Rear Crank Seal, Real PITA?

[thefox311]

So guys I havent been on here in long time.  Did some searching through the forums for some info about the quickest way to replace that rear crank seal.  I can see from the Service manual there are two ways of doing it, one is to remove the transmission (in my case a nv5600 and transfer case) all the way down to the bell housing and do it from there.  The second method is to remove the bell housing completely (8 bolts) and then pull the crank shaft oil retainer.  Im thinking I need to do the second method since Im in need of a new pan gasket as well.  Little extra time involved since I would have to remove the starter and misc parts, but I think it would be worth it since im in that deep to just do it.  All this stems from, neglecting to change it out when I did the clutch at 200,000 miles (currently have 231,954 miles on it).  Lol at the time I thought, eh its barely wet (lol now I kick myself in the *** for not changing it).  Now it leaks like a pig, regardless it has to get done now.  Do you guys think I should end up replacing that clutch since there has been oil flinging around in there?  The clutch isnt slipping nor chattering and no issues with it thus far.  Thoughts on the clutch and are there any gotcha's I need to know about before performing such a task. I kinda figure if i need to do the oil pan Im going to have to go the second route and pull the bell housing to do it are there any need to knows about removing that oil pan as well? It looks like a tight fit between the cross member and the middle of the pan.  And i see that Moparman uses the cummins gasket sets, where did he go about getting those from?  I really dont feel like getting raked over the coals for gaskets from the dodge dealer.

 

 

 

Any help would be awesome, thanks guys!

 

 

MoparMan the site looks awesome man keep up the good work!

 

 

-thefox311

Edited October 6, 2015 by thefox311

[gh0stman]

If its not slipping, I would atleast clean it up and make sure your surfaces are still good.

[Mopar1973Man]

As for you project. I would drop the transmission so I could inspect the clutch and related parts. Then you can get a get view of what your doing for the seal replacement on the crank. No matter what you need to pull the flywheel to access the rear main seal. While the transmission is out you'll have better access to replacing the pan gasket.

[dripley]

Not sure what the FSM says about removal but the bell housing has to come off with the tranny, they are bolted together form the inside. I have had mine off twice and never had to remove the starter either. I have never removed the flywheel however. Maybe it is in the way of that???

[TFaoro]

Pan gasket is a job... make sure you have the ability to pick up one side of the motor or you'll never get the pan out past the suction tube.

 

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying, but either way trans and clutch will have to come out. From there you can decide if the bell housing is necessary. If you are buying the seal ahead of time make sure you get one with a sleeve. It's likely the crank is grooved.

[Buzzinhalfdozen]

Pan gasket is a job... make sure you have the ability to pick up one side of the motor or you'll never get the pan out past the suction tube.

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying, but either way trans and clutch will have to come out. From there you can decide if the bell housing is necessary. If you are buying the seal ahead of time make sure you get one with a sleeve. It's likely the crank is grooved.

Since Google doesn't want to answer my question maybe you can. Can I buy a sleeve separately and use a stock cummins seal? In other words is the ID of seal on the seal/sleeve combo slightly bigger to fit over the sleeve?

[dave110]

Hmmmm, I seem to remember talk of this before but I don't remember now. I bought the speedy sleeve as a set and it came with the seal and the tool for installing the sleeve. The sleeve is only maybe .015 thick, but I think that may be too much for the stock seal. As for Cummins parts i'm not sure who your dist. would be in Arizona. I would google Cummins and it should tell you. If you need to mail order you can get from anywhere. The one in Harrisburg, PA is an east coast warehouse and always had anything I needed in stock.

[TFaoro]

You buy it as a little "kit" from cummins. It has the sleeve, seal (made for that thickness of sleeve), and the installation tool.