1993 Ranger/rear main seal

[mmx428]

Greetings everyone.

As I am writing this I have a 93 Ranger 2.3L 5speed in the shop. About 3 weeks ago coming home from a highway trip I noticed a really, really horrible smell and a slight bit of smoke rising through my gearshift/floorboard. I thought "Well this is going to be expensive..."

The mechanic at the shop told me that I had a leak in the engine oil & and leak in the transmission oil. A friend of mine (the previous truck owner) said it was probably the rear main seal (which I can't remember now if the mechanic mentioned this, I had just awoke).

My question isn't really much technical as it is estimation. The estimate to fix these two problems was roughly one thousand dollars. I figure being that it's transmission AND engine work it was going to be costly, but is this a fair price or is this family owned business trying to hustle me?

[manlystanley]

mmx,
If the smell is that bad, there must be a lot of oil/fluid dripping. Go beneath it to check it out. Replacing a couple of gaskets is really not that hard. Also, a $1,000 sounds really high.

Best Regards,
Stan

[mmx428]

Thanks for the reply Stan.
It's not that the smell was terrible... It was one of those smells you don't get the fantastic occasion of whiffing every day, but it's a smell I won't soon forget.

I'm having quite a bit of work done to the truck right now. This includes both transmission and the aforementioned engine work (ie, the rear seal I suspect) along with a new exhaust.

I live in a county of roughly 14 thousand people and this place of business seems to do respectable work. I'd surely hope that these people wouldn't be continually hosing this community, but I'd much rather pay the higher bill and have work done by a certified ASE mechanic than some sleezeball backyard shady-tree.

I also had them do some work on a timing belt and clutch job (because I'm simply not a mechanic, computer systems are my bread and butter) and they seemed to quote a fairly reasonable price for that.

I'll get the full report when my truck is done and fill in all of the details. Hopefully with the broad knowledge that internet forums collect I'll know better in the future and proceed to take my business elsewhere if it does indeed turn out that the mechanic bill is unreasonably high.

[12Ounce]

I'm a little suspicious of the diagnosis. There are few things at the rear of the engine that I can think of that would give you a "sudden" leak. The rear engine seal and the transmission input shaft seals (both) are not subjected to high oil pressures ... just oil "splash".... nothing sudden about these ... should result in slow drips.

You say you have had some recent engine work and clutch work.

Hmmm. The bolts that hold the flywheel to the crankshaft actually enter the oil vein that runs thru the crankshaft. These bolts should be wrapped with teflon tape (or other sealant) or they will leak. This is high pressure oil. Some folks use new bolts as they come with a pre-applied sealant. ????

Hmmm. (cont.) I wonder if you have a valve cover gasket leaking down on an exhaust? ... or a loose oil pan? ????

Hmmm. (cont.) I wonder if the hose fittings on the clutch hydraulic system are loose and spraying oil on the exhaust? Were the cylinders replaced or were the old/worn ones reused? ????

If someone spent some time under your car doing a close inspection, the exact leak could be determined.

[mmx428]

Well this wasn't a leak that developed suddenly overnight. I think it's been slowly leaking for quite some time. Perhaps the mechanic just failed to notice the significance of the problem. I had 5th gear fixed in the trans the same time I had a new clutch put in (The retainer pin or whatever wasn't locking the gearshift in place) and they never mentioned anything about the problem.

It could be they were anticipating my return, and neglected to tell me that this problem needs addressing. Since I had the new clutch installed I've made quite a few trips back and forth to see my brother (120mile round trip) several times.

The whole clutch assembly seems fine. The clutch glides smooth and doesn't take any hard effort to depress the pedal and shifting is rather smooth with the exception to the fact being that I've been leaking gear oil. I can't exactly give a full run-down on the diagnosis because I'm sure they'll check things as they go. They seem like good people who do good work, but I'm just really pondering the fees they charge.

Once I get a full diagnostics paper back upon completion of the job I'll post it up and see if the good folks here at AF will agree on the charges.

[mmx428]

Well, just got the truck back today:
Complete Exhaust system, Parts/Labor: 432.24
Rear Main Seal & Transmission tail housing seal, Diagnostics: 513.21

For a grand total of 945.45.

Someone please give me the good news and tell me these are expensive parts to work on!

[e_powers]

Originally Posted by mmx428

Well, just got the truck back today:
Complete Exhaust system, Parts/Labor: 432.24
Rear Main Seal & Transmission tail housing seal, Diagnostics: 513.21

For a grand total of 945.45.

Someone please give me the good news and tell me these are expensive parts to work on!

well the engine does not have to come out of the truck to replace the rear engine seal. but it does have to be lifted so apparently you have to un hook the fanshroud, the starter,distributer, unhook motormounts and transmission cover. before you can unbolt the oil pan.

i would suspect that you would need to drop the transmission crossmember to take care of the leak there as well as remove driveshaft. i can see it as costing that much easy. i think what got you was the rear seal.

any leaks on the transmission expecially on the mazda transmissions i would check out the shifter rail plugs first before moving on in leak inspections. as it will cost no more then 10$ to fix.

[rhandwor]

You would have to remove the transmisssion for axcess to both motor seal and transmission seal. If this is a FWD it isn't a bad price. Exhaust work not to bad a lot cheaper than the dealer.