blown rear main seal

[blakkat]

ok, so my clutch has been slipping and i think my rear main seal is blown, i can see a small amount of oil where the trans mates up to the engine. and the slip is intermittent, im assuming caused by oil on the flywheel. why would it blow at 20k miles? should i be worried about zzb like keith, because it seems like im having the same issues he did leading up to his blown motor

[himurax13]

Well I just had my clutch replaced at 49,000 miles and my rear main seal was blown. I still had 20% of clutch life left.

[Lex]

The leak may just be from the oil pan. which is far more common at that mileage.

[jhample]

i have 33k on mine and the rear seal went, oil pan leaking, ruined clutch and flywheel from too much oil in it... headed to the shop now to see the damage

[speed14]

Originally Posted by jhample i have 33k on mine and the rear seal went, oil pan leaking, ruined clutch and flywheel from too much oil in it... headed to the shop now to see the damage

Post up results. thinking this might be the reason i'm seeing clutch slippage at 36k.

[Lex]

Are you guys seeing a lot of crankcase pressure/blowby?

[jhample]

I've only owned it for 8k so this damage is likely from the previous owner, but the mechanic asked me how often I go to the track. I said never and he was surprised. I also had a blown pmm too so we are assuming that that extra movement combined with too much torque from launching at the track moved stuff around allowing the leak. I never noticed any clutch slippage but after seeing it out of the car I'm surprised it was working. The rubber between the two flywheel pieces was completely rotted and wobbly. The Oem flywheel is about 1200. Luckily we found a used one that we can put in for 400. Total I'm looking at about $2200 with parts and labor. If you have a 2011 you should still be in warrantee. I'm just out of it with a 2007

DON'T BUY A USED MODIFIED CAR!!!

[jpshotya]

well i just had an oil change done.. he saw leaking at the seal also. 34k mile 2010 ms3.. i can assume its covered under warranty?

[himurax13]

Originally Posted by Lex Are you guys seeing a lot of crankcase pressure/blowby?

I was seeing quite a bit of blowby/high crankcase pressure. I think the problem stems from the inadequate PCV system that has a difficult time dealing with 50%+ more boost than stock.

[Lex]

Engine movement won't cause a rear main seal leak. Rear mains leak due to too much crankcase pressure or just wear over time.

You guys are diagnosing rear main seals by pulling off the oil pan and seeing oil coming from above it right? Because leaking around the oil pan is most likely the oil pan RTV.

[himurax13]

My mechanic replaced my rear main seal when he installed my new clutch. The seals were basically folded out. There was still a bunch of oil in that area that he was not able to clean out so I am closely monitoring my oil levels to see if the new seal is holding up. The amount of leakage seems to be dying down but the oil pain RTV may be an additional culprit.

I am also going to be monitoring how much oil my vented catch can will be catching. It was alot at first but I think that was due to the fact that I did not have the lines set up to drain directly into the catch can. Since there is no vacuum, basically only gravity and excess crank pressure will move oil into the catch can. I am ordered a straight 10 AN fitting from SSP so that I can have the PCV drain directly into the can.

So far everything seems OK and my car seems to like running without oil gushing into the intake .

[jpshotya]

well the guy said my oil levels were good , just a little oil around the seal.. so before i bring it back to the stealership .. ill monitor the levels now that i know about it. I was just shocked to see that kind of issue on a low mile car that has not seen the track or constant beatings

[speed14]

Originally Posted by Lex Are you guys seeing a lot of crankcase pressure/blowby?

Lex, what is the best indicator of excessive crankcase pressure of these cars, would it be an accumulation of oil in the intake tract comming from the PCV line?

[Lex]

Originally Posted by speed14 Lex, what is the best indicator of excessive crankcase pressure of these cars, would it be an accumulation of oil in the intake tract comming from the PCV line?

Generally oil through the intake/TIP crankcase vent.

[himurax13]

Originally Posted by speed14 Lex, what is the best indicator of excessive crankcase pressure of these cars, would it be an accumulation of oil in the intake tract comming from the PCV line?

Or your dipstick popping out and oil flooding your engine bay more than once ...

From what I can tell this usually caused by the breather vent on the valve cover has some blockage or overfilling your oil.