $1450 I've read the process is labor intensive but the part itself is only $50! Any input/suggestions? Is it $1400 labor intensive? And btw the motor only has about 117k miles.

 

It is definitely labor intensive. The transmission has to be removed. $1400 seems a bit steep, unless you're going to the stealership.

 

That is definitely steep. I had a local shop do it and it was about $1000 for labor including a new clutch install. Is your clutch original? It would be worth it to replace it with this job if you have any doubts it's going to last for however long you plan to own the vehicle.

 

i had 3 shops say me rear main seal was gone, it ended up being the half moon seal that sits next to it on the upper oil pan. I would be willing to guess that is the issue. It took me 7 hours the first time, but now i could do it in 4.5 since i now know you have to remove the O2 sensors and the AC compressor bracket to get the pan out.

 

Can I get to the upper oil pan without removing the transmission? I'm having this issue also and would hate for it to be the upper oil pan leaking but the rear main seal done instead.

 

I just did this and honestly the worst part is the upper oil pan - getting all of the old rtv sealant off the connection between the lower and upper oil pans and the one between the block and upper oil pan takes some time. The transmission isn't as difficult as some make it seem - it's a bit tricky wiggling it back into place but aside from that, removing everything you need to isn't terrible. I'd say between $1000-1500 labor is about right anywhere you go, though....

 

[I]I have the same problem with my 2002 Maxima SE with 110,000 miles, I will try to use the BARS Concentrated Rear Main Seal Repair
http://barsproducts.com/catalog/view...al-repair-1040. I have no idea if this additive will work,There's a lot of positive reviews in amazon and facebook from individual who use this product.[/I]

 

The rear main almost never goes bad. It is typically the half moon seals (unless oil has been overfilled).

I don't think you have to remove trans but I could be wrong on that as I had my trans out when I did mine.

As for cleaning the rtv off, I've found that a dremel with the soft brass brush attachment works wonders.

 

^^ You do have to remove the transmission to reach the half moon seals. The flywheel / Torque converter are bolted directly to the crankshaft and the seals are just on the outside of that. Wiggling that oil pan out without removing the transmission would be very difficult if not impossible.

The half moon seals on my car were fairly brittle when I replaced them at 178k miles, however they weren't leaking. I just replaced everything while I was replacing my clutch/flywheel.

 

I did the half moon seals without dropping the trans: http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...ss-thread.html

Its doable in your garage. Just be patient.

 

Do a search on Amazon. There was another product that had better reviews and apparently, better results.

Here it is...

 

I would probably j**z my pants if someone told me they'd give me $1000 for replacing it, I think their price is pretty steep

 

Cheaper and faster and better to put a low mile engine in. YOURSELF,these engines are like batteries.

 

Really not that bad, huh? By any chance, do you know where one could find all the torque specs for bolts and stuff? Does this car use single use stretch bolts like German cars?

 

Its not bad at all.
http://boredmder.com/FSMs/Nissan/Maxima/2002/EM.pdf

Should have all your specs. If you use the search bar on this forum (with “google search” option checked) you can basically find the answers to any question youll ever have; you can search stuff like “motor mount torque spec” and there will be threads that discuss it. The only single-use bolts that I am aware of are for internals (ie; connecting rod fasteners) so you can use reuse what you have with no issues.

EDIT; make sure when using the FSM, you first understand the way information is displayed. Common mistakes here include reading the Nm specs as foot-pounds, or reading foot-pounds when the spec is actually in inch-pounds. The bottom left of page “EM - 10” in the FSM chapter I linked shows what format torque specs are listed and what symbols mean what.