Good video. Having sent my transmission to the shop, I needed to replace my rear main seal. Your video makes it easy without buying any alignment tools. Thanks
Chris, nicely done. I am getting ready to do this on my Camaro. As is often the case, forget the fancy tools, use some common sense. You demonstrate nicely that us regular guys can get the job done as well or better than the professionals. It might take a bit more time. In this case turn the crank (with a simple home made tool no less, love that). Torque it down and you are ready to go. I would add one more thing because there seem to be some doubters here. The critical aspect of this is the seal location, it absolutely must be centered and that's where the housing needs to go. The flex in the lip of the oil pan, and the gasket + sealer will make up for any irregularities there. The plastic thing that comes with the seal, is not meant to center, rather protect the critical sealing lip on the seal as it slides over the machined (read that sharp edge of the crank), and is mostly useful when you don't remove the housing. Obviously, it can help here too, but the important thing is to get it on the crank without damaging it. If I installed two of these a week, the centering tool would be a good investment, but normally that seal will last many many years, and miles. I wish it were the life of the vehicle, but not so in my case. Thanks again for taking the time for your fellow DIYers.
I'm glad you mentioned the tips on not doing the 2 long bolts on the bottom up first & rotating the crankshaft before torquing the 8mm rear cover bolts up to centralize the rear main seal. I just had to be careful fitting the new style seal which is an improved reverse lip design over the old "slinger" seal by the way,because the old seal was 1/2 an inch in thickness whereas the new one is 10 millimetres meaning that I had to be careful to not press the seal in all of the way home rather line it up with the bottom of the chamfer (the same spot the old one was),so I flipped the old oil seal upside down & used that as a drift making sure the seal went in straight,off the car & on a workbench by the way. So far, the Bell housing has remained dry & the engine hasn't leaked a drop of oil in the last couple of days I've had the car on the road. The tips on here & the fact that Fel-pro supply the proper seal with the installation tool makes life a lot easier & eliminate the need for any special tools,I'm just glad to have a leak free LS1 engine again which doesn't drip oil in the car park or at home.
I can sleep easier now knowing a Felpro kit is going to fit properly as I've had problems fitting an aftermarket rear main seal to an LS1 in my car, the seal was bought through a seller which is on Ebay who was supplied that seal by rocket industries in Australia (Five R brand in an Aeroflow package , part No -5REGRSLS1) ,well,I ruined the seal before finding out that the 97mm I.D. teflon lipped seal would have trouble fitting onto a crankshaft which I measured at 98mm with a set of vernier calipers (the shaft size listed by National is 97.990 but the 97mm is 0.990mm out to a teflon lipped seal if attempting to fit it into an LSX engine). I measured the plastic installation ring that came with that one today & it measured 96mm & the seal was a tight fit on that ring so the seal I think was very out to an LSX engine which needs the 98mm teflon lipped oil seal - yes, even with the special tool,I think the seal lip would still get crushed. The reason I can sleep easier is because I have visual evidence that an LSX motor has been fitted with the Felpro BS40640 seal & gasket kit ,the same as what I ordered which should hopefully arrive on Tuesday.
jesus galvan The hardest and longest part is removing the transmission. Once the transmission is out, you can swap the seal and cover gasket in under 30 minutes. Good luck!
Chris great video man thank you , How's she holding up seal wise no leaks? the same principles would apply if doing this to a 6.0 Denali wouldn't it? thanks man
Over a year later and not a single drop! I even took out the clutch again since this to get the flywheel balanced and everything was dry as a bone. 6.0 Denali should be identical - I believe it even uses the same exact Felpro gasket - but you should double check to make sure.
ua-cam.com/video/irUX9dS3PZ0/v-deo.html I spun the crank to help make sure the cover with seal is exactly centered before tightening down the cover bolts.
saccitycorvette.com in Sacramento, CA has the tool $39.99 to center the crankshaft rear oil seal cover, if you wanna sleep easy at night. They have a video on UA-cam as well.
