Replacing the Rear Main Seal ?

Jaysdogjazz

Member
:
2003 Mazda Protege5
Alight here is my situation, the car I bought had the motor swapped prior to purchase. I have now put on about 300 miles on the car and about a 100 miles ago I noticed oil on the ground. I have provided some pictures of what I have found.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-...AAIE/x-vzevLPKMY/s640/IMG_20120401_133321.jpg

So I contacted the shop that installed the motor for the previous owner and he took a look at it. He was convinced because the transmission was wet from previous leaking and the new motor looked dry that the oil leak was a transmission problem. He cleaned up the underside of the motor with degreaser and pressure washed the underside of the motor. He did say to keep an eye on it and in a couple of weeks I should be able to tell where it comes from. Guess what all I had to do was go home and take a look the next morning.

What I am finding is the oil is coming out from where the transmission and Engine come together.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-...AAIk/ZcM5ahNHqG0/s640/IMG_20120401_141819.jpg

So to verify what fluid it was I did a comparison of the fluids to verify engine oil vs ATF
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-...AAJE/bSN9TzyJ04Q/s640/IMG_20120401_142031.jpg
" Yes I know the tranny fluid color is really light and needs to be replaced. "

After looking at the service manuals and parts manuals I have come to the conclusion that the shop that did the motor install didn't replace the rear main seal and that is where the oil is leaking from. The service manual suggests it can be replaced without having to pull the engine but I do need to drop the transmission.

Does anyone have any other suggestions of where the oil could be coming from?

My concern is that the shop might not be willing to repair it for me being I didn't hire him to do the motor swap. Even though the motor has only been in the car for 2 months and we have only put 500 miles on the car since the install. So so much for the idea of a 90 day warranty right?

How much should it cost to hire someone to do this or how difficult will this be with limited tools?

IMG_20120401_133321.webpIMG_20120401_141819.webpIMG_20120401_142031.webpIMG_20120401_141806.webp
 
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Without pulling off the tranny you're going to have a hard time figuring out where the leak is coming from. If you could throw some dye in either the tranny or engine oil that would give you a pretty concrete answer.

The rear main seal isn't usually replaced because it generally doesn't leak...
 
CheeseHelmet thanks for your input. Currently the car is at my local Mazda dealer they are backing me up on the theory that that is where it is coming from.
 
Well they'd know best :-)

It's a shame though, all that work to replace a ~$100 part...

I am in the same boat on this one. I got the same leak, part is 30 bucks but to get fixed by mechanic, who has to drop transmission its going to be 500 or so to repair. Got to get it done, need my car back up and running in top shape to get to work and back. its my baby, it must be done!
 
I had the local Mazda dealer do it. I wanted the OEM seal in and I wanted to have Mazda go over the car being I just got the car. they gave me a good deal or at least that's what I believed cause they do all the work on the wife's warrantied CX-7. They charged me I think $ 550 - $ 600. I think the lowest offer I got was like $ 400 to have it repaired at a Mazda / Import shop. Good luck
 
If you're already spending the big bucks back there, I would spend a little more and replace the rear motor mount, as it will go.
 

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