Rear Main Seal leak, other items to do while trans is separated from engine?

As title states, suspecting RMS leaking due to occasional oil spots on the ground coming from the driver side of the vehicle, and loss of about a quart of oil over 6k miles (145k miles on odometer).

If this is the confirmed cause (will get under the car to confirm when it's a little warmer out), are there other items (preventative/upgrades) that are good to do while the car is apart for the RMS replacement? Does the subframe have to be dropped, meaning adding the Tyrolsport Deadