The first time I pulled my transmission I thought my rear main seal might have been leaking slightly. I brushed it off thinking it was just some WD40 I had sprayed into the pilot bushing hole. I then noticed the other day while I was under my car it was wet where the engine meets the tranny. So while I had the tranny again thinking and hoping it was the input shaft of the tranny leaking instead of the engine side, it was not. I have not yet pulled the clutch and flywheel but I venture to say that my rear main seal is leaking. I did a SEARCH and found that a few others here have had it done. Has anybody replaced it themself? I know you need to pull the lower and the upper oil pans. Bad luck just follows me.

 

yep

upper oil pan needs to be dropped. sucks but it happens, happens to all cars. ive replaced a few on 4th gens. its retarded cause usually you should be able to unbolt old seal and put on new seal, no dropping oil pan. 3rd gen is this way, i duno why they changed it for the 4th gen.

 

Dont worry..atleast your MAF is safe and sound...

 

Usually if you have 70,000 or so miles and your tranny is out, a new main seal is an automatic change(at least for the 3-gens)

 

So would you reccomend adding this to the list when a clutch is changed?

SuDZ

 

I just got a new clutch put in and my rear main seal was leaking pretty bad. I did not do the work myself but my mechanic said it was a hassle replacing the seal compared to most cars. He did say that the design of the seal had changed (he picked up the part at Nissan) for the better though...not sure in what respect.

 

i dont see how it is "better" because
1. its MUCH harder to change
2. It still has tendancy to leak

 

I am not sure you understood me so just to clear up any possible confusion I was told that the 4th gen rear seal had been redesigned. I could ask him how he thought it was better now but it sounds like you know. How did they change the seal?

 

How many miles were you at?

SuDZ

 

You gotta chill with the Dukes of Hazard stuff.

 

~170k.

 

on 3rd gens and alot of other cars, when you need to replace the seal, you pry off old seal or unbolt it, then it comes off. on the 4th gen, you gotta drop the pan and unbolt the seal to get it 9ff

 

I am poorly explaining myself. What I was trying to say is that on 4th generation Maximas (or at least the 96) the rear main seal that Nissan initially used on the car has been changed. So when you compare the seal that was taken off my 96 to what Nissan gives you when you ask for a rear seal for the 96 they are different. Sorry for the mix-up but have you heard of this difference or was my mechanic mistaken about the redesign? Thanks.

 

i currnetly have the same problem. but no $$$ to pay the labor to remove the oil pan and the tranny. i have already removed the oil pan twice to try to remedy the problem but to now avail. i sent it to a mechanic the 1st time when i realized the leak was still there i did it again myself. its still leaking. when i found out that the pan and tranny had to come out i was ****ed. maily because i was already half way there when i pulled the upper and lower oil pans.

 

If anyone needs a rear main seal, I have an unused one from my 96 I30 5spd which is the same for the manual tranny Maximas.

 

i havent heard anything about a redesign but im sure its totally possible. All manufacters improve designs on certain parts and update them with a different part number.

rear main seal should be same for manual and auto tranny.

 

Heres a pic of the leak with the flywheel removed:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/ewong61/max/DSCF0035.JPG

The black gooey stuff I put on last time I pulled the tranny but it didnt work.

 

got mine replaced under warrantee

 

OK I'm starting this project. I pulled the lower oil pan so far. Need to pull the Y pipe, AC compressor and then the upper oil pan. Does anybody have a pic of the rear main seal? I looked in the FSM and all it said was to use gasket maker on the "rear oil seal retainer". Is the rear main seal actually a seal you can order or is it just gasketing goo?

 

its a real seal you get from Nissan. At the bottom your suppose to goo it up.