James-NZ

My car was relatively unused for the last few years by the prior owner, in the last 4 weeks I have done 3000 miles in her and naturally some things are letting go, I have 2 oil leaks, one is from the level sensor and the other looks to be coming from the rear main seal. The level sensor is a peice of cake but the rear main looks a little more challenging.

Can anyone here point me in the direction of a workshop manual that describes what is required to fit the rear main. I am assuming trans and torque tube will need to be removed, then bell housing.

I have thoughts of handing it over to the workshop but kinda want to get my own hands dirty. I have plenty of experence wrenching on my cars and I have a good workshop and tools, access to a hoist etc so I figure it would be a good excuse to loose some skin off my knuckles and drink a few beers...

Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

n_hall

you basically do a clutch job. which you should probably do anyway unless it's fairly new.
i replaced my rms while i did my clutch/flywheel, it was one of those "while i'm in there" jobs. not hard to do the actual seal just getting to it is a little harder.
check out clarks-garage for manuals.

please correct me if i'm wrong
nick

Kevsporsche944

When doing a clutch job, How many extra hours is it to change the rear main seal?

Techno Duck

Assuming you do the clutch job correctly and remove the flywheel for resurfacing, all that needs to be done is remove and replace the seal.

odurandina

you likely have more than 2 oil leaks...


it must be very challenging maintaining a good inventory of parts in nz.

Kevsporsche944

I won't be doing the work myself. Wanted to know how much extra time my mechanic would be chargin me for labor.

Obsessed

3000 miles in 4 weeks, wow that's quite a lot! I think I'm probably averaging less than 100 miles/week in the three and a half years I've had mine. I hope you're still enjoying the 944 now you've used it a bit more.

I actually passed a 944 on my way to work this morning (not in my 944, typically), a dark grey one going north on Horsham Downs Rd. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've seen a 944 in Hamilton in the 12 years I've been here.

If you need any help drinking the beers while you're wrenching, just let me know More seriously, I don't have much wrenching experience, but if you need another pair of hands...?

944Ross

He should not charge you any extra (except for parts) to replace the RMS as part of a clutch job. Not like he isn't making plenty already.

Mark944na86

Unless it's really bad, I'd just put up with it until clutch job time.

It really is the whole clutch job. If you are actually going all the way in there and aren't going to change the clutch disk, you might at least consider replacing the pilot bearing, clutch fork pin bearings, etc.

You will have to replace the flywheel bolts (one use only stretch bolts) to get to the RMS. The pressure plate bolts are optionally replaced as well (but it's recommended.)

Removing the RMS is harder than it looks. It's a big 'un. Lots of coercion, pleading, threats and brute force will do it eventually. Can be frustrating though.

Getting a new one in can also be a challenge. You need either the Sir Tools P234 special tool (about $130 IIRC from PelicanParts.com), a piece of PVC plumbing just the right diameter, or a DIY version of the special tool. I used PVC.

There are at least three brands of RMS available. The Elring brand is a bit dearer, but reputedly the one that goes in problem free most frequently. I got mine from paragon-products.com -- great people to do business with, BTW.

Good luck.

n_hall

the entire process to replace my rms only took a couple minutes. not hard to take out either. it just depends on the car.