Possible Rear seal leak (not sure ) second opinion pls

[xdarkox]

Hello mazda owners,

Im the owner of mazda protege 2000 ES 1.8 with 140k miles AUTOMATIC trans

I was changing my radiator and transmision filter and oil, and during that process for the first time, I noticed small engine oil leak, right

under the bell housing in the drive plate area. Im suspecting on rear main seal, because its right around there.

Here are some pics of it.



I'm pretty sure its engine oil. At this point it looks like a big job to me , so I would like if someone can give me some tips and maybe

shortcuts on how is the easiest way to remove auto tranny and repair that rear seal. I can get a hold of a tranny jack for that job. I did many

repairs on my car :Timing belt and water pump, idler, tensioner, drive belts, alternator,plugs and wires, catalytic, IAC,EGR canadian, brakes and

rotors,motor mounts, radiator, tranny filter and oil,O2 sensors,MAF sensor. and few other things,. (this fkin thing never stops).

Few questions I'm not sure of , in order to get to tranny how difficult is to pull wheel hub and all the following components on the way to

tranny.

Do i need to drain tranny ,or it would just stay sealed as I pull it away from the engine together with tranny oil pan attached.

what tools I might need , for example separating ball joint , will I end up tearing apart Cv rubber boots. what about control and steering arm.

And the most important for how long can I let it ride with leaking rear seal. It's already showing some drips on the ground.

Questions are many but I appreciate any advice. How would someone go about this whole thing.

i also have workshop manual for my car and probably all the tools.

[D323]

I'll answer what I can.

Follow the workshop manual. The FSM is floating around out there if not let me know I might can drag it up.

Good impact/air tools should make things much easier. You can usually avoid ball joints if you undo the tie rods, unbolt strut from the hub, and remove the axle nut. You should be able to swing the hub out of the way enough to pull the axles out. Lots of lube and gentle tapping on the axle shaft to help break it loose. Too hard and you will damage the end and not get the hub nut back on. Good idea to do axle seals while there (and grease the inner edge when you R&R them). Easy on the CV boots while pulling apart. If they are dry/cracked at all either get the tool for R&R'ing the boots or get reman axles. While you have it apart is the time to do it, no sense in coming back later.

If the tranny is kept level you shouldn't loose too much fluid. After you unbolt the flexplate from the torque converter you *shouldn't* lose ATF there (only through the axle holes). That being said if you haven't done a transmission service in a while I would take the time to R&R the trans filter and drop fluid to make it a little lighter, but thats just me.

How many drips on the ground? What oil do you use? I was having a problem with some minor seeps when I switched to a Valvoline high mileage and it resolved my problems. Mine were seeps not drips though Just because I like to be thorough... have you cleaned/checked you PCV? If there is pressure in the crankcase it will find the weak link to push oil out of. I used to spray carb cleaner through my PCV valve every other oil change just to make sure it was working properly.

As long as there is enough oil in the motor you can drive for a little while like this... it really just depends on how quickly the leak gets bad enough to make you uncomfortable.

D

[xdarkox]

Well first Thank you for your response, I just replaced my PCV and the grommet that slides into last month, for last for years I have always been using 10w-30 Mobil 1 full synthetic,there are few drops on the ground i can see it slowly accumulating when parked. My tranny was serviced 40k miles ago , and yesterday I replaced all the fluid and the filter. And i also believe that Im going to remove both axles from tranny so i can remove tranny , but there are just so many parts and various gaskets that makes it very complex. Also manny bolts that hold tranny are behind the Catalytic and exaust components , and and some bolts are around tranny and motor mounts. I looked over on youtube a video from a guy that was doing atx to mtx swap on mazda 626 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIjhoBRZDho) , and he had to removed a lot of components.
Also in order to disconnect struts from hub do I need the tool that keeps them compressed

[D323]

Well first Thank you for your response, I just replaced my PCV...
Also in order to disconnect struts from hub do I need the tool that keeps them compressed

No you do not need to compress the springs. You can take those out as a single unit (both strut and spring together) if they are in your way by removing the bolts from the hub and then the nuts under the hood.

Good luck.

[xdarkox]

I gathered all the tools and parts and getting ready to tackle this job, there is one thing though im not sure of , when I remove both drive shafts manual requires some special tool to hold the gears in place,, IS there a alternative to this

[FE3-323]

theres no special tool required. thats just mazda's way of saying in our terms "run a string through the differential to prevent the gears from falling out into the casing"

[Mazda_Powered]

1/2" socket extension is my first choice lol

[97protoLX]

Looks like your rear main is about to go kaput. I had the same thing happen to me in my 97 proto 1.5. Its not hard to do, just have to be strong about it. I had my transmission out in as little as 2 hours. Make sure before you take the trans out, to unbolt the torque converter from the flywheel through the starter (unless there is a small door on the back side of the bellhousing). then when you get the starter off and half shafts out, unbolt three of the motor mounts (rear, drivers side, front) and swing the whole transaxle/engine assembly down. Unbolt the trans and carefully knock it off with a rubber mallot.

after the transmission is out, the flywheel is the last thing you take off and voila the rear main is right there.

Make sure you disconnect each and every possible thing you can before you drop the trans/engine down or you may break sensors. otherwise, its not too bad of a job. Just have to be a strong person and get a extra set of hands too.

[xdarkox]

Aight bro, I got mine confidence back now , Thank You, by the way, I saw on rockauto , there is this little tool for holding flywheel , so you can easier unbolt torque converter ,, shoud I buy it

[D323]

I've never really had a need for one of those, but thats just me. I usually have what I am working on up on a lift at work so its not hard to get at the angle I want.