Rear main seal leak..

[Gumby92]

I bought my fox in december and it has been in the garage since... it was really nice the other day and I pulled it out and took it for a ride and put 5 miles on it... well there was a very small puddle of oil on the floor... Now the question I have cause this is the first Mustang for me do i have rear main seal changed or do i wait until i change the clutch like i was told by someone else? clutch is smooth so i dont think that will need to be changed anytime soon... Also i was told it may seal itself back up once it is driven and not sitting... I guess i am new to all of this... not like my new vehicles where they go right to the dealer for warranty work... All suggestions greatly appreciated

[ToplessPony94]

If it's a small leak I would suggest living with it for a while. Since the car is new to you, you may find that there are other things you want to take care of while doing the rear main. I've never known a rear main seal to "fix itself". Are you planning to try to do it yourself or have someone do it for you? I know a few people who claim that if you loosten the engine mounts and use a wooden wedge between the engine and firewall you can create enough room to do the job. Personally, I wouldn't know - a rear main seal is one of those things I would want to do on a lift and I don't have one, so I've never done one on a 5.0.

[pony98]

Hey gumby topless has a good point with living with it for a while. I have to second on using a lift. I have done a rear main with a friend on his old car and did it in his driveway. Still hear the arguments to this day. Lol. A lift is the way to go so you don't have to worry about crawling on the ground. Sockets and bolts rolling all around the place. The best is laying down and having you head resting on a pea size pebble. Oh that hurts. Can you pass me this. Lol. Just my input.

[Mustang5L5]

I've never known a rear main seal to "fix itself". .

They kinda do when you first install them. I've known them to leak for 50-100 miles and then just stop right after new installation.

The one on my car leaked for 200 or so miles after I installed it. Was all set to tear the trans out to repair it again and it just stopped. It's been 2 years since and no more leaks.

Not the first time I've seen that happen either.


I did mine on jack stands (along with a trans swap) it wasn't too bad of a job, but not something I'd want to do ONLY for the rear main seal. I'd do a clutch/flywheel/throw out bearing job too while there.