Curt93acw

Hey Everybody -

First, let me thank everybody for the help in advance. I'm not the most mechanically inclined but I'm slowly getting there. Which is one of the main reasons I bought my 1993 LX 5.0 convertible.

Here's my problem - I had my transmission rebuilt and now (a week and a half later) I've got an oil leak where the motor and the transmission meet. The mechanic at the trans shop said they didn't touch the flywheel when rebuilding the trans. It's just seems a little too much of a coincidence.

If the trans shop is not responsible for fixing this - I'll have to get another mechanic to fix this because I don't have the equipment to pull this off. About how much should I expect to pay for a job like this?

Any thoughts/advice/words of wisdom are greatly appreciated!

Thanks again!

Marc

FORD TOUGH

Whenever you have the trans out is a good idea to replace the rear main seal, I do not know why the trans shop did not do that. Are you sure it is engine oil leaking?

nitrous_bob

probably $200 or maybe more.

you should do it yourself, 1 man job other than taking out the trans and putting it back in. the rest is just tedious and really shouldn't take more than 2-3 hours total, the exhaust is the trickiest part (lining it up good) the rear main is about a $10 pice and prys out and tap the new one in. use a large socket to tap it in evenly

there is no serious mechanical work... just removing and reinstalling the trans, you'll be fine

mjr46

sounds like a load of crap to me...sounds like the front pump seal is leaking and if they rebuilt it they sure as crap used the seal the rebuild kit comes with,, sounds like they wanna weasel out of warranty work cause to repair that leak tranny has to come down, I'd ask if it's standard practice to not replace the front pump seal...see what they say!!! call other tranny shops first to see if they do replace such after a rebuild and gauranteed they'll say yes!!!, but first..what did your rebuild consist of???? oh is it automatic?? I was assuming it was??? if it's a t-5 it'll most likely be a input retainer seal leaking which that seal is to in a standard t-5 rebuild kit

FORD TOUGH

Thats what I was thinking that why I asked him if he was sure it was engine oil.

Portmaster

As a former shop owner I can tell you that you don't make repairs not needed at the time. You can suggest it but in most cases transmission shops won't touch it with a ten foot pole. If you replace a seal that you just thought should be changed and it leaks and causes damage you are liable. People will sue you over stuff that not your fault (had a guy sue me once because his water pump "Started" leaking after we did the rear brakes on his 67 Mustang. The 5 1 gallon jugs of water didn't have anything to do with his water pump leaking. His suit didn't hold water (pun intended) but I lost a day at the shop. Not the transmission shops responsibility.

Now slipping on the other shoe. I wonder also if it's engine oil or trans fluid. I'd confirm what it is first. If it's oil he will hae to put in the rear main but if it's transfluid I'd be camped out in front oof the trans shop until they got it taken care of.
I'm telling you from vast experiance that there are people that will try to get over on you in this business. There have been a lot of instances where I ate a little labor or a small part to keep the customer. If I ever did a clutch on a 5.0 or anything else with a 1 peice rear main I always suggested it be replaced. I never did it unless the customer authorized the repair.

I can also tell you that there are some really bad repair shops that will hose you in a hurry. They should hang those guys

FORD TOUGH

My dad is a mechanic and every time has ever has a trans out I have seen him do a rearmain seal. It just makes sense while you are in their to replace it. If this was any kind of shop they would have suggested this or went ahead and included it in the price of the trans job. Would it not makes sense to put this $15 dollar seal in while you are in there and save the customer money in the long run.

cleanfitty

It's a catch 22. Alot of times things happen to go out at the same time. Then the customer thinks the shop is liable. Sometimes the shop does screw with things they shouldn't... What if the mechanic decided to hose the back of the block brake cleaner and the stuff got on the rear main and it melted it down a bit? It may be the front tranny seal.
Sometimes, you go in for a service, they pressure test the coolong system, then you blow an intake gasket, which would of been fine for another couple of years.
Sometimes they test the charging system and it puts such a strain that the car would normally not ever see, and you blow an old alternator that theoretically would last the life of the car.
Thats how I see things.
As far as the guy that tried sueing for the water pump after a rear brake job, I hope someone find him in a dark alley.

I used to work at a body shop, and you would be surprised how many people would bring their cars in with a dented door, pick up the car and claim that the transmission started slipping after the wreck and they wanted the insurance company to pay for a replacement. (mostly Dodge's)

Best thing to do is like FORD TOUGH said, make sure it is oil and not tranny fluid.

Also, FORD TOUGH, please get rid of that avatar, it bugs the crap out of me (pun intended as well). I keep wanting to wipe my screen every time I see it. lol.

pk222

for the rear main don't you have to take off the engine mounts, lift the engine, drop the pan and unbolt the main?

cleanfitty

With a 1 pc rear main you don't. You drop the tranny, remove the flywheel/flexplate, and it is right there. Carefully remove it and install the new one.




Older 302's had a 2 pc which you have to do that with.