Timken/National Rear Main Seal
#1
Timken/National Rear Main Seal
Has anyone installed a Timken or National rear main seal? They are the type that has the wings (for lack of a better term) attached to each end of one of seal halves. One half is shaped like a "C" and the other is like a "C" with tails attached to each end. My question is how is the half with the wings installed? I assume it goes into the main bearing cap, but my cap does not have grooves to accommodate where the wings are located. Are the wings supposed to be trimmed away during installation? Both Rock Auto and Autozone show that this type of seal fits my vehicle, 1997 Dakota V6 manual trans---at least that's what the photo of the part shows. I have not actually seen the part. It could be a stock photo that is different from the actual part. I have already replaced the rear main seal and now it leaks worse than before. I've been second-guessing myself to figure out what I did wrong. One thing I didn't do was to offset the ends of the seal about 3/8" from the mating surfaces of the engine block and bearing cap, as the instructions from the new seal recommended. I simply installed it in the original factory position, flush with the engine block and bearing cap. After I did the job, I also read on a message board to put some anaerobic sealant on the ends of the seal halves where they mate together, but I don't know if that is a good idea to prevent leaks. I installed a Fel-Pro seal, which matches the factory seal exactly. I've been thinking that the Timken or National seal might work better to prevent leaks when I tear it apart the next time. I'm attaching pictures of the Fel-Pro and Timken seals. I appreciate any help. Thanks!
#2
#4
I'm pretty darn sure its the RMS. It's leaking straight down the inspection cover in the bell housing from the crankshaft hub instead of leaking down the oil pan. When I changed the RMS, I used a new oil pan gasket and sealed it very well. I used RTV in all the sharp turns on the oil pan gasket, on both the engine block side and oil pan side of the gasket.
#5