Rear main seal brands

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buck91

buck91

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What's the best choice for rear main seal brands? I'm slowly gearing up to do a sela job and replace the clutch disc on my mustang due to oil and atf leaking. Have seen the following options but I'm sure there are many others....

Ford/oem
Fel-pro
Victor reinz
timken
National

Not sure which brands local stores offer but online pricing is pretty good right now.
 
Buy based on seal material and then brand name. Fel-Pro rear seals are sometimes not the best by a long shot but are bought because of brand recognition.
Look in the description of the seal, many times it will tell you the material. Look for one that is made of fluoroelastomer not Nitrile or material listed as "rubber". SKF and National make some nice seals.

When doing this job be sure to inspect the crank for a wear groove made by the seal, if there is one you will need an inexpensive repair sleeve. If you do need the sleeve coat the inside of the sleeve with Indian Head to prevent a leak between the sleeve and the crank.
 
Thanks trav! Looking at them myself for the saturn. I may buy the Victor Reinz engine set, but National is the only seal that states its made with fluoroelastomer. Especially since its a manual trans, for $4 I'm adding it to the cart!
 
How inexpensive is the typical sleeve? Just curious because I was taught to move the seal in or out a bit so the lip wouldn't land on the groove. That is free
grin2.gif
 
Around $30 for this size. How are you moving the seal in or out? You cant seat it any deeper and its not good practice not to seat the seal fully.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Buy based on seal material and then brand name. Fel-Pro rear seals are sometimes not the best by a long shot but are bought because of brand recognition.
Look in the description of the seal, many times it will tell you the material. Look for one that is made of fluoroelastomer not Nitrile or material listed as "rubber". SKF and National make some nice seals.

When doing this job be sure to inspect the crank for a wear groove made by the seal, if there is one you will need an inexpensive repair sleeve. If you do need the sleeve coat the inside of the sleeve with Indian Head to prevent a leak between the sleeve and the crank.



Sleeve on a rear main?
Never have seen one.
Front main, yes.
 
Sometimes a company will put their name on a seal, but use a part manufactured by "NOK."

If I ever saw a replacement part with "NOK" on it, that is what I would buy. That is where Toyota and Nissan get most of their seals.
 
Originally Posted By: Charlie1935
Originally Posted By: Trav
Buy based on seal material and then brand name. Fel-Pro rear seals are sometimes not the best by a long shot but are bought because of brand recognition.
Look in the description of the seal, many times it will tell you the material. Look for one that is made of fluoroelastomer not Nitrile or material listed as "rubber". SKF and National make some nice seals.

When doing this job be sure to inspect the crank for a wear groove made by the seal, if there is one you will need an inexpensive repair sleeve. If you do need the sleeve coat the inside of the sleeve with Indian Head to prevent a leak between the sleeve and the crank.



Sleeve on a rear main?
Never have seen one.
Front main, yes.



Not at all an uncommon thing.
 
Originally Posted By: Charlie1935

Sleeve on a rear main?
Never have seen one.
Front main, yes.


Well no not if your dealing with an old 2 piece rope seal that was the norm when i was a kid.
Modern seals are one piece and can wear a groove just like the one piece front can.
 
Originally Posted By: andyd
How inexpensive is the typical sleeve? Just curious because I was taught to move the seal in or out a bit so the lip wouldn't land on the groove. That is free
grin2.gif



I think he is talking about the 2 piece seal, you can off set each one so they don't line up with the cap and block mating surfaces. He is thinking about it in a different dimension.

qScLrGp.jpg
 
Last edited:
I see that, its a modern day take on the rope seal but ow do you move it in or out on the raised channel it sits on?
We use to do the old rope jobs with a Chinese Finger.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
I see that, its a modern day take on the rope seal but ow do you move it in or out on the raised channel it sits on?
We use to do the old rope jobs with a Chinese Finger.


I see no way to move it off a worn groove.
 
Charlie you probably remember the old rope seals. The last one i did was on a 69 Riviera 430 ci a couple of years ago, rope seal front and rear.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Charlie you probably remember the old rope seals. The last one i did was on a 69 Riviera 430 ci a couple of years ago, rope seal front and rear.


I sure do! And the cork gaskets.
 
Most new seal failures are because of poor, improper installation or a worn mating surface not the particu;iar brand.
 
Originally Posted By: artificialist
Sometimes a company will put their name on a seal, but use a part manufactured by "NOK."

If I ever saw a replacement part with "NOK" on it, that is what I would buy. That is where Toyota and Nissan get most of their seals.


NOK and Freudenberg make a good chunk of seals used by OEMs. As a matter of fact, they do work together quite a bit. I've seen another Japanese supplier as OEM for Subaru as well.

Most aftermarket seals are sourced from China or Taiwan - KOK seems to be common. Fel-Pro doesn't make their own seals and some gaskets either.
 
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