I was just wondering if how common it is to have to replace the rear main seal on a 94 4runner. It has a V6, 4wd with 105,000 miles. It leaks a lot of oil. I was quoted $645 by the local dealer and that was the cheapest price I could find. Does that quote seem reasonable? Thanks in advance for any responses.

 

its not unreasonable for an oil seal to go after 100k miles on an 11 year old vehicle. Wish you lived near me, i'd love someone to pay me $650 to replace it. I'm doing one on my truck, takes maybe a full evening with just hand tools and a strong buddy to drop and lift the transmission with me. It should end up costing me about $20, but i understand how intimidating something like that would be for someone un-familiar with the workings of their vehicle.

 

That sounds about right. When some guys showed me how to do the clutch they figured it'd be a good idea to replace the rear main while we were there since it was SUCH a pain to drop the transmission and get the flywheel bolts out.

Even though I've been through it once I'd still reconsider doing it again at around $645.

 

Assuming it's a manual tranny, do the clutch, heavier flywheel, and throwout bearing while you're at it. And no, that's not a bad price. Mine went at about 140K. Sheesh...Try justifying that one to your wife when the old Corolla was still purring with 250K.

 

My dealership wanted $850 for it. But I just let it leak because it was costing me about $2 a month to keep it filled. I figured it would take me about 425 months to recoup the cost saved.

 

Mine has leaked for years, the front seal does too. I can clean it off, get it spotless, and it's all damp and oily in a week. Then it just stays that way, it has never once dripped a drop onto the floor, and I use a about a quart of oil every 2000 miles. I keep putting off fixing it figuring the engine will die soon (and be replaced by a V8) but at 216k+ it still runs perfectly. Go figure.