+francisco gallegos Hi Francisco, If the car is level and the oil isn't overfilled, you shouldn't have to drain the oil. However, I used a bunch of brake cleaner to clean off the back of the engine after I got the cover and old seals out and all of that cleaning fluid will drain into the oil pan. So I would recommend that you at least drain the oil pan after you're finished so that any crud you may have washed into the pan can get drained out before starting the engine. Good luck!
Hi Steve, I wish that were true! In fact, it is not too hard to bias the cover to the oil pan (even if it is not removed) such that the seal is compressed on the oil pan side enough to cause a leak. You'll find many people who have replaced the seal without removing the pan and ended up with a leak as a result.
I've taken it out twice now - the first time to replace the clutch and the second time to remove the brand new flywheel/pressure plate to have it balanced. It's not too bad of a job - especially once the exhaust bolts are cleaned up!
I’m pretty sure the intent of the plastic insert is so you can install the seal while the cover plate is on. Has no purpose when everything is removed.
Yea this is old, but don't the instructions specifically say to install dry? Well, ive done it both ways, first time didn't read instructions and greased up the seal and used alignment tool, never leaked. Installed one dry and it's still good to go. I know you sold the v, I have one just like it, ut 05, I love it, definitely gotta be mechanically inclined to own these though lol
I double checked the service manual. It specifically states to oil the OD of the seal when pressing it into the cover plate but no oil or lubricant is called out for the ID (crankshaft surface) of the seal.
I was watching Sac City corvette video and you’re suppose to crunch the bottom ones first. By doing so you’re actually centering the seal not squishing it. I’m not putting your Method down just saying how Christian from sac city corvette does it.
Yeah, I've seen that. I'm not trying to start a beef with them... they have their own tools they like to sell and they're entitled to their own methods. But my full time job is literally around engineering large systems that have to achieve double digit micron alignment and I do not like the idea of tightening the only two bolts that are going to try to misalign your plate in the plane of the the two axes you are trying to keep aligned. In my humble engineering opinion, the seal plate should be locked down to maintain the concentric alignment first and THEN tighten the bolts to compress the gasket at the pan.. not the other way around.
@@SlideruleRacingProducts Just did this job yesterday, and my non engineer gut told me not to tighten the bottom two bolts first. RTV silicone bead on outside lip and corners for extra insurance.
If the car is level and the oil isn't overfilled, you shouldn't have to drain the oil. However, I used a bunch of brake cleaner to clean off the back of the engine after I got the cover and old seals out and all of that cleaning fluid will drain into the oil pan. So I would recommend that you at least drain the oil pan after you're finished so that any crud you may have washed into the pan can get drained out before starting the engine.
Im an ASE MASTER TECH, the video is ok, saw that he rotated the crankshaft to help center the retainer plate but crankshaft spins straight and center , so that wasn't necessary and a waste of time, also he take too long to to tighten down the cover / i would not have tighten down so tigh on the oil pan bolt, as that what would pull the seal of center! , its the plate what center the seal, thats why they have a alignment tool, But the real culprit is GM they design a bad seal retainer and , that retaning plate should of been dowel to the engine which would of guaranteed and centering the oil seal! POOR DESIGN by GM plain and simple!
If you're an ASE master tech, then you know GM now sells the seal with the plate: smile.amazon.com/dp/B00F677EHE?tag=amz-mkt-fox-us-20&ascsubtag=1ba00-01000-org00-win10-dsk00-smile-us000-pcomp-feature-scomp-wm-5&ref=aa_scomp_srdg2 Impossible to use an alignment tool if you are installing the seal preinstalled to the plate. In which case, the proper way is to have the seal center to the crank and then tighten the plate. The bolts were tightened to the torque specs - not overtightened, but you MUST tighten the oil pan bolts after the others are tightened to spec so that you do not pull the seal off center - as I describe in the video.
