Hi all

[realtucker]

G'day everyone, i'm not quite new here but i've never posted before so here goes! I'm the owner of an '05 STR. No real mods other than a bullbar and two way but that might soon change...

Anyhow, i have a bit of a problem at the moment. After taking my truck in for a 190K service recently i was informed that the rear crankshaft seal was leaking. I've got a few questions about this and if anyone could help it would be greatly appreciated.
1) How soon does this need to be rectified? I'm heading up to the Cape again in a bit over a month and i'm not sure waiting until i'm home is a very good idea...
2) Has anyone had this happen to their truck and if so, can you tell me how much it cost? The dealer has quoted me $1500... i understand the gearbox has to come out so it seems about right. I neither have the equipment or know how to do it myself.

I've had the rear main seal replaced before under warranty a couple of years ago and about a year after that i was told it was leaking again... but i've had a good look and asked for it to be checked (moved towns so new dealer) at subsequent services and nothing has been reported about it. Maybe the magic red dust from the Cape roads fixed it up somehow...

Cheers!
Tucker

(sorry if this has been mentioned before, i searched a few times with no success)

 

[Dave]

If its just a slight leak you can leave it for 10 years.

Keep a eye on the oil level, if it was me.

Id wait till the clutch needs replacing and then do it.

 

[realtucker]

Cheers Dave, there's a couple of patches underneath so i'll keep an eye on it. The clutch was replaced under warranty when i got the rear main done... Might be a while before i replace it again (hopefully!) Thanks again.

 

[scottybobcat]

welcome to the forum mate

 

[Old.Tony]

Welcome aboard.

What I'd be worried about with a rear crank seal leak is oil getting onto the clutch. That could easily cause significant problems, which would become disastrous in a remote location.

 

[realtucker]

Cheers guys.

Yeah Tony that's something i was also considering seeing as i'm heading up north soon. And that's the reason i got it replaced when my rear main seal went a couple of years ago. Oil had started to soak into the clutch plate... would it surprise you that even though the seal was covered under warranty they still tried to hit me up to pay for the new clutch kit? Some jargon about being a consumable item... i'm pretty sure i could have "consumed it" for several more years if it didn't have oil over it! Needless to say they ended up replacing it under warranty too. Winning!

 

[Old.Tony]

What I'm wondering now is why your engine chews rear seals. Is there something causing this, like a burr or unevenness that makes the seal deteriorate?

 

[realtucker]

Not sure Tony, when i get it fixed i'll have the mechanic have a good look around for just that. Hmmm... you've got me wondering now. You think they would have picked something like that up if it was there last time?

 

[Old.Tony]

Not at all, particularly if it were your every-day run-of-the-mill service droid.

They replaced the seal because that's what they were asked to do. They were NOT asked to check WHY the seal needed replacing. That's just plain common sense, but this is one of those times when following the instruction book blindly is inappropriate - and a lot of service droids, even the clever ones, will blindly follow the book so that they don't forget anything, and can't be blamed for a stuff-up.

 

[realtucker]

It's sad but what you say sounds quite believable. Bit of a shame really, you think they'd be interested in why something was going wrong seeing as its there job to maintain and fix cars. I suppose, like you say, they're just following the book to a 'T' making sure they don't stuff up. Cheers for your insights mate.