New Toyota owner here - just got an 88 4x4 w/ 22re (200K on it). This is the first Toyota truck I have ever owned. Bought it with a bad tranny. I found a rebuilt tranny for it, and I have the bad tranny out now.

I've done a bunch of searching already, and got some great info! This site rocks!

I am ready to put the new tranny in, but am wondering if I should replace the rear main seal. The one in there now is maybe weeping a tiny bit, but not much to speak of. I've been told not to mess with it, because there is a good chance the replacement will leak due to the old seal wearing a groove in the crank. I've also been told that I SHOULD replace it, its cheap insurance.

Replace or not replace?

I am leaning towards replacing it, so I checked around and it seems the choices are OEM from dealer for almost $50 or Felpro from FLAPS for about $13.

I know that some parts are worth paying the big bucks for OEM... is this one of them? Is there another source for OEM besides the dealer that is cheaper?

Thanks!

-Josh

 

Clean the whole area and see if it's actually oil from the rear main, or from the valve cover.
I had a rear main scare that turned out to be a leaky valve cover.

Yeah, for vital seals like the rear main, always go OEM.

 

ya, i say pull the tranny out.. so you can get your face right up under the truck and look at the seal and see if its leaking at all..

I say before you doing any work at all pressure was and degrease the engine bay.. to minimize your hands from getting dirty.

i would leave you truck set there on jack stands for a day or to to see if its leaking just by gravity..

 

Let a sleeping dog lay. Even if there is a slight weep....its not worth the risk.
Now if it were a leak, I would fix it.

Well the dif between a weep and a leak then....

Leak will spot driveway.
Leak will lower oil level appreciably

Weep...no spots on driveway
No oil loss between changes.

Leave a weep alone....fix a leak is my advice.

 

why not? You got the tranny off, so it is right there and easily accomplished yes? Think how badly you will kick yourself if you don't do it and it needs done in a year, in two or 5...

an ounce of prevention....parts are cheap, labor is not...

I am no mechanic and not pretending to be.

 

I agree with ron, if the trans is already out, replace the rear main.

 

Thanks for the input guys - how about brand? OEM? Felpro? Cheaper source for OEM??

-Josh

 

I would say OEM. try toyotapartszone.com if you can wait and order it, or just go to your local dealer which would probably also have to order it out for you.

 

Replace with oem

 

oem, replace it while its out!

 

OK, I am going to replace it with OEM.

For future searchers, ToyotaPartsZone.com has two rear main seals listed:

90311-80004 SEAL, ENGINE REAR OIL Replaced by: **311-80010

And presumably the one you want:

90311-80010 OEM Toyota SEAL, TYPE T OIL ($26.18 + Shipping).

About $10 less (after shipping) than dealer in my area. New seal on the way.

Now, for posterity... here are the answers to my other RMS questions that I answered myself by searching YotaTech:

Q: Remove the oil seal retainer, or just the RMS?
A: Just remove the seal by punching some holes into the rubber, then thread in some screws and use them to pull out the old seal.

If you decide to pull the retainer, apparently part of it is held in by some of the oil pan studs... so you either need to drop the pan or remove the studs. You also need to reseal the retainer when reinstalling it.

Hope this info helps others in the future.

Thanks for the help guys!

-Josh

 

just for the record, don't pull the retainer. get some silicone lube or vaseline, coat the new seal and get a small hook and carefully pull the old seal out and tap in the new seal.

seen too many people have to figure out how to drill and tap the 6mm bolts that hold that retainer in after they a) broke coming out or b) got overtorqued going back in all for changing a retainer they didn't need to remove to change a seal.