A video on what NOT to do. You install the cover with an alignment tool and then install the seal afterwards. watch this ua-cam.com/video/DCYiqptLXfI/v-deo.html
@@2002SLPSS1991 I aligned the plate to the seal while it was on the shaft and tightened the bolts in the proper order so as not to displace the the plate after that position was set. Most people make the mistake of tightening the lower bolts to the pan first, displacing the alignment. The tool is necessary for those people because they don't understand why the order is important. The motor was at 210000 miles when I sold it without a wisp of oil. And then I heard from the next owner over a year later telling me how the engine was still perfect another 20000 miles later... So, since it outlasted the original seal, then by definition there was nothing wrong with that installation.
@@SlideruleRacingProducts that's funny I have my GM Helms factory repair manual right here in front of me, it requires J 41479-2A or J 41476 tool to align the cover so when the seal is installed its good as "factory" which at the GM engine assembly line they use a tool to align it. You did not follow what factory does, it will leak long before the original seal failed.
@@2002SLPSS1991 Your welcome to keep trying to convince people they need to spend money to buy your tool. My engine is proof that it's not needed. Replaced the original at ~110000 miles and replacement has gone longer.
Good video. Having sent my transmission to the shop, I needed to replace my rear main seal. Your video makes it easy without buying any alignment tools. Thanks
Awesome video! I feel your pain at 12:38 with the gasket falling off. Keep up the good work
Chris, nicely done. I am getting ready to do this on my Camaro. As is often the case, forget the fancy tools, use some common sense. You demonstrate nicely that us regular guys can get the job done as well or better than the professionals. It might take a bit more time. In this case turn the crank (with a simple home made tool no less, love that). Torque it down and you are ready to go. I would add one more thing because there seem to be some doubters here. The critical aspect of this is the seal location, it absolutely must be centered and that's where the housing needs to go. The flex in the lip of the oil pan, and the gasket + sealer will make up for any irregularities there. The plastic thing that comes with the seal, is not meant to center, rather protect the critical sealing lip on the seal as it slides over the machined (read that sharp edge of the crank), and is mostly useful when you don't remove the housing. Obviously, it can help here too, but the important thing is to get it on the crank without damaging it. If I installed two of these a week, the centering tool would be a good investment, but normally that seal will last many many years, and miles. I wish it were the life of the vehicle, but not so in my case. Thanks again for taking the time for your fellow DIYers.
I'm glad you mentioned the tips on not doing the 2 long bolts on the bottom up first & rotating the crankshaft before torquing the 8mm rear cover bolts up to centralize the rear main seal.
I just had to be careful fitting the new style seal which is an improved reverse lip design over the old "slinger" seal by the way,because the old seal was 1/2 an inch in thickness whereas the new one is 10 millimetres meaning that I had to be careful to not press the seal in all of the way home rather line it up with the bottom of the chamfer (the same spot the old one was),so I flipped the old oil seal upside down & used that as a drift making sure the seal went in straight,off the car & on a workbench by the way.
So far, the Bell housing has remained dry & the engine hasn't leaked a drop of oil in the last couple of days I've had the car on the road.
The tips on here & the fact that Fel-pro supply the proper seal with the installation tool makes life a lot easier & eliminate the need for any special tools,I'm just glad to have a leak free LS1 engine again which doesn't drip oil in the car park or at home.
I'm glad I could help, Russell! Thanks for the heads up about the new seal style tips!
currently having the time of my life trying to get this 150k mile seal out of this timing cover.... but great video lol
good video bud, im going to do it tomorrow, thank you for the step by step and not skipping stuff.
I can sleep easier now knowing a Felpro kit is going to fit properly as I've had problems fitting an aftermarket rear main seal to an LS1 in my car, the seal was bought through a seller which is on Ebay who was supplied that seal by rocket industries in Australia (Five R brand in an Aeroflow package , part No -5REGRSLS1) ,well,I ruined the seal before finding out that the 97mm I.D. teflon lipped seal would have trouble fitting onto a crankshaft which I measured at 98mm with a set of vernier calipers (the shaft size listed by National is 97.990 but the 97mm is 0.990mm out to a teflon lipped seal if attempting to fit it into an LSX engine).
