The seal installer I bought years ago from Detroit was over $400.00. The days before internet we had to go to the manufacturer to get there specific tools. I'm sure you remember them days. Otherwise we made so much stuff to do jobs with just like yourself. Blocks of wood were a mechanics best friend back in the day.
I just had the rear main seal done on a 14liter. And then after it was put back on, I was noticing oil again. Guess what? It was the whole bell housing. It looks like the starter bolts are leaking. If you look towards your starter from the front wheel , it will have oil around the bell housing it mounts on to. You know 100% it’s the bell housing. On my truck Everything had to come back out. The bell housing on these motors doesn’t have a seal. It’s just a special detriot sealer made from some special gasket maker. You must use the sealer part number provided in the detriot manual. What happens is the motor mounts go bad and cause engine vibration. That in turn causes the bell housing to chaff against the block and eat the sealer away and then it leaks. When it leaks by starter , that’s a dead give away. If you do a rear main seal , you might as well pull that bell housing off and reseal it. To do that, you have to take the oil pan off and support the engine. Remove the motor mounts and then take the bell housing off. While your there the starter has to come out. So expect to replace a starter, rear mainseal, Motor mounts. That starter having oil there is a dead give away that the bell housing is leaking. Exact same thing as mine. Cost about 13 hours to do the whole job. Remove trans. Turn fly wheel Change clutch. Pull starter. Pull oil pain Support engine. Pull bell housing. Pull motor mounts. Resurface bell housing. Clean , reseal and reinstall new motor mounts, install bell housing, new starter, Oil pan, with new gasket, install clutch and trans. Bolt the rest up and your done. It’s the second biggest job on these engines next to a inframe. There are several free manuals on line explaining how to do everything mentioned above. It’s no easy job. You need a transmission jack and to lift the truck about 1 foot or two off the ground. Good luck.
Bruh... I watched this video, and then read the comments which isnt something i do since its typically a cess pool... But i "MotherFu*#ed!!!!" You for about 20 minutes because this is EXACTLY what happened to me... I was disappointed to learn this news but im also grateful for your response... Cus thats what were doing right now and its a shitshow of a job..... Kudos to your experience for the heads up.....
Your videos (and some of the comments) have been very helpful. I changed brake shoes and drums on the rear axle of my trailer tonight. My first time doing the job completely on my own and I feel confident the job is correctly done. I watched your video before getting started so was at least generally oriented. Thank you for taking the time to share what you have worked long and hard learn.
Gordon, rather than plywood, my "go to tool" for tin ring seals is pvc pipe of suitable size, or one of the various fittings if the sizing is what fits. Sometimes a little gentle persuasion with sand paper, or whittling with a knife is needed. I used to use steel pipe, but fittings are too pricey these days. Home despot or Lowe's is my first stop after I buy a new seal, right to the plastic plumbing aisle, lol.
After installing the new seal it is a very good idea to install the flywheel and start the engine without the transmission for at leas 30 minutes to see if the seal leaks, if you install the transmission and it leaks you have to start over.
Good job, Gordon. I don't work on trucks or currently drive one, but appreciate you taking us along on the repairs. I am mechanical natured as well, so like to see the people that do with the least in tool investment.
Hello Gordon... just found your channel and I`ve been binge watching your truck repair vids... you remind me of my family.... we do all our repairs in house. When I started watching the 60 rebuild and saw you were outside during inclement weather while working.... I said to myself "I guess I`d better suck it up a little" seeing how I just rebuilt the cat engine in my dump truck in the WARM GARAGE bitching that the half seasoned wood wasn`t burning so great!! My hat is off to you my friend.... great vids... you explain the whole ride as best as you can....awesome!! Keep`em coming!
Welcome aboard. Always fixing something around here, a lot of big truck all the way down to chainsaws and everything in between and not just mechanical but home and grounds keeping repair too.
Gordon I LOVE THE GOODY TWO SHOE'S COMMENT.......... Just wanted to say thank you for your videos. I have a small shop in Burlington WI. I have a few trucks. I can't retain a mechanic at the shop. They either are liars, lazy, don't show up for work etc etc, So I started repairing stuff myself. And I 'm not a mechanic. So I searched CZcams and started watching your videos. I subscribed a couple years ago. I love the way you get creative like the plywood. I created my own CZcams channel because of the way u help us. I wanted to help people. THANK U GORDON
I have been a mechanic for 20 years. I have probably this job 200 times at DDC dealership. Continue watching this type of videos instead of paying for a good mechanic.
