My Indy mechanic says about $850 to replace the rear main engine seal on my 04 XK8.

Sound about right?

 

I'd shop around. Also try transmission shops. Had mine out twice, second time took about 45 minutes to pull it out, about the same to re-install (first time was the seal, second time was the 'A' drum.) Once out the seal takes a couple minutes to replace. The Lincoln LS seal fit my '98, if the seal number for your '04 is the same as a '98 you can also use the same. Probably cheaper and easier to source. I got mine at NAPA.

Make sure to service the engine's breathing system - read through the stickies at the top of this forum. Between a plugged breathing system and an old, hardened seal one romp on the gas pedal and pooof!, there goes the seal.

BTW, while the transmission is out, consider having the front pump seal, rear output seal and trans fluid changed also. Cheap money spent for preventative measures. Also a great time to change the octopus and heater hoses and heater pump if you've had any issues with it.

 

I had mine replaced about four months ago for $ 700.



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I had a leak and used 1.5 qt. Lucas Oil Stop Leak, which is supposed to swell rubber seals. It's very high viscosity, so I wasn't sure if it really worked, but I have changed the oil out again and the leak appears to be fixed. How long this will last without continuous use I don't know. But I'm not inclined to pull the transmission if not absolutely necessary.

 

Funny but not funny. My XK8 blew something last night as I was driving home. It bellowed smoke out the rear and oil light came on. Luck was on my side as I always carry 5 qts of oil for my Nikasil engine. So it got me further down the road and made it to my shop. It ran fine so I am hoping it was just the seal and was going to search the forums for this.. and question was already here and answered. Car gods so far are on my side. Just hope they stay with me until she is back on the road.

Oh... to add the funny part back in my thought was to go to the car wash first to wash all that oil from the rear of my car before i take it into the shop... does that make me vain?? lol

 

Thanks for the comments guys. Looks to be in the ballpark cost wise. The shop is Becker automotive in Naperville. He's previously worked on my SL500 and 928 and done a good job.

I'm definitely going to have him change the transmission fluid and replace any other easy to get to seals on the transmission while its out. He quoted me $440 for the fluid change using the uberexpensive ZF/Jag fluid ouch!

I am going to look at the crankcase breather items before I pull the trigger on the seal. There is a TSB for the secondary breather describing use of a 3/16 drill to clean out the passageway. However this appears to pertain only to the 4.0 cars as my 4.2 has a totally different secondary breather setup.

 

The Part load Breather takes a 3/32" Drill to clean it. Do not insert the drill too far as there is a Filter under it inside the Valve Cover.

This is the location on a 4.2 Liter Engine:

 

Be careful with mechanic-in-a can repairs. It's not typical for seals to suddenly begin leaking a lot of fluid, they normally begin with a few occasional drips on the driveway/garage floor then progress to bigger spots. Mine just suddenly blew out of the block one night, leaving a two-foot wide puddle in my friends' driveway.

 

I was quoted $881 for a rear engine seal leak. 2002 Jaguar XK8 Coupe.