Could non operation of the pcv valve cause crankcase pressure that would cause a rear main seal leak?- we have a slight leak on a 99 with only 78000 miles on it - or does nissan use bad seals?
Dealer wants $950 to fix it

 

no a pcv wouldnt cause that. you sure its the rear main and not a oil pan gasket? seems odd that it would go out with so low miles.

also that price is steep to replace a rear main.. r&r (remove and reinstall) of a rear main seal it probably 4 hours using mitchell labor......even at 100 dollars an hour labor (most dealers are 84.99)...it should be more than 400 in labor...id check the estimate to see what you are getting charged for. i work as a ASE tech and my good friend works at nissan, theres no way they should charge that much.

 

Actually a clogged PCV system could allow excess pressure to build in the crankcase and result in a leak at the rear main seal.

But more likely is that the seal is leaking due to age & wear. Really a common issue on Maximas with miles or age.

 

the pcv valve seems really burried

 

Rear main seal...pull out axles, disconnect shifter linkage, drop the transmission/fw/TC, and that's your rear main seal. It should be a LITTLE more than they would charge you to change a clutch. That's how you know how to price it.

 

r u sure ? cause i did mine in like 5 minutes -- just need to take 2 bolts off

 

He meant the seal. I did my PCV in about 5 minutes also.

 

rear main is not worth fixing unless you have a major oil leak. they could screw up the trans if its not aligned properly, and it still might leak. i was told that the rms could start leaking again a few months later even with a new seal. bah, mines been leaking and i just added a sealer from mothers that slowed it down to a drip, 6.99 a bottle.

 

well mine seems like its sweating, i park the car inside my garage always and there are no leaks of any kind (pheww) but it DOES look like its sweating around that area i saw on some pictures on this site