b5 S4, Cracked block?

[Silk90]

what are the chances of it? i have been loseing coolant horrably lately and i went to take a look at where it is coming from, it seems to be coming from one of the cresent opeanings in the bell housing where it contacts the block.

i have not done any tests simply tried to look while car was running from top and bottem vews.....

If it is a cracked block i think imma just try to go trade it in for a c5 vette.

[RedRocketS4]

rear main seal

[JDM EJ1 95]

rear main leaking coolant?

[RedRocketS4]

when i changed mine at the same time as my flywheel, it threw up coolant all over me... : )... I thought it was an oil seal as well, but after looking at the bolt pattern and the gasket it came with, i figured it was a coolant seal... and it is

this guy

http://www.ecstuning.com/stage/edpd/...viewimage.html

[2kblacks4]

Yes, that is a real main seal.

[Silk90]

i guess thats a possability.... how difficult is it to pull the trans & such? I'm leaning towards the whole F it trade it in already although don't wanna be upside down in payments. but then from a differant point of view i could be almost paid off taking in account all the parts ive had to buy and repair.

will do some further diagnosing and let you guys know whats up, thanx for the quick feedback.

[RedRocketS4]

Don't trade

To check to see if it’s your rear main seal, jack up your car, and find where the tranny meets the block. There should be 2 holes there that you can get a flashlight and look into them. See if there is any fluid coming from the block side of the flywheel. If so, there is your problem. If not, your problem might be elsewhere.

I just got finished replacing my flywheel/clutch/pp and I replaced a lot of parts in the process. I’m not 100% complete with replacing the parts, but everything is fresh in my mind. The rear main seal was one of the parts along with some other upgrades. So, pulling the tranny off is definitely doable in a 3 day period. With your car on jack stands. I would highly recommend investing in a transmission jack, at least 3 ton jackstands, and a ton of rubber gloves. I would also recommend picking up a ratcheting wrench set (with at least 17mm and 13mm wrenches that have a slight angle. Home depot has them for relatively cheap - $50) and some 12 pt bits. You need to:

Remove downpipes
Drop sub-frame
Detach and move drive shaft from rear of tranny
Detach drive axles
Detach tranny mounts
Disconnect shifter linkage, clutch slave cylinder, and all connections
Unbolt tranny from back of block
Remove flywheel, clutch, and pressure plate
Remove and replace rear main seal

With that said, I would highly recommend to source the rear main seal, upgraded shifter linkage, upgraded shifter bushing and any other parts you want to upgrade or replace (like tranny mounts, slave cylinder, etc) from Jason at JHM. He has incredible customer service and gives you some of the best tips you could find. The_Jerbel (Jordan ) is good people too… he was on his honey moon when I did the work, but he’s a very helpful guy.

While you’re in there and you have your downpipes removed, you might as well gut them and move the o2 bungs to make some piggie pipes.

Is your clutch old? Replace it and DEFINITELY replace your throwout bearing even if it looks ok… it can cause huge headaches.

Sorry for the lengthy post