Looks like a great job, do well. Take the oil pan off to support at that stage for motor mounts. With trans in no need to take pan off. Yes those mounts are gonna be a pain to burn out. But it makes for a better ride. Thanks for the video.
Great Job Gordon You Did The Job Just as I Would Have I Usually Pack the Backside Of the Seal Also To Prevent the Spring From Popping Out During Installation 😀😎👍🏼 Superbly Done
Well done Gordon! (Of course!) Coincidentally I just replaced the rear main... on my S-15. LOL, a wee bit smaller. Try not to sweat the critics, complainers will be complainers, but negative people don't get things done.
Being a former tech at a stealership, i like to do repairs according to the proper directions/steps with the proper tools, so the job can be done right the first time. It will save you time n money in the long run.
Why buy it for a one time use, I cut that piece of wood in a fraction of the time it would take me to buy the kit if I could just go and buy it somewhere, that kit would have to be ordered and then pay how much?
I need to take off my bell housing on my semi because I failed to change the carrier bearings so from all the vibration, the 12 bolts that connect the tranny to the bellhousing(engine) broke off. How do I hold the engine in place to remove the bellhousing?
Job well done ! The only thing you didn't show was tightening the fasteners that hold the front of the bell housing to the back of the engine block. It would have been interesting to see if any of them turned much.
The back of the motor needs to be sealed. The bols seat into the block. But around the bolts is wear i believe your getting weeping. The quick way to fix it would be to remove the bolts and clean them up. Put some sealer on the bolts and up by the head of the bolt. Does it look like your getting oil on the other side of the bellhousing.
You probably should have just replaced the motor mounts, they are probably causing flex and putting pressure on the transmission and or the rear main. Either way you run the risk of cracking a bell housing when the motor torques over.
yep im replacing both bell housing and fly wheel housing right now bell housing is cracked and flywheel housing has actually sheered off the four bolts that held motor mount to it because it went to long jumping up and down with no rubber to qushion it
I recently had my transmission replaced on a 07 Freightliner Columbia. I had no leaks prior to getting my transmission replaced. Now that’s it’s replaced, I “all of a sudden” have an oil leak under the hood and near where my transmission was replaced. I looked up and down with a flashlight to find where this leak was coming from but can’t figure it out. What may that be? Someone please help
Well, if I had to do it again on my truck, the first thing I would do is cut out the shifter hole and make it into a removable access area about 12" by 16" and then I would have to try to leave the clutch in the tranny like the comments are saying. If I get away with that I might do it in 8 hours. But I haven't modified the shifter hole yet, that will take a couple of hours to do.
Was that really a crank sleeve? I've don't doubt it was but i've seen new seals come with a tapered plastic sleeve to lip the seal over the edge of the crank to ensure it doesn't get damaged on the way on, probably more useful on cranks that are near flush with the bellhousing.
Would have taken about 40 mins tops to replace the rear engine rubbers if you have new ones in hand. Just a quick torch and a jack under the flywheel housing. Would have been the time to do those.
Hey guys. I got a nifty tool for installing the new seal. Your wife will be passed. You have been warned.... use a 3/4 quart revere ware pot. It is perfect. The seal goes in quite easily. We put a little lube on the contact edges. I cannot put a seal in dry. That makes absolutely no sense to me. Make sure you measure the distance from the edge of the seal to the edge of the crank. You don t want to put it in to deep. Hope this helps
That's my go to method. I do pre-drill with an 1/8" bit though. I find that if I drill two spots I never need the second. Drill one, and I need the second.
I have a few pics of the 3rd Box remove this morning. If you have a contact I'll be happy to send you the pics. It a open back and you actual went as far as you would want to go.
hey gordon, the names cody...yeah i hear you im always watching your videos but rarely have time to leave a comment with life being as busy as it is...its nice to see that your channel is growing, best wishes!
Of course I can refuse to work without losing my job but they too have a job to do and can't do it without good dependable help. I think I practice a good balance between maintenance on my equipment for what it is and needs to be ready to do and co working with my employers.
@@57bagre i just bought my first truck getting it ready for otr but im having same problem i gone swap the clutch ! I been watching your videos,, thanks very helpfull !👍👍👍
holy crap ..!!there is no machined "stop" for the seal ..??whats that broken off pin on the rh side ..??thanks for posting all these useful videos, Gordon .. :)(
That leaking that your seeing between the bell housing is the back cover seal. Just like the front has a front cover so too does the back. You have to take the bell housing off to get to the back cover.
