soobie_newbie67 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 decided to hit a local track last night and blew out my rear main seal in my 1988 Subaru GL-10 (turbo wagon) looking for some specific recommendations from you guys, recommendations on: name brand of new rear main seal any special anything on removal of old seal and install of new should i go ahead and do the front one too since i used super cheapo seals from the rebuild so yeah, thought please. thanks people. going right now to get a friend and we are gonna pull the engine out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHIM Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I only use beck arnley seals and gaskets, pretty much the only seals and gaskets ive never had an issue with. little more spendy than the rest but ya get what ya pay for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 are you positive the rear main seal is the problem? they very rarely leak on subaru's....like really rare. granted after that many miles, etc anything is possible but it is rare and a huge job for one seal. make absolutely sure that's it. on EA/ER engines i only use Subaru seals, they are more consistent. notice i didn't say aftermarket are "bad". i have had aftermarket EA/ER seals not fit properly and leak. i've used fel-pro's mutliple times for EA/ER crank seals with no problems - i've also had one be too large and not fit properly - same part number as the rest that i had no problems with. i have used plenty of aftermarket seals that work fine too, but the few failures i've had aren't worth it considering the time and subaru seals aren't expensive anyway. others have had poor aftermarket seals too. good time to replace the clutch, throw out bearing, pilot bearing, and clutch retaining clips while it's apart. or the torque converter seal if automatic. at least replace the pilot/throw out bearings and clips, only a few dollars even if yo'ure keeping all the clutch bits. oil pan requires lifting the motor to replace so good time to look at that and make a call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soobie_newbie67 Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 are you positive the rear main seal is the problem? they very rarely leak on subaru's....like really rare. granted after that many miles, etc anything is possible but it is rare and a huge job for one seal. make absolutely sure that's it. on EA/ER engines i only use Subaru seals, they are more consistent. notice i didn't say aftermarket are "bad". i have had aftermarket EA/ER seals not fit properly and leak. i've used fel-pro's mutliple times for EA/ER crank seals with no problems - i've also had one be too large and not fit properly - same part number as the rest that i had no problems with. i have used plenty of aftermarket seals that work fine too, but the few failures i've had aren't worth it considering the time and subaru seals aren't expensive anyway. others have had poor aftermarket seals too. good time to replace the clutch, throw out bearing, pilot bearing, and clutch retaining clips while it's apart. or the torque converter seal if automatic. at least replace the pilot/throw out bearings and clips, only a few dollars even if yo'ure keeping all the clutch bits. oil pan requires lifting the motor to replace so good time to look at that and make a call. well, i have about 4000 miles since finishing the rebuild. i dont quite remember what brand of seals i used but they came from some cheapo kit i bought off of ebay for 50 bucks. i did forget to lube the main seals prior to installation, so im wondering if that might have been a contributing cause. the clutch is fairly new, but everything in the bellhousing got soaked with oil, so i might replace, depending on how much money i have for this little project. we are about to pull the engine out right now, just undoing the last of the bellhousing bolts, then the motor and tranny mount bolts and we can pull it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 It could be the front seal on the gearbox. I hope not! The rear main seal is much easier to replace. The clutch plate might be soaked in oil making it pointless to re-use it without at least burning the oil out of the pad then hoping for the best. Cheers Bennie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 try to find an NOK seal. it could be the baffle plate gasket on the back of the motor from boosting the pcv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Try to avoid sythetic engine oils. They seem to be too slippery for EA emgine seals. (friendly advice I was given by a local soob mechanic) FYI: I have had rear main seal fail on me. Maybe not common but it does happen. Have also used synthetic 5W-50 that near enough poured past the seals like they were not there. Switch back to 15W-40 mineral oil and problem solved without even replacing the seals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soobie_newbie67 Posted July 20, 2011 Author Share Posted July 20, 2011 obvious problem was obvious. kinked PCV hose on the passenger (right side) valve cover. am buying new made to fit PCV hose. i just have some cut out hose that i bought and put in there myself. i kinda have the length right. i started off long and the 2 kinks in it were even worse. kept cutting it shorter till the kinks went away as much as possible, but never actually did get ironed out. guess im gonna have to buy the right hose now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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