The cost for a shop to put a rear main seal in

[nismo300zx1990]

I have a 1990 300zx and am just wondering if anyone would know how much it would usually cost to have a new rear main seal.

[mrmoose]

The left arm will do just fine! they gotta drop the trans, pull the clutch, which means disconnecting all trans wires and clutch line, removing xmember.... then putting it all back together.

[skywhine]

If i had to throw numbers around...anywhere from $400-$500, but then you've got to factor in a replacement clutch and re-srufacing the flywheel while its apart. You's be an (Insert demeaning comment here) to not replace the clutch while its apart, unless you like paying out the *** for labor. Keep in mind no shop "WANTS" to work on these cars and anything like a rear main seal is highly intensive work on these cars, comparitively to say a Honda, or even a sentra. So the labor required to do said work is alot higher than the competitor. You dont have to pay any extra labor to replacet the clutch when replacing the rear main seal as the clutch must be removed to get to the rear main seal. Thus they would just install a new clutch when re assembling rather than re isntalling the old unit.

Unlsess its an AutoTragic than disreguard the replacement of the clutch.

Basic rule of themb: Find the Flate rate time to replace the rear main seal on your car (Easily accesible with modern day use of the world wide web: IE GOOGLE) then multiply the time by $100. Most shops charge around $100/hr for labor plus the price of the part. The rear main seal is lilkely around $40.

OK well i just took the initiative to look up the time in alldata. Your wekcome.

Labor
Manual trans.- 5.9hrs. 5.9x100=$590
Auto trans.-5.2hrs 5.2x100=$520

Rear man seal $32.97
------------------------------------------------
Manual trans. $622.97 before tax, without replacing clutch
Auto trans. $552.97 before tax, no clutch to be replaced

Take it form my experiance (AS an ASE cert. tech by trade) if it is a manual, replace the $300 worth of clutch (unless you go aftermarket) while its apart, or youll be paying that $6oo in labor again when the clutch fails, and thats if you dont destroy anything in the process.

Is it really worth paying $600 to install a $32.97 seal? Thats your decision to make, not mine.

[nismo300zx1990]

Thank you very much I do have a auto so that is kinda nice. thank you all for looking up the info for my i really appericiate it.

[skywhine]

No problem.

Sounds like a perfect time for a manual swap.

[nismo300zx1990]

Well concidering that I just had my auto rebuilt i dont think i will be doing that lol.

[t.mcginley.jr]

The moral of the story is that it's easy and fairly quick to replace the RMS. But getting to the RMS to replace it is what takes time/money because the trans needs to be dropped.

[nismo300zx1990]

Ya and the worst part it is a bran new rebuild on the motor and trans. I think when the motor was sitting on the engin stand with the bottom end build for a while tell i got the money to put the rest of it together made the RMS brittle or i may have just not done it right. Im not even sure if that is where it is leaking. all i know is it is not on the top of the motor and it is driping off the lower part of the bell housing. could it be anything else>???

[t.mcginley.jr]

If the valve covers aren't leaking, then there isn't really anything else besides the oil pan gasket itself that would leak back there. I think I read that if your PCV system is clogged (like the pcv valves themselves) then pressure can build up in the crankcase and push out your RMS, causing a leak. Are you sure it's oil?

[nismo300zx1990]

Ya im very sure it is oil. Its not that bad of a drip tho but it drips. Im not to sure its not my oil pan either.

[aroche25]

I just changed my rear main/clutch/flywheel among other things when the trans was down. And i still have the same oil leak, I thought it was the rear main but its actually the back of my oil pan . So id brake parts clean the trans/back of engine and check it to see where the oil is mostly from.

[nismo300zx1990]

so i was looking under my car today and noticed the passanger side by the oil filter wet with oil also the botom bolts where the bell housing it was driping. could my oil filter metal thing that ataches to the block be leaking and running back onto the trany?

Maybe when i put it on i pinched the o ring or didnt put silecon on it. it still could be my RMS or the oil pan. but when i put the oil pan on it was a bran new pan form nissan and i siliconed the piss out of it being there is no gasket for it. any thoughts???

[t.mcginley.jr]

but when i put the oil pan on it was a bran new pan form nissan and i siliconed the piss out of it being there is no gasket for it. any thoughts???

Did you make sure to put a bead of silicone in the corners on the half circle gasket in the back? It could still be the RMS, or the oil filter tree like you said. The only way to know for sure would be to pull the filter tree and reseal it and see if the leak goes away.

[nismo300zx1990]

Ya im sure when i did the oil pan i did do that but i could have did it wrong. I have will redo the oil filter tree first day because i get a oil that runs down the filter

[skywhine]

Make sure the oil filter isn't doubble gasketed (The old gasket from the old filter can stick to the "tree" and if you didn't noticw it when you install the new filter with the new gasket you will end up with 2 gaskets. This will cause it to leak. Otherwise yes, the "tree" has gaskets where it attatches to the block. any gasket has the potential to leak. Start by reolacing the filter, it only costs $5.