I know about that but it's not worth the size of the job to fix it that way. Since there's no pressure on the leak, I just cleaned the seal area with brake cleaner and siliconed it on the outside, problem solved.
Dzevad Husic no seal. It’s metal on metal. Just a gasket maker called “detriot anaerobic gasket maker”. There is a specific part number to it. But yes. The bell housing is leaking.
I’m a rookie o/o attending the school of hard knocks. Your videos are a tremendous help. Thank you
Glad to hear you're getting something out of these videos Rhet
Johnny Cash didn't die, he just became a diesel mechanic
The seal installer I bought years ago from Detroit was over $400.00. The days before internet we had to go to the manufacturer to get there specific tools. I'm sure you remember them days. Otherwise we made so much stuff to do jobs with just like yourself. Blocks of wood were a mechanics best friend back in the day.
I just had the rear main seal done on a 14liter.
And then after it was put back on, I was noticing oil again. Guess what? It was the whole bell housing.
It looks like the starter bolts are leaking.
If you look towards your starter from the front wheel , it will have oil around the bell housing it mounts on to. You know 100% it’s the bell housing.
On my truck Everything had to come back out.
The bell housing on these motors doesn’t have a seal. It’s just a special detriot sealer made from some special gasket maker. You must use the sealer part number provided in the detriot manual.
What happens is the motor mounts go bad and cause engine vibration.
That in turn causes the bell housing to chaff against the block and eat the sealer away and then it leaks. When it leaks by starter , that’s a dead give away.
If you do a rear main seal , you might as well pull that bell housing off and reseal it.
To do that, you have to take the oil pan off and support the engine. Remove the motor mounts and then take the bell housing off.
While your there the starter has to come out.
So expect to replace a starter, rear mainseal,
Motor mounts.
That starter having oil there is a dead give away that the bell housing is leaking.
Exact same thing as mine.
Cost about 13 hours to do the whole job.
Remove trans.
Turn fly wheel
Change clutch.
Pull starter.
Pull oil pain
Support engine.
Pull bell housing.
Pull motor mounts.
Resurface bell housing.
Clean , reseal and reinstall new motor mounts, install bell housing, new starter, Oil pan, with new gasket, install clutch and trans. Bolt the rest up and your done.
It’s the second biggest job on these engines next to a inframe.
There are several free manuals on line explaining how to do everything mentioned above.
It’s no easy job. You need a transmission jack and to lift the truck about 1 foot or two off the ground.
Good luck.
What's a reasonable price for a shop to do this?
I'm hoping this ain't my issue. But I have leaking after u replace clutc and rear seal and yes also been oil fr I m starter down
Bruh... I watched this video, and then read the comments which isnt something i do since its typically a cess pool... But i "MotherFu*#ed!!!!" You for about 20 minutes because this is EXACTLY what happened to me... I was disappointed to learn this news but im also grateful for your response... Cus thats what were doing right now and its a shitshow of a job..... Kudos to your experience for the heads up.....
12.7 pre-emissions Detroit... One of the best Diesel engines ever made.
Wayne Swicegood THE best Diesel engine ever made
Wayne Swicegood, I know; I had one!
@@miguelcastillo3712 lolololol maybe in a parallel universe
Your videos (and some of the comments) have been very helpful. I changed brake shoes and drums on the rear axle of my trailer tonight. My first time doing the job completely on my own and I feel confident the job is correctly done. I watched your video before getting started so was at least generally oriented.
Thank you for taking the time to share what you have worked long and hard learn.
Gordon, rather than plywood, my "go to tool" for tin ring seals is pvc pipe of suitable size, or one of the various fittings if the sizing is what fits. Sometimes a little gentle persuasion with sand paper, or whittling with a knife is needed. I used to use steel pipe, but fittings are too pricey these days. Home despot or Lowe's is my first stop after I buy a new seal, right to the plastic plumbing aisle, lol.
After installing the new seal it is a very good idea to install the flywheel and start the engine without the transmission for at leas 30 minutes to see if the seal leaks, if you install the transmission and it leaks you have to start over.
That rarely happens to a good experienced old school mech , knowing most scenarios at stake its not worth his time ,it only happens 1 of 1000
Good job, Gordon. I don't work on trucks or currently drive one, but appreciate you taking us along on the repairs. I am mechanical natured as well, so like to see the people that do with the least in tool investment.
Thanks for watching.
Hello Gordon... just found your channel and I`ve been binge watching your truck repair vids... you remind me of my family.... we do all our repairs in house. When I started watching the 60 rebuild and saw you were outside during inclement weather while working.... I said to myself "I guess I`d better suck it up a little" seeing how I just rebuilt the cat engine in my dump truck in the WARM GARAGE bitching that the half seasoned wood wasn`t burning so great!! My hat is off to you my friend.... great vids... you explain the whole ride as best as you can....awesome!! Keep`em coming!
Welcome aboard. Always fixing something around here, a lot of big truck all the way down to chainsaws and everything in between and not just mechanical but home and grounds keeping repair too.
Gordon Hearing you talk ,And seeing your old school thinking . Brings back great memories Of my dad
Gordon I LOVE THE GOODY TWO SHOE'S COMMENT.......... Just wanted to say thank you for your videos. I have a small shop in Burlington WI. I have a few trucks. I can't retain a mechanic at the shop. They either are liars, lazy, don't show up for work etc etc, So I started repairing stuff myself. And I 'm not a mechanic. So I searched CZcams and started watching your videos. I subscribed a couple years ago. I love the way you get creative like the plywood. I created my own CZcams channel because of the way u help us. I wanted to help people. THANK U GORDON
Thanks for watching Kurt. Good luck with your channel.
@@57bagre thank u Gordon. And I will continue to watch yours as I learn. Take care and be safe
I have been a mechanic for 20 years. I have probably this job 200 times at DDC dealership. Continue watching this type of videos instead of paying for a good mechanic.
Looks like a great job, do well. Take the oil pan off to support at that stage for motor mounts. With trans in no need to take pan off. Yes those mounts are gonna be a pain to burn out. But it makes for a better ride. Thanks for the video.
Great Job Gordon You Did The Job Just as I Would Have I Usually Pack the Backside Of the Seal Also To Prevent the Spring From Popping Out During Installation 😀😎👍🏼 Superbly Done
Thanks Chris.
Well done Gordon! (Of course!)
Coincidentally I just replaced the rear main... on my S-15. LOL, a wee bit smaller.
Try not to sweat the critics, complainers will be complainers, but negative people don't get things done.
The trolls are far and few between. I block some of them from commenting. I hope your seal job went ok.
Great job. Again learned a new trick with the plywood jig.
I still have the piece of plywood I used for the transmission rear seal a few years back before I started videos.
Being a former tech at a stealership, i like to do repairs according to the proper directions/steps with the proper tools, so the job can be done right the first time. It will save you time n money in the long run.
I really do love your videos dude.
Great job on the seal. Hey whatever works is best. Not everyone can have the perfect tool for every job..
Why buy it for a one time use, I cut that piece of wood in a fraction of the time it would take me to buy the kit if I could just go and buy it somewhere, that kit would have to be ordered and then pay how much?
Thank you for the video, very informative
I need to take off my bell housing on my semi because I failed to change the carrier bearings so from all the vibration, the 12 bolts that connect the tranny to the bellhousing(engine) broke off. How do I hold the engine in place to remove the bellhousing?
Did replacing the rear main seal stop the oil from coming out in between the block and the front bell housing?
Goody two shoes that's a saying I haven't heard in a while, you got it done with what you got to work with.
It gets revived on this channel with all the "smart alec know it alls"
Your the freaking man gordan!!!!
Thanks for watching.
Thank you for taking the time
Job well done ! The only thing you didn't show was tightening the fasteners that hold the front of the bell housing to the back of the engine block. It would have been interesting to see if any of them turned much.
Nothing to see, they moved no more than a 1/16" not because they're loose but because I over tightened a bit.
The back of the motor needs to be sealed. The bols seat into the block. But around the bolts is wear i believe your getting weeping. The quick way to fix it would be to remove the bolts and clean them up. Put some sealer on the bolts and up by the head of the bolt. Does it look like your getting oil on the other side of the bellhousing.
That is a neat trick with the hole in the plywood.
Thanks for watching.
You probably should have just replaced the motor mounts, they are probably causing flex and putting pressure on the transmission and or the rear main. Either way you run the risk of cracking a bell housing when the motor torques over.
Easy to say when you're not under the gun to get back to work like I was.
yep im replacing both bell housing and fly wheel housing right now bell housing is cracked and flywheel housing has actually sheered off the four bolts that held motor mount to it because it went to long jumping up and down with no rubber to qushion it
I recently had my transmission replaced on a 07 Freightliner Columbia. I had no leaks prior to getting my transmission replaced. Now that’s it’s replaced, I “all of a sudden” have an oil leak under the hood and near where my transmission was replaced. I looked up and down with a flashlight to find where this leak was coming from but can’t figure it out. What may that be? Someone please help
Great idea using the wood to push the seal in
Thanks for watching.
