zeta

iTrader: (1)

Went to the Dealer today for a modified 30K maintenence check and they found that the rear main engine seal needs to be replaced due to seepage around the transmission housing. The car only has 37,000 miles on it so it's all covered under warranty

Modified 30K Maintenence consisted of:
Adjust timing tensioner, lubricate suspension and busings and adjust the parking brake. I only paid $83.00 and saved some big bucks!! ($318.00 for regular 30K service) All other 30K maintenence items I did myself last weekend

Anyway, they did not have the main seal part in stock, so I have to go back on Saturday for the installation. When the repair is accomplised, the tech said to me that while he had the transmission separated from the engine, he would put in a new clutch if I wanted to replace it at that time. No labor charges incurred to me, all I would have to do is purchase the 'Clutch Set'; (part #22105-PGE-305) and the 'Bearing' (22810-PPT-003) they had in stock for $349.99 w/o tax. Basically, the install labor would be under the scope of the main seal repair.

I did a part cost check on some of the on-line Acura parts depots and the cost with shipping (33016) to my S. FL location will come out to about the same $350.00 price range as the in-stock dealer items. So there's no material savings with that route.

The clutch seems to be fine and I don't really 'hot shoe' the car around town. So I'm kind of 'up in the air' as to wheather I should spring for the clutch replacement and have that 'new clutch feel' or not? The tech said that he would bring me out to look at the clutch and he would advise on its overall condition and need for replacement. I will probably have this car for at least 100,000 miles, so I'm thinking that its not a bad idea

What exactly do they pull apart for a 'main seal repalcement'?? The tech stated that the transmission would have to be pulled from the engine, which is obvious; however, I would think that they would have to remove the right side drive shaft as well

What do you guys/gals think??
Peace

rbf351

last time i checked the main seal is the seal that seals the crack to the block

sgmotoring

adjust auto timing tensioner, lubricate suspensino and busing =

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

What dealer is this? Did they give you any grief about replacing it under warranty? Do you have mods? You sure your car isn't in the timing belt water pump recall thing? I heard this kinda of thing happens if it's not fixed.

GEB

If it was me, I would go ahead and put the new cluch in if I was going to keep the car for a long time. The cluch usually last at least 100K (unless you just don't know how to drive a manual transmission). If you don't think you'll have the car for more then 90K, don't worry about it ... if your going to keep the car longer then that, go ahead and get it replaced.

anothercls

I have 52,500 on my clutch, and I didn't know how to drive it when I bought the car, it seems okay to me, I would ask them the cost of labor on replacing the clutch in the future, it might not be worth it now.

carquest

sorry to hear about the main seal. at 37K this is abnormal.

if you're around when the tech relpaces things ask to take a look at it before its torn down. ask if he can explain why he thinks it failed. i'd also like to know why a seal would fail this early. i'd say it should take over 8 years AND 100K miles at a minimum. at 1 or 2 years and 37K this isn't a good sign.

thanks for the notice.

ChadT

I wonder if this could be another case of an over-filled transmision seeping. There have been a couple reports of that here. Sould be able to smell the difference from motor oil. The oil in these trannies has that distinctive tranny oil smell.

allmotor_2000

Yeah... if you open your flywheel inspection cover, you can tell if the rear-main is leaking - you might see some oil there. It really shouldn't leak, but there might be some gunk/grease coming out at times.

zeta

iTrader: (1)

First a little clarification on the whole experience:
1) When I walked into the dealership with their 30K service check list, they did not seem to enthused about my 'line item selection' process. Why? Because I had performed all of the little jobs that anyone with some mechanical sense could perform for themselves to lessen the price of the overall 30K maintenance cost, for example:
Oil & filter change, windshield wiper blade replacement, wheel rotation, air cabin filter replacement, brake inspection, top off all fluids etc.

