My mechanic says................
Submitted: Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 18:49
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Willem
Well he is not really the mechanic but the mechanic's boss.
Before I left on the Big Trip I had a new Rear Main Engine Oil Seal fitted. In less than 10,000km it started leaking again. Not by much but quite noticeable when I am parked nose down in a
parking bay....then the oil runs out of the bellhousing making the leak look bad. The seal seems to leak more when I do faster runs. When I plod along a bush track or over dunes the leak almost seems to dry up. I rang the fella from WA and told his secretary to tell him to start worrying..
Today while talkng about this and that and other work in prgress he casually remarks that one can never guarantee that a seal will not leak. Now I can accept that to a point, but I get the distinct feeling that the seal provided last time was of inferior quality even at $38 retail cost. It should not start leaking so soon.
Can any knowledgable forumites enlighten me, please.
Reply By: Exploder - Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 19:11
Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 19:11
Gday Willem
If a seal dose not seal then why the hell do they call it a seal.
We had a warranty clam the other week at work, when 2 seals on a high pressure fuel system started leaking because they were fitted incorrectly, You can bet we did not pull out the old yeah it is a 50/50 with these seals sometimes they work other times you have hundreds of Litres of diesel fuelbleepout everywhere.
But if you have a new main seal put in I would expect it to do that (Seal)
well for At least for more than 10,000k’s
Just my opinion.
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Follow Up By: Member - Jeff M (WA) - Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 19:23
Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 19:23
Otherwise they don't call it a seal, they call it a leak, which is exactly what you've got (so to speak). :-)
I reckon that's dodge, probally cost a few bob to get it done too. Personally I would not be a very happy vegemite.
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Reply By: Member - Bill S (NSW) - Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 19:32
Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 19:32
ME being a mechanic running my own business for twenty five years can tell you if this occured in my
shop it would have been done under warranty at NO cost to you.
But my experiance tells me a faulty seal can allways pop its head up and usually the maker makes good the repairs, as warranty to the mechanic.That is of cource
faulty fitting is not involved?????
Regards BILL
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Follow Up By: Willem - Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 20:43
Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 20:43
Thanks Bill
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Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 20:04
Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 20:04
Hi Willem,
I tend to go kindly on mechanics in this situation, unless you are absolutely sure that workmanship is at fault.
If you told me that the replacement seal was not-genuine I guess I wouldn't be surprised. Stuff like that I'd always use genuine.
The other issue is whether theres a groove wearing in the crank.
Cheers
Phil
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Follow Up By: 120scruiser - Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 20:26
Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 20:26
In my workshop we always use genuine seals in 99% of jobs. Especially rear engine seals. For some reason we had a bad run of after market ones.
As Phil states there could be a groove in the crank where the old seal ran and did he clean the varnish off the crank. There could also be a slight build up of sludge around the sealing area.
We have had seals pop the spring out on installation but once its in you have no way of knowing if this has happened. It is also very easy to fold a section of the sealing lip over on install.
Still my workshop would cover it under warranty whether it be faulty seal or installation fault.
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Follow Up By: Willem - Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 20:42
Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 20:42
Phil and 120scruiser
I was wondering about the groove in the crank.
I must add something to this which may be of value.
The flywheel has a wobble of about 2mm as we discovered that the previous owner had burnt the clutch severely and the flywheel had heat marks on it. I took the flywheel to an engineering
shop early in the morning and the bloke was unenthusiastic about shaving it and said 'to bleep me off I guess' it would cost $250 to shave it. So I left. The old flywheel went back in($600 new one from Nissan was unaffordable at that point) and we have just done 16000km since then. Reckon the flywheel had been wobbled for around 40,000km before that.
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Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 21:28
Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 21:28
Willem,
I've had flywheels machined at
Adelaide Clutch at Torrensville. These days, probably about $40-50 for a single surface reface on their flash machine. Cost $25 for a LandCruiser flywheel in 1998. But I guess up north, its a bigger deal to send these bits away to town.
But 2mm wobble sounds like a lot to me. I wouldn't expect any, but I would doubt that its related to your leaking seal.
Cheers
Phil
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Follow Up By: 120scruiser - Monday, Jul 25, 2005 at 08:36
Monday, Jul 25, 2005 at 08:36
Willem our flywheel machines retail for $37.75, all vehicles except dual mass flywheels.
With 2 mm run out you would think the clutch would be undriveable due to the shudder.
If the crank has a groove there is the option of speedy sleeves. I hate using them but they work. About $65.00 for the kit.
Best of luck
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Follow Up By: Willem - Monday, Jul 25, 2005 at 17:07
Monday, Jul 25, 2005 at 17:07
Thanks Phil and 120scruiser for your
feedback and comments. When I have procured a new flywheel and clutch kit I will make sure that the next seal fitment is done properly and at a reduced cost.
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Reply By: Barnray - Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 21:01
Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 21:01
Willem I would have to say that a bent Crankshaft would be high on the list of possible cause's 2mm of runout at the edge is a hell of a lot. I forget what the runout should be, its been a long time since I have had to measure it. If you can ask your mechanic to check the flange face for runout. Barnray
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Reply By: Member Eric - Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 21:25
Friday, Jul 22, 2005 at 21:25
Willem , My guess is that it is not the seals fault , but
the nut that fitted it . If you dont fill them with Grease or hit them straight when fitting , they will leak in no time . If you do remove it again. Make sure there are no scores on the crank shaft. If there are, you might want to instal a speedy sleave
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Follow Up By: Willem - Saturday, Jul 23, 2005 at 10:27
Saturday, Jul 23, 2005 at 10:27
Thanks Eric
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Follow Up By: Diamond (Vic) - Saturday, Jul 23, 2005 at 18:26
Saturday, Jul 23, 2005 at 18:26
i hate to say it but im with eric here.
should be done with no cost to you.
cheers
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Reply By: Member - Davoe (Widgiemooltha) - Saturday, Jul 23, 2005 at 05:26
Saturday, Jul 23, 2005 at 05:26
When I bought my camper it had a t c ´leak depite having a recent overhaul. A 10 dollar genuine part and half an hours labour sorted it. Had new extractors fitted and it chuff chuffed just was a stuffed up fitting and was fixed foc with an appology
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Reply By: Redback - Saturday, Jul 23, 2005 at 11:26
Saturday, Jul 23, 2005 at 11:26
My only question Willem is, was the shaft checked for wear if this is the case doesn't matter how good a seal is, it won't eh.
Other than that he should replace it no cost.
Baz.
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Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (Widgiemooltha) - Saturday, Jul 23, 2005 at 17:25
Saturday, Jul 23, 2005 at 17:25
I had problems with rear axle studs busting first time I paid for the full repair, then as studs
broke he replaced them foc saying huh must have been a dud stud until they all went again and I insisted I didnt get it back until the problem was found. Problem was a bent axle. I paid for the axle only and he covered all labour,studs and 2nd hand hub. Coz he didnt look hard enough with the initial repair.
Point is there may be a reason the seal isnt holding but it should have been picked up in the first place so you shouldnt pay for it all to be pulled apart again for any repair if need be, just the repair
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