Rear main seal leak :(

[pad]

Hey everyone
Looking for abit of advice on this. I have a small leak from my rear main seal (overnight or during the day there is a small amount of oil on the ground). Is this something I should get fixed asap or is it something I can get fixed maybe when I get a new clutch so I only have to get in there once not twice?

And finally can I still go 4wding or will this cause more problems?


Cheers

[MEGOMONSTER]

Bump...any oil leak only gets worse the longer you leave it. Hopefully someone more knowledgable can answer you more thoroughly.

[Cuppa]

From experience, although not on a Patrol, when a rear main oil seal lets go, it can let go in a big way. Not saying it always will though.
Personally given the amount of oil you can lose in a short space of time I wouldn’t risk driving around - it’d be a bit like russian roulette.

[nissannewby]

It should be ok if you are checking your oil level daily. I wouldnt advise 4wding as driving up inclines could help the oil reach your clutch.

I would be replacing it as soon as you can and unless the clutch is very new just replace it anyway.

Cuppa on our 4.2 unless the seal has completely collapsed or is missing then it isnt to much of a drama the seal is just around oil level mostly above it actually amd only sees crankcase pressure.

Again I would be keeping any eye on your oil level and repairing this as soon as suits your budget or time frame.

[rkinsey]

G'day Pad,

Megomonster is correct (so are the others as well to a point) however, any oil leak will only get worse with time.

A rear main seal is a difficult one to repair as you have to separate the motor from the bell housing to get at it which means either dropping the gearbox or dropping the motor.

If you leave it, oil will eventually find its way to the clutch and or flywheel which will kill the clutch and give you little to no drive at all. If you are in the middle of the bush when this happens (or worse, when your wife is driving the car) then you are in a world of hurt.

My advice is to have a new clutch kit installed which requires to have the rear main seal replaced during this process. Make sure you have the flywheel machined (or in my case) have it replaced and replace the clutch master cylinder as well. Also check all clutch feed lines for wear and if need be, replace them as well. That way you will have trouble free motoring (at least from the clutch side of things) for years to come.

Cheers,

Rob