Great video
Thanks for watching.
If you had to do it over without filming how long do you think you could do the job in?
Well, if I had to do it again on my truck, the first thing I would do is cut out the shifter hole and make it into a removable access area about 12" by 16" and then I would have to try to leave the clutch in the tranny like the comments are saying. If I get away with that I might do it in 8 hours. But I haven't modified the shifter hole yet, that will take a couple of hours to do.
I like that idea of a hunk of plywood I usually use a piece of one by or two by or a brass drift. What do you use for degreaser besides elbow grease?
Brake cleaner
It would be hard to live without brake cleaner.
Was that really a crank sleeve? I've don't doubt it was but i've seen new seals come with a tapered plastic sleeve to lip the seal over the edge of the crank to ensure it doesn't get damaged on the way on, probably more useful on cranks that are near flush with the bellhousing.
Already there. Flywheel housing leaking and motor mounts shot. Best time to replace.
Can you tell me how much that job ended up costing? I have same problem.
Would have taken about 40 mins tops to replace the rear engine rubbers if you have new ones in hand. Just a quick torch and a jack under the flywheel housing. Would have been the time to do those.
I support it on t oil pan bolts
That frecking awesome job
Thanks for watching.
Hey guys.
I got a nifty tool for installing the new seal. Your wife will be passed. You have been warned.... use a 3/4 quart revere ware pot. It is perfect. The seal goes in quite easily. We put a little lube on the contact edges. I cannot put a seal in dry. That makes absolutely no sense to me.
Make sure you measure the distance from the edge of the seal to the edge of the crank. You don t want to put it in to deep.
Hope this helps
Nice job, was really wondering what method you were going to use too pull that old seal out!
I was wondering too!
That's my go to method. I do pre-drill with an 1/8" bit though. I find that if I drill two spots I never need the second. Drill one, and I need the second.
You don’t need to apply sealant on the gasket ?
I saw my Mecaniec apply seals !!!!
I have a few pics of the 3rd Box remove this morning. If you have a contact I'll be happy to send you the pics. It a open back and you actual went as far as you would want to go.
Should of resealed the bell housing while you were at it
Wish you were my neighbor
awesome video as always gordon!
Thanks, I forgot your name again since I rarely hear from you.
hey gordon, the names cody...yeah i hear you im always watching your videos but rarely have time to leave a comment with life being as busy as it is...its nice to see that your channel is growing, best wishes!
Sr you have to do again the big just for not replacing that seal with the clutch all together.
If that seals got 1,500,000 miles on it you should put it under glass and show your friends
They wont let you off long enogh?? Are you not an owner operator? Or a company driver
Of course I can refuse to work without losing my job but they too have a job to do and can't do it without good dependable help. I think I practice a good balance between maintenance on my equipment for what it is and needs to be ready to do and co working with my employers.
Where you out of?
Have you ever found why it was leaking oil frrom the flywheel housing ?
yep, seal between block and housing. I just cleaned it good and put silicone on and it's ok now.
@@57bagre i just bought my first truck getting it ready for otr but im having same problem i gone swap the clutch ! I been watching your videos,, thanks very helpfull !👍👍👍
holy crap ..!!there is no machined "stop" for the seal ..??whats that broken off pin on the rh side ..??thanks for posting all these useful videos, Gordon .. :)(
I could have lost the seal inside.
Good job
Thanks Valentin.
Thanks boss
Wish I would of seen this video 2weeks ago. Got an rear main seal job done and it still leaks
I hope you get to the bottom of the leak. Thanks Mark.
It’s not your rear main. It’s probably your bell housing.
See the long post I wrote in the comments section.
@ 3:05 she started to cry a little
That leaking that your seeing between the bell housing is the back cover seal. Just like the front has a front cover so too does the back. You have to take the bell housing off to get to the back cover.
I know about that but it's not worth the size of the job to fix it that way. Since there's no pressure on the leak, I just cleaned the seal area with brake cleaner and siliconed it on the outside, problem solved.
Rear structure needs to be resealed.
Are you offering to take care of that for me???
It’s a wear ring
There's a bell housing seal
Dzevad Husic no seal. It’s metal on metal. Just a gasket maker called “detriot anaerobic gasket maker”. There is a specific part number to it. But yes. The bell housing is leaking.
Want to see re install clutch
part 4 in the series