Anyone in the UK in this chat forum got information on an estimate price to have a rear main seal changed out using an independent specialist, without changing the clutch also?
Estimate info I’m getting is anything between £600.00 to £1200.00, not including VAT
I'm not in the UK, but I think those are reasonable estimates. To do this job you have to remove the transmission, which is a fairly lengthy operation.
I'm curious why you wouldn't change the clutch while the transmission is off - it's an easy job once you've gotten that far. Unless of course you know the clutch is fairly fresh.
I had my indie replace my RMS and while he had the trans out he removed a small seal surrounding the
IMS
, allowing for a better oil wash of the bearing. I had read a recommendation about that a while back and he was on board with doing it. While you are searching for a shop to do your RMS, do your own research about the
IMS
seal and ask your mechanic about it. Your car, your, call but now is the time if you decide to go that route. This is found at L&N Engineering website.
When an IMS failure occurs, or more specifically the ball-bearing or bearing support fails, the intermediate shaft is damaged beyond the point of being serviceable, but moreover, debris from the failure contaminates the entire engine, requiring a complete teardown and rebuild to recover from such a failure. In worst-case scenarios, the cam timing can also be thrown off, causing valve to piston contact, and in some cases, even lead to a failure that requires replacement of the engine. In that case, the engine will not be accepted as a core, requiring the purchase of another core or to pay an ever-increasing core charge on top of the cost of the replacement engine. Aside from the pro-active approach of replacing the IMS bearing prior to such a failure, prevention and early detection are some of the steps that can be taken to try to minimize the risk of a costly engine failure.
One attempt at extending the life of the original IMS bearing removing the grease seal off the factory intermediate shaft bearings for years to better improve their lubrication and cooling, as is the case with
model year 2006 through 2008 engines
, as that’s the only preventative measure that can be taken that is cost effective as the other option is to tear down the engine completely to access the intermediate shaft, for which upgraded IMS bearings are available for installation at this point.
Why would you pay for all that work done and not change everything while it's apart. Do the clutch and
IMS
too.
The reason for the expense (and everyone telling you to get it done at the same time) is because the RMS sits behind the flywheel. You have to remove the transmission, pressure plate, clutch disc and then flywheel to get to it. That's 90% of the parts of a clutch job.
Actually - that's 100% of the parts needing to be removed for a clutch job if you're replacing the flywheel (some do - some don't, some need it - some don't.). The flywheel adds a bit of work to get to the seal, but worth it. 90% of the labor expense is covered doing the clutch (if flywheel isn't getting replaced or resurfaced.)