I measured the plastic installation ring that came with that one today & it measured 96mm & the seal was a tight fit on that ring so the seal I think was very out to an LSX engine which needs the 98mm teflon lipped oil seal - yes, even with the special tool,I think the seal lip would still get crushed.
The reason I can sleep easier is because I have visual evidence that an LSX motor has been fitted with the Felpro BS40640 seal & gasket kit ,the same as what I ordered which should hopefully arrive on Tuesday.
I would have replaced the oil galley barbell since they are known to leak and fail
best video so far on this topic. going to be tackling this after holidays. how long did it take you to do all this?
jesus galvan The hardest and longest part is removing the transmission. Once the transmission is out, you can swap the seal and cover gasket in under 30 minutes. Good luck!
Chris Bruno awesome takes me roughly 20 minutes to do the transmission haha
Chris great video man thank you , How's she holding up seal wise no leaks? the same principles would apply if doing this to a 6.0 Denali wouldn't it? thanks man
Over a year later and not a single drop! I even took out the clutch again since this to get the flywheel balanced and everything was dry as a bone. 6.0 Denali should be identical - I believe it even uses the same exact Felpro gasket - but you should double check to make sure.
Chris, did you remove the oil pan? I'll be doing this on my 01 Silverado in two weeks, it decided to start making its territory.
Hi Titan, if you watch the video, you'll see that removing the oil pan is not necessary. Good luck!
You need a seal alignment tool if you take the plate off.
going to dive into this shortly. I didn't see in the video when you rotated the crank and why.
Sorry if it was in there I must have missed it
ua-cam.com/video/irUX9dS3PZ0/v-deo.html
I spun the crank to help make sure the cover with seal is exactly centered before tightening down the cover bolts.
OK Thanks much!! Nice video
saccitycorvette.com in Sacramento, CA has the tool $39.99 to center the crankshaft rear oil seal cover, if you wanna sleep easy at night. They have a video on UA-cam as well.
when replacing do you need to drain the oil first
+francisco gallegos Hi Francisco,
If the car is level and the oil isn't overfilled, you shouldn't have to drain the oil. However, I used a bunch of brake cleaner to clean off the back of the engine after I got the cover and old seals out and all of that cleaning fluid will drain into the oil pan. So I would recommend that you at least drain the oil pan after you're finished so that any crud you may have washed into the pan can get drained out before starting the engine.
Good luck!
Good vid! did you have any leaks?
NS5009: no leaks! Been dry for about 1.5 years or so
You only have to center the cover of the oil pan is off. only one way it's going on with the oil pan on
Hi Steve,
I wish that were true! In fact, it is not too hard to bias the cover to the oil pan (even if it is not removed) such that the seal is compressed on the oil pan side enough to cause a leak. You'll find many people who have replaced the seal without removing the pan and ended up with a leak as a result.
great video!! how was it getting the transmission out?
I've taken it out twice now - the first time to replace the clutch and the second time to remove the brand new flywheel/pressure plate to have it balanced. It's not too bad of a job - especially once the exhaust bolts are cleaned up!
I’m pretty sure the intent of the plastic insert is so you can install the seal while the cover plate is on. Has no purpose when everything is removed.
Yea this is old, but don't the instructions specifically say to install dry? Well, ive done it both ways, first time didn't read instructions and greased up the seal and used alignment tool, never leaked. Installed one dry and it's still good to go.
I know you sold the v, I have one just like it, ut 05, I love it, definitely gotta be mechanically inclined to own these though lol
I double checked the service manual. It specifically states to oil the OD of the seal when pressing it into the cover plate but no oil or lubricant is called out for the ID (crankshaft surface) of the seal.
Hello, ever have any issues?
Nope - never leaked.
What a pain in the ass. I'll get my dealer to do it. But, good video
hows the seal holding up 6 years later?
Hi Yung, I sold that car a few years ago, but it had 210K miles on it when I sold it and no leaks at all.
@@SlideruleRacingProducts welp i used your method and my leak is fixed so thanks lol
You should install the seal dry...