2) The items I could not perform due to the lack of either equipment and/or know how:
Their list reflected that the transmission fluid should be changed. I guess that upon review of the transmission, that's how they found the seeping around the transmission housing. Thus, the need for the seal replacement. In addition, their list indicated that the belt tensioner would be inspected. I told them that lately, when the A/C is switched on, there would be a slight belt squeal. (The belt tensioner was replaced back in Nov. 03 when the rear head was repaired for bent valves) As a result, they inspected and adjusted the belt tensioner They were going to charge me for the transmission fluid change; however, when the seal is replaced, fluid replacement will be handled under the parameters of the warranty repair. In conclusion, they only made $83.00 out of a possible $318.00 w/o tax and shop supplies.

As we all know, and I don't think I am being unreasonable when I say this; but, dealerships are in business to make money, something I'm pretty sure we all can agree on. With that, the name of the game is 'Caveat emptor' (buyer beware).

They are out to obtain as much of your/my money as they can legally obtain in the services that they offer to consumers. In turn, I'm out to keep as much of my money as I can reasonably secure through any 'arms length transaction'.

3) The clutch issue is really a non issue:
It is not prematurely worn or dysfunctional, and I can drive a manual transmission just fine. I believe the tech was just offering a courtesy. When the transmission is pulled to replace the leaking seal, he felt, depending on the condition of the clutch upon inspection, if I chose to replace it, that it would be a good time with no cost to me in labor. How they can do this, I don't know; however, I suspect it would be a way to make some money on the sale of the new clutch set and bearing to recoup what they did not make on the full 30K maintenence price.

Therefore, like I stated in my initial post, the clutch feels fine. I was just 'thinking out loud' as to wheather I should consider 'going new' to take advantage of the access to the clutch components during the warranty seal repair process.

patek007

fuzzy02CLS - timing belt water pump recall thing? which one is that - can you advise the more ignorant one(s) here who've missed it... ? is it for 6spd or auto or both?? and where can we get details? Owner link only shows 1 recall...

patek007

Re. the clutch issue... you're right they are trying to get more $$$ out of you... and in this particular case the part cost is MORE then if you'd be only be doing clutch replacement from the getgo - the labor would offset the part cost .
You do not have to replace it obviously per your choosing... yet this is an extra 37k miles you'd get if you would. If they must 'rip' you for $350... offer them $250 for a new clutch.. show them the cash.. and tell them you got a deal .. Then you'd really get some value.. and so would the dealer, since the part cost is probably less then $50 OEM cost, if you'd ask me, Good luck.

ThinJim

iTrader: (3)

[QUOTE=zeta]
I did a part cost check on some of the on-line Acura parts depots and the cost with shipping (33016) to my S. FL location will come out to about the same $350.00 price range as the in-stock dealer items. So there's no material savings with that route.



zeta - where in S. FL are you, can't figure out the 33016 zip. i'm in the 33138 miami shores area.

Jimmbbo

Good info re: the rear seal leak.... will be watching just in case

My - I would advise against replacing the clutch if you don't abuse it... I have had three Hondas, all manual transmisstions, and the clutches were all going strong at over 120000 miles - Don't know about the "new generation" CLS clutch, but have no reason to believe it would get less than 100k, meaning you are replacing a perfectly good clutch that will go another 60k + mi. I also like to think that time buys you newer technology options (which can be good or bad )

The service guys were probably offering the clutch replacement as a service to you, and to make a couple of bucks on the clutch parts... labor is not an issue, since they will bill Acura under your warranty for your seal replacement (which obviously requires R&R of the clutch assembly)...

Cheers!

Jim

flint

iTrader: (2)

I just had my rear main replaced. I have 65,000 miles.

JZ

My main seal was replaced at my first service interval at around 5k miles. They said the seal had been pinched during its installation which caused it to leak a small bit.

Everything has been fine since.

zeta

iTrader: (1)

When the tech explained that there was a minor seepage problem, he had a repair manual hardcopy diagram of the transmission housing, clutch, pressure plate, and release bearing with him. He used this as a visual aid in his explanation of the seepage issue. I asked him if he had performed alot of these 'rear seal replacements' on other CLS six speeds and he stated 'NO'.

Moreover, he pointed out on the mechanical diagram, a note at the bottom of the page, that when the transmission on a CLS-6 is pulled, for any type of repair issue, that the 'rear seal' should be replaced as part of the overall repair process. He stated that he was the 'Trans. tech' there at this particular dealer and mentioned that when he did work on other Acura model transmissions (ex. MDX; RL; RSX); that the data sheet respective to those models did not mention the automatic replacement of this particular seal, that this particular repair note was present only on the CLS-6 data sheet As a result, I can only logically conclude that the 2003 CLS-6 was, as we all know, the first year of the production 6-speed transmission for the coupe model; thus, the seal is therefore prone to wear just like any other mechanical part, and that this was taken into consideration as a normal replacement action when the dealer mechanical data sheet for the CLS-6 was compiled by the design engineers

Anyway, it will be interesting to see how it all goes down next Saturday when the repair is performed. The tech. stated that it would take almost a whole day to perform, so I will get a loaner car to motor around in until I can pick up my car. I would like to get the 04 TL 6-speed; but, it will probably be an automatic. It's all good.

Chopsie

Wow, good luck

jgscott

Just some thoughts I had when I read about your problem. Not sure, but just some thought's so please don't beat me up guy's if I'm wrong just questions's.
1. If the seal was leaking did it leak onto the clutch/flywheel. If so I would replace clutch and try to get the dealer to do it at their cost. And I would not tell them yes or no until they got it off and I went down there and saw it. 2. Some times when you replace clutch you get get a hopping pedal if the flywheel has hot spots on it with a new clutch thus you have to have the Flywheel machined. Kinda like warped rotors. Good luck and I would have a new clutch put in if I were keeping the car.

carquest

thanks for keeping us informed. i'd still like to know what caused the leaking. i DON'T want to have the trans/clutch/rear seal torn down on my car. EVER. i bought a new car in order to avoid these kind of problems. its been my experience that the car never drives the same after they're taken apart to this degree. maybe just bad luck on my part. but i just don't need the aggravation of having to fight with the dealer to have the "repaired" car fixed again, and again, and again...... just because it was never put back together properly after a repair of this type.

on the topic of repair costs...... i don't mind paying for services which are performed in a professional manner. i'd like to find a repair shop that is worth their weight. unfortunately i live in a high population density market. this leads to unnecessary repairs, half-a$$ed repairs, cost gouging, and more importantly unnecessary damage to the car during any work. i've yet to find a good service department at any new car dealership. i know of a handful of independent shops which are OK for certain services. but none for overall maintenance.

"i feel your pain". good luck

NSX-Tuner

What kind of engine oil have you been running? I've heard from several sources that certain types of synthetic oils have lead to oil leaks around oil seals. Just curious.

zeta

iTrader: (1)

I change the oil with Castrol 10W40 and the L24458 PureOne filter. Seems to work pretty good down here in the South.

I dropped the car off at the dealer today for the warranty repair. This place really blows my mind!
In a nutshell:
Like the majority of you, I'm a working man and need to be at my job, during the work week, to have a positive cash flow. I verbally told the service writer, last Friday, that I would drop the car off today (Saturday) to have the repair done. They said fine because the part had to be ordered and that it probably would be in sometime this past week, Wednesday in fact. Any way, I mentioned that it's difficult for me to get time off from work, especially, during the first week of the month. This is when my company performs the 'month end close' (accounting), and I can't really be dicking around with them (dealer) during this time. Needless to say, the first thing out of the service writers mouth today is '...Can you bring your car back during the work week?? We have 42 maintenance appointments, limited service techs, and no loaner cars'. With that, I start to get and begin to Low and behold, miraculously the service writer locates a loaner (MDX) and they get me out the door before I throw a clot. Nothing like having to fight for every focking thing due to you in this day and age! Any way, I'm hoping Monday will bring smooth sailing

Peace