Hi everyone, My '05 S (143k on clock) has leaking front & rear crank main seals leaking. Power is good. What are my options in getting this fixed versus just getting another engine, as costs to pull the engine and do the repairs can be quite expensive. The head and supercharger have not been replaced and are still working fine, so this might not enter into the equation. If I was younger (now 71) I would do the repair myself, but bad knees and too many projects are in the way. This is a US spec'd car.

THX for your help.

Keith

 

I think replacing the engine is throwing the baby out with the bath water.
Front seal is easy to do without pulling the engine. It's worth replacing the timing chain cover gasket too at the same time.
If you don't plan on pulling the trans for clutch work any time soon the maybe just ignore the rear seal and keep the oil topped up.

 

You do not have to pull the engine to replace the seals. The front seal has easy access through the passenger side wheel well. Of course, you have to remove the crankshaft pulley and some other stuff first. The seal itself is not expensive. The job takes some time but is not difficult. Rear seal requires removal of the transmission which is another whole bag of worms and is probably more work than you want to tackle. Question: how do you know your rear main seal is leaking?

 

The leaking seals observation was by a mechanic, in which I brought to the attention to the mechanic. I first noticed the oil on the bottom of the case and I thought it was the oil plug gasket as the amount of oil was not much. I think I'll get a second opinion.

THX

 

With that many miles you will have leaky seals. They are not expensive but the labor is. It would be easier to pull the engine and trans and do all the seals but if you cannot do the work yourself, the labor might be costly. Of course, there's all the other odds and ends you might want to tackle while you're in there. Here's my thread for context : https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ome-ideas.html

 

I agree with this.

At this age and mileage, the engine is ripe for a full seals refresh and with the transmission out for the rear main, I would replace the transmission input shaft seal, shift fork bushings and the axle shaft seals. If it hasn't been done already, a supercharger service would be good during this repair as well.

I often fall hard for the "while you're in there" things and I might also add complete cooling system (hoses, plastic tees, thermostat housing) to a job like this but I understand having to pay someone to do the work will really cut into the budget for parts.