Against the crank - yes. And I did. Against the cover plate, you greatly risk damaging the ribbed seal if its completely dry, in my opinion.
I was watching Sac City corvette video and you’re suppose to crunch the bottom ones first. By doing so you’re actually centering the seal not squishing it. I’m not putting your Method down just saying how Christian from sac city corvette does it.
Yeah, I've seen that. I'm not trying to start a beef with them... they have their own tools they like to sell and they're entitled to their own methods. But my full time job is literally around engineering large systems that have to achieve double digit micron alignment and I do not like the idea of tightening the only two bolts that are going to try to misalign your plate in the plane of the the two axes you are trying to keep aligned. In my humble engineering opinion, the seal plate should be locked down to maintain the concentric alignment first and THEN tighten the bolts to compress the gasket at the pan.. not the other way around.
@@SlideruleRacingProducts
Just did this job yesterday, and my non engineer gut told me not to tighten the bottom two bolts first. RTV silicone bead on outside lip and corners for extra insurance.
Do you have to dump the engine oil to change rear main seal
If the car is level and the oil isn't overfilled, you shouldn't have to
drain the oil. However, I used a bunch of brake cleaner to clean off
the back of the engine after I got the cover and old seals out and all
of that cleaning fluid will drain into the oil pan. So I would
recommend that you at least drain the oil pan after you're finished so
that any crud you may have washed into the pan can get drained out
before starting the engine.
Any leaks after the change?
Dry as a bone so far. (knock on wood)
Well ... Ls engines leak at the cover not at the seal..
False
Im an ASE MASTER TECH, the video is ok, saw that he rotated the crankshaft to help center the retainer plate but crankshaft spins straight and center , so that wasn't necessary and a waste of time, also he take too long to to tighten down the cover / i would not have tighten down so tigh on the oil pan bolt, as that what would pull the seal of center! , its the plate what center the seal, thats why they have a alignment tool, But the real culprit is GM they design a bad seal retainer and , that retaning plate should of been dowel to the engine which would of guaranteed and centering the oil seal! POOR DESIGN by GM plain and simple!
If you're an ASE master tech, then you know GM now sells the seal with the plate:
smile.amazon.com/dp/B00F677EHE?tag=amz-mkt-fox-us-20&ascsubtag=1ba00-01000-org00-win10-dsk00-smile-us000-pcomp-feature-scomp-wm-5&ref=aa_scomp_srdg2
Impossible to use an alignment tool if you are installing the seal preinstalled to the plate. In which case, the proper way is to have the seal center to the crank and then tighten the plate. The bolts were tightened to the torque specs - not overtightened, but you MUST tighten the oil pan bolts after the others are tightened to spec so that you do not pull the seal off center - as I describe in the video.
A video on what NOT to do. You install the cover with an alignment tool and then install the seal afterwards. watch this ua-cam.com/video/DCYiqptLXfI/v-deo.html
That's the perfect way if you feel like wasting some money!
@@SlideruleRacingProducts you did not align the seal plate. you wasted your money and time you'll be doing it again...
@@2002SLPSS1991 I aligned the plate to the seal while it was on the shaft and tightened the bolts in the proper order so as not to displace the the plate after that position was set. Most people make the mistake of tightening the lower bolts to the pan first, displacing the alignment. The tool is necessary for those people because they don't understand why the order is important. The motor was at 210000 miles when I sold it without a wisp of oil. And then I heard from the next owner over a year later telling me how the engine was still perfect another 20000 miles later... So, since it outlasted the original seal, then by definition there was nothing wrong with that installation.
@@SlideruleRacingProducts that's funny I have my GM Helms factory repair manual right here in front of me, it requires J 41479-2A or J 41476 tool to align the cover so when the seal is installed its good as "factory" which at the GM engine assembly line they use a tool to align it. You did not follow what factory does, it will leak long before the original seal failed.
@@2002SLPSS1991 Your welcome to keep trying to convince people they need to spend money to buy your tool. My engine is proof that it's not needed. Replaced the original at ~110000 miles and replacement has gone longer.