This is a hack job. It is a must to replace the backing plate where the seal is installed on and you don't use tools to remove the seal because if you damage the crank shaft you are screwed. There is a special too to install the new seal at worse you use a piece wood and a light hammer to push the seal in place. gently
Total hack job.. Back yard mechanic. There's a reason he only shows part of the video. That seal needs the entire flange with it, you just scratched the ****out of that crank removing it the careless way
Im about to attemp this on my 2008 c300...4matic. It relativly looks the same as in this video other then the driveshaft going to the front transfer case, is it that easy? Also my main seal doesnt come as a single round gasket but a whole timing cover tip assembly, is it as simple as changing a front timing cover ?
I'm getting ready to do mine on my CLK500. Is there any stretch bolts I need to replace? If so which bolts are they? my last question is when putting the sealant around the new rear main seal plate. How long do you need to wait before putting the transmission back in? I heard there is a curing dry time for the sealant from other MB forums but no one specified how long and why is there a curing time. Can you please explain this.
The plate should always be replaced with the seal. Trust me, its for piece of mind. I have had them return with small leaks 2-3 months later. Replacing the plate along with the seal results in the best quality repair for the customer for not much more money. I also like to upsell the transmission pump seal and drain/refill the torque converter.
Not to reseal the cover and not changing the transmission seals is a waste of chance.. also you don’t know if the cover is already leaking. Plus it’s a lot easier to replace the seal with cover off.
Who ever watches this: Never do it this way. do it properly and switch the backplate (it's around 30 bucks for the plate and some for gasket maker). Besides there is a little drain tunnel under backplate which helps draining the V-room from water and leads under the engine. So if you skip changing the plate and do only the rear main seal, your engine might still be leaking oil cause it will leak through that tunnel if the old gasket went bad under neath.
I was just going to comment the same thing. This is how you repair: if you WANT YOUR CAR TO START LEAKING again in months. If that plate (crankshaft seal retainer) is not removed and replaced using gasket sealer, that new installed engine seal will 'shift' and in some cases will cause an even WORSE leak, not to mention the job is worthless and has to be done again, with a new engine seal and retainer clip.
Engine does not need to be drained. Transmission will lose some oil due to the cooler lines being disconnected. Otherwise, no other point on the trans itself will leak fluid.
