Yo guys, I have a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 Sport with the 5.2, 61,000 miles. Ive had the rear main replaced in it twice now in the last 6,000 miles. Is this a common problem on this truck, or is the mechanic that is doing it at the dealership doing something wrong? I had an 85 Jeep Cj-7 before this and the rear main didnt go out until almost 200,000 miles were on the odometer, so what gives?

Thanks
JIM

 

Jim,

For what its worth, I have a 98 Ram with the 5.9 and the rear main may be leaking, but with 130K miles on it, I wouldn't call that a defect by any stretch. I'm just not worrying about it until I have to go in there for something else, or the tranny goes (knock on wood). As for why yours is having this problem, the only 2 reason I can think of are that the seal is being damaged when installed, OR when the seal was first replaced, the crankshaft was somehow and someway nicked, causing the seal to wear badly. I must stress that I could be wrong about these reasons though.

You could also check the TSB's and recalls here and look for any references on the Rear Main. There may be one on it.

 

My rear main was leaking at 216k miles, and when I had it replaced my mechanic told me it may start to leak again due to the crank being really worn and had excessive play. At 61K for miles, I would start looking for another reason. If I remember correctly, my mechanic told me he used an aditional something or another to create a better seal for the 2 piece gasket.

 

I know for the front crank seals on Chebbys, there is a sleeve that can be placed over the Harmonic Balancer that will fix the worn areas of those parts. As for a rear crank, maybe there is something of that type that can be put there.