Hey guys! I am a new member but I have been reading this forum steadily since I bought my TL in June.

I have a 2005 TL MT 6 speed with 80,000 miles.


Based on all my research and reading it seems that I have a leaky rear main oil seal. I need some help in rebuilding it myself because I already do all of my own car work. Or I need advice on a good mechanic in my area (50 mile radius). I live in north Chicago.


Please help, thanks!

 

pull the trans!
it's a lot of work

 

OP, it's about $900 of labor to replace a $10 part (the seal).

Unless it's dumping a lot of oil on the floor, I wouldn't worry about it for now. Sometimes these leaks stop on their own as suddenly as they started.

There is some speculation that the rear main seal leaks happen after the power steering recall was done because of excessive/improper jacking of the engine during the recall.

 

Anyone ever hear of replacing the crankshaft ventilation valve as a potential, quick, and cheap solution to the rear main oil leak?


Based on some research I have done, people are claiming that a faulty/clogged valve may build access pressure in the crankcase thus purging oil around the seal causing it to leak....idk

 

I'm in the same boat with leaking RMS, and no, PCV valve swap didn't help. I myself never could understand how a bad PCV valve would ever cause that, for there is a still a breather tube going back to the intake, so unless that one is clogged too, a clogged PCV valve will just cause lack of ventilation, but not extra pressure.

There is this thread https://acurazine.com/forums/problem...repair-761581/, and here is another one where someone had big troubles pulling the seal from the block: http://www.srtforums.com/forums/f24/...install-640494 after he removed transmission and all. Though the second link is not for an Acura at all, it just shows how a PITA the seal can be. My front seal was in a pump, and the pump was taken off the engine, and still it took me a while to push the seal out.

 

Eaf, thanks for the links man. What are you planning on doing about your leak, fix it yourself or take it to a mechanic/dealer? I feel like I have to do something about my leak because I keep staining peoples driveways and I just want it to be fixed already. I just don't know what the logical approach is.

 

if you think you can do the job yourself do it. But only if youre confident enough to tackle a big job like that.

Or

Pay a mechanic to do it. shop around and see which one is honest and good at what he does.

Im in the same boat but $900 for a $10 seal. I think i can do it myself but I have to research first.

 

I'll take it to Paul

Seriously though, Honda quoted me $1.5K (who said that a Honda dealer would do it cheaper than Acura?). I scanned through the manual, and though the amount of work is big, it should be pretty doable. One doubt that I had was how to lower the transmission safely, or keep the engine hanging, so for the transmission there is a $90 jack at harborfreight, and for the engine I'll probably make a contraption from 2x4 to put on top of the engine bay, similar to Honda's hanger/balancer that they suggest using in the manual.

I don't feel pressed to do it this fall though, because the leak is not that big: it takes 1-2 weeks for the first drop to appear on the driveway after I wipe the bottom of the engine. Hence, while I'm investigating the repair options too, so far I'm mostly observing it, will switch to a high-mileage Mobil soon, and will make final decision on what to do about it in spring.