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Have a car that has a leak when run hard. Not sure if its the oil pan or rear main seal. Didn't see any obvious problems with the pan gasket when I dropped the pan. Removed the tranny today and found this. Just wondering on opinions on if others with more rear main seal experience think it needs changing. There is a slight dampness but the frost plug on the bottom looks clean and dry. From the red dykem on the heads of the tension bolts, it appears the engine has been opened up at some point.
Your flywheel looks fairly dry, I'd leave it alone. The rear main seal would require you to remove the flywheel and it's main nut (*360+ft/lbs), the keyway, and you need to torque it back to that, and this appears to be in the car. Not saying it can't be done with the engine in place, but it won't be easy.
The transmission bell housing tends to collect any oil vapor, and if the rear main seal were really leaking, you'd know it. Just keep an eye on it,
The flywheel is pretty clean and dry. Never thought about it, but it does make sense that fluid from a leaking seal would find its way to the flywheel and be flung to the outside. Thanks. I cleaned up the face of the rear iron and will take a picture for future comparison.
Glad to hear this is prob not the issue! PITA as described with engine-in!!
My 'mystery leak' along pan, and back over, well, everything underneath! - turns out to be already known (and I thought pretty subtle...?) mid-iron leak. So little it does not even register on dipstick, in use. But undercarriage sez otherwise. I will 'diaper' the iron, clean up the mess (again) and live with it till the motor is replaced or rebuilt...
Had similar issue from using Atkins rear main seal. Big difference between OEM Mazda orange seal and the brown rx8 seal Atkins sells.. Bought two from Atkins and both would leak after a few months. I bought one from mazdatrix and got a. Mazda OEM orange seal. Haven't had a leak since.
Since I believe this engine has been apart before, Holdfast's post got me wondering. I turned the flywheel to get a better look and can confirm it has the OEM orange seal. Pretty handy way to confirm a leak or not too for future reference. I'd imagine you'd get the same access through the top inspection plate and the flywheel gap at the top. Will have to check that out.
In a pinch I had to get a front and rear main seal from autozone yesterday. Customer need the car done asap. Local Mazda dealer had nothing in stock. Besides being expensive as hell $35 for the rear. It's better than the akins seal it replaced. Blue copy of the oem rx7 orange seal. But time will tell how it holds up.
