So my rear main seal blew out last sunday. Luckily there was a shop close by, so i limped it over. The following day the mechanic phoned me saying it was indeed the rear main seal causing the leak. He said i'd need a new clutch, rear main seal, and oil pan gasket. $2500 later they finished the job. The first red flag should have been when i asked about oem vs aftermarket parts and seals. He claimed all the seals he gets have a warranty ect. So i agreed and let them have at it.
When i picked up the truck a few days ago. (saturday, shop was closed) i was looking at the work they had done. The oil was over filled by probably 1L. As i drove away the clutch was engaging about a 1/4' off the floor. These things seemed minor at the time. I got home, drained some oil to the proper level, adjusted the free play on the clutch and was satisfied the truck was back to normal. I later drove to canadian tire, and walking back to the truck noticed a small oil spot on the ground. I poked my head under, and sure enough.. oil was leaking from the same spot. (rear main seal)
At this point i was more than frustrated. Later that night, i started the truck up and noticed a squealing noise coming from the rear main seal area. It was more prominate when cold, but could also hear it in first gear under load.
I have no idea what the issue is, but I'm at my wits end. I plan to call them first thing in the a.m tomorrow morning to get it figured out. I've already ordered a new main seal and seal saver from lc engineering. But i am scared driving it in the meantime is only hurting something.
And to top it off, coolant level in the reservoir was empty. i topped that off today, drove to the grocery store, and by the time i got home it was empty again. They did replace the block heater. Perhaps the coolant was never toped up? Or atlas thats what I'm hoping. God forbid its not entering the engine. Im fairly certain my head gasket is ok.

 

Well, they should fix the oil leak for sure. Hopefully they stand behind their work. If your oil was high and you coolant was low, maybe the coolant is entering the engine. How did the excess oil look when you drained it? Oil with water in it looks like a chocolate milkshake. Check that your oil level hasn't gone back up since you corrected it last.

 

Definitely poor workmanship and that price is even high for us here in Canada. A clutch job should be in the 1200 to 1500 range. The rest of that stuff is nickel and dime. That said its possible they didn't clean things up properly and your seeing residual oil drips. I've rarely encountered a 'bad seal'. Its usually a bad installation or the shaft is worn or grooved. The squealing may be they didn't lube the seal lip. New clutches sometimes make weird squeals and whistles until they break in, an organic clutch takes about 1000 miles and the semi-organic ones longer.

The quality of their work would indicate to me they didn't burp or bleed the cooling system Those things you called minor should have been done properly and be brought to their attention...or maybe not as they may use that to wiggle out of doing the job right. When its all done be sure to check the drive shaft timing/alignment (whatever we want to call it) or it'll eat U joints and possibly blow pinion/transmission/transfer case seals and bearings.

I hope they do right but my gut says you're going to have a fight.

 

Well you called it.

I dropped the truck back off last Wednesday morning. Spoke to the mechanic that morning and he was appologetic. Said they'd have a look and get it fixed up with the new seals I'm waiting on in the mail. (OEM seal and seal saver)

I swung by saturday when they were closed, just to check on the truck. Found it in the middle of the parking lot, hood popped, unlocked with the key in the ignition and no one around. I was pissed.
I parked the truck, locked it up and threw the key in the mail slot.

I phoned them today afterwork work and asked if they had a chance to look at it as they said they would. He said "yeah we had a good look, ran it for 5-6 hours strait, didn't see a leak or hear a noise, we'll try it again tomorrow"

5-6 HOURS...

I have a hard time being mean to people, but I'm pretty fed up. I headed to the shop after that earlier tonight to check on the truck. by this point the shop was closed.

I crawled under the truck with a flashlight to inspect the main seal area, was pretty dry for the most part. I started up the truck, warmed it up and went for a short drive. crawled under again, sure enough, drips of oil as i saw before.
The noise had subsided a bit but was definitely still evident.

I should receive my parts this wednesday, and i hope to god they do the job over and do it right. But i don't think i'll be getting my way without some fuss.

 

I have very few positive things to say about most shops. I mean no offense to anyone who owns a shop or is a professional mechanic because most of those guys arent getting paid well and work hard for a living but theres a lot of bills being paid by cutting corners and ripping people off.
Good shops charge good money for what they do and most others arent worth anything but being driven past.
Im sorry this happened to you. Ive been there.
Its clear these guys dont take pride in their work.

 

If I found the shop I took my truck to left my truck like that, I would simply drive away and find another shop.

That is completely unacceptable in my book.

 

After that episode its time to get mean and nasty as its plain these guys are giving you the BS run around. I don't know which province you're in (and I am even assuming in Canada cause you mentioned "The Tire") but I'd be starting with the BBB, then to your MLA and the Ministry of Consumer affairs (or its equelivelent). Next I'd be giving the Ministry of colleges and universities a call with the guys 310S/310D licence number (or what ever in your province). I know back in Ontario, you had to be a licenced 310S (automotive technician) or 310D (transmission technician) to legally do this kind of work. I don't know about other provinces but I imagine they'd be the same. Don't be afraid to get a para-legal either, they are a lot cheaper than a lawyer and have just as much clout. Having their $30+/hr ticket pulled usually gets their attention.

You spent a lot of money for a pile of ˟˟˟˟ work!

Don't go there swearing and threating them, that isn't going to help.

Don't let them use the parts you supplied, if it still leaks or if they mess up installing them they will just say its the parts you supplied and try to wash their hands of this. Always let them supply the parts that way they're on the hook for the whole job...sounds like they're the type who'd try anything to get out of doing it right.

If you're in Ontario there is an automotive columnist in the TORSTAR newspapers, Dennis O'Sullivan who may be able to help.

If you can, ask for your money back and go somewhere else, and/or put a hold/stop payment if you paid by cheque or credit card.

 

Do we need to send the boy's over there?

 

This is exactly why I try to do almost all my own repairs other than machine work. Hope you resolve it.

 

Hey all,
This is a bit of a thread revival.

The shop ended doing the job again and replacing the rear main seal and clutch. The leak never came back, but i had a consistent squeal coming from the clutch that would happen intermittently. Upon start up, the clutch would sqeal, but if i gave the clutch pedal just a bit of depression, it went away.
well tonight after driving home from camping, the engine quit, i rolled to a stop and thought oh ˟˟˟˟, started it back up with no issue, but the squeal i spoke of was now even louder and had enough resistance to make the engine stall out.

now im hoping to god its just the throwout or pilot bearing, not something totally catastrophic. I limped it home the final 1km which may or may not have been a great idea, but i had no choice.
could these bearing impact the engine enough resistance wise to stall them out? Im not a mechanic, and only making assumptions here. But the engine itself ran and performed perfectly normal, so i can only assume this issue is clutch related. Not to mention shifting was getting a little slopping like the clutch was quickly on its way out.

luckily i was so close to home, and my old girl is parked safe in the driveway. But man in pretty choked at this whole experience. If it is the clutch or clutch related parts, i was not planning on having this fixed again 6 months/$2500 later.

i guess in a way I shouldn’t have ignored this noise, and went with my gut knowing that sound wasnt normal. But i was just so fed up with the whole situation 6 months ago i chose to ignore it, and just enjoy the truck.
It was it is,

if anyone has any insight on what this could be that would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

 

if you've got a noise coming from the clutch its probably the throwout bearing. you said they replaced the clutch but did they do the pilot and throwout bearing as well?

 

I called the shop that did work today and they claim they did do the pilot and throwout bearing as it was supplied in the kit they got.
after some reading on here, it sounds an awful lot like the symptoms of failed imput shaft bearings.
anyone know what this all entails?
is my tranny toast or would it need a full rebuild/swap?
is it worth looking into a 5spd if thats the case? Will a 5 spd mount right in?

 

Im really not an expert on transmissision issues so idk what the easiest or best answer would be but an l52 would be direct swap. They have mixed reputations and ppl often look for w series which require new crossmembers and stuff. Im putting an l52 in my truck when i get time.
its hard to say what to do once youve already spent money to fix a problem but if you can find a cheap 5 speed somewhere, if nothing else youll have a spare.

 

hmm,
ok good to know. Im a bit limited up here in the north (yukon) so ill have to do some more research. Ideally i don't really want to mess around with relocation the cross member and extending drive shafts. This truck is mainly a daily driver and weekend warrior rig for camping ect. Not putting much abuse on it. So im not sure if thats a factor in a more bullet proof trans. But of course a direct bolt on rebuilt 5 spd would be ideal.

 

I can get a marlin trans here shipped for $300+the trans.
its either that or get mine rebuilt. Or try and find a rebuilt one within canada through a local shop.
talking to a mechanic today to explore some options and see what pricing will look like.
this is all based on my assumption that the trans is infact done.
but im almost positive its not my clutch related bearings.

 

Ive got an L43 id sell you but idk what the shipping would be like

 

Can you drop the trans at home? Im sure theres some diagnostic you could do before deciding which way to go

 

I talked to a reputable mechanic in town earlier. Told him the whole story. He seems fairly confident its clutch related. I mentioned the sqealing sound being prevalence in neutral, which was leading me to believe 'input shaft' and transmission related failure. He mentioned a number of possibilities within the clutch assembly that could have been installed incorrectly and failed causing the noise. This was also my first assumption when it failed, and what backs this theory is the squeal came out of no where, immediately after the work was done on the clutch 6 months ago.
i checked the trans oil just now and it looks fine. Clean, clear. Mind you i check through the fill whole, so i suppose any major shavings or metal particles would be at the bottom.

he's all booked up until the 25th,
so ill be waiting awhile to get it into him for a diagnosis.

 

i was debating that in the meantime. Partly just to learn, but also to get a better look and figure out whats wrong. I suppose i could save a bit on labour as well if i at least got it out myself.
To be honest though i wouldnt really know what to look for. Could be totally obvious once its out.

 

I put a 5 speed out of a 90 model truck....not what I thought it would be....just not geared right for that 5 speed I suppose. I mostly use the four forward gears only use 5th on long straight runs.