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Car Forum / Saab Cars / March 2005Rear Crank Seal
I've been told I need to replace my rear crank seal. It's on a 1993 9000 2.3 Auto, 199,000 miles. It's one of 4 leaks, but seems to be the worst. My mechanic has said he can replace it working through the offside wheel arch. Does this sound possible? Any idea how difficult this is? Cheers, Mark. If by 'offside' you mean the right front (sitting in the car looking forward - we have both LHD and RHD cars on this list and this can be confusing), then you also mean the front main seal not rear. If so: Yes, it is not that bad a job. You remove the fender liner, serpentine belt and crank pulley and you have access. Make sure that he replaces the oil pump o-ring as well. I do not know if your block is am early or a late, but the early ones have a series of bolts holding the oil pump housing on and the later ones have a large circlip. If you truly mean the rear main seal (between the engine and transmission), you have to drop the transmission to get to it. This is best done when you replace the clutch on a 5sp. On an Auto, this should be done when the auto tranny is removed for major service. It is a BIG job. KeithG > I've been told I need to replace my rear crank seal. It's on a 1993 > 9000 2.3 Auto, 199,000 miles. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Mark. Keith, Thanks for your reply, it is the front right. The front crank seak is OK, it's the rear that leaks. The oil filter housing, head gasket and sump gasket also leak to some extent. And the power steering pump leaks too. I lose about a litre of oil every couple of months, it's been the same for at least a year. Most of the garages are advising me not to bother fixing it, but the mechanic I spoke to recently thinks he can replace the rear crank seal for about ?70. I'm wondering if this is over optimistic. I had the flexi drive plate replaced about 18 months ago. Could this have made the rear crank seal worse? Mark. > If by 'offside' you mean the right front (sitting in the car looking > forward - we have both LHD and RHD cars on this list and this can be [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] >> >> Mark. If it is the front right of the car (from sitting in the driver's seat), it is the front main seal on the engine. It is directly below the A/C compressor. The rear main seal will cause a leak in the approximate middle of the car (right to left). I do not think that replacing the flex plate could CAUSE an increased leak at the rear main seal, though, it could have been disturbed to increase its leak rate. If it was leaking and the mechanic did not replace it (especially after 200kmi!) I would be a bit upset. It is a cheap part and when the flex plate is off, it is 'right there'. All main seals will weep a bit especially after 200kmi. I have replaced front main seals at <100kmi on C900s and 9ks. It is just too easy a repair that can cause a lot of collateral damage (oil soaked engine mount will accelerate its demise, harmonic damper could come apart) In addition, I hate an oily engine bay. WHen one of mine gets a new clutch, it also gets a new rear main seal. KeithG > Keith, > [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] >>> >>>Mark. I think my mechanic was trying to keep costs down, but tried a bit too hard. He also replaced the heater motor fan with a second hand one which is noisy, and the heater matrix started leaking immediately afterwards. I think it would have been a good time to replace the heater matrix. The report from my local Saab main dealer said that the front crank seal was OK, but the back one was leaking. This is all I have to go on. They steam cleaned the engine and left it to sit for a while to find the leaks. So it sounds like the seal should have been replaced previously. Can I just confirm, it would be impossible to change the rear seal from the wheel arch, or just difficult? Mark. > If it is the front right of the car (from sitting in the driver's seat), > it is the front main seal on the engine. It is directly below the A/C [quoted text clipped - 57 lines] >>>> >>>>Mark. it is not possible to replace the rear main seal from the wheel arch. It sounds like your mechanic in 'trying to keep costs down' has cost you much more in aggravation and time. either look for a new mechanic, or convince him that you would rather pay a little more for more miles of trouble free motoring. FWIW, when I am in there, I replace the heater matrix AND the fan motor if they are about the same age. When you replace the serpentine belt, I'd try to convince him that the pulleys need to be replaced as well. Regards, KeithG > I think my mechanic was trying to keep costs down, but tried a bit too hard. > He also replaced the heater motor fan with a second hand one which is noisy, [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > confirm, it would be impossible to change the rear seal from the wheel arch, > or just difficult? |
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