rear main seal material

[whitehorse]

Upon ordering a rear main seal i see they have two different kinds...viton and PTFE. The PTFE that i ordered from rockauto is junk, do not buy that. The PTFE looks and feels like cheap plastic and i couldn't get it to go on without taring it up. Has anybody else had this experience? I got the fel-pro brand too cause they have good stuff.....wrong....

 

[icanfixall]

The factory PTFE is a twin lip seal with a speedi sleeve. Your not supposed to remove the sleeve from the seal. So the directions say to install it as one piece and do it dry. No oil or grease on the seal. Well I didn't do it that way. I installed the sleeve first with aviation cement. Then use the same sealant on the metal part of the seal and installed it in the back plate. Then it slid easily on the crank. This is the seal I used. F2TZ-6701-A

 

[whitehorse]

I tried and failed...it ripped....so i ordered a national brand viton seal. That's what was in the back plate when it took it off. Part#3893V The fel-pro had a plastic install sleeve...is that what your talking about?

 

[icanfixall]

Yes. That install part did not work for me. The plate was flexing when I would try to hammer in the seal. I did not have the oil pan on at the time and feel if it was in place the plate probably would have been more solid and the hammering would have worked better. Thats why I used the installer to push the sleeve on the crank. and then used a different installer to set the seal to the plate. Then it was easy fitting the seal over the sleeve. I even greased it so it would slide on easier and no leaks with about 20,000 miles on it. This new seal material installs dry of the crank. It appears to be a better seal than the original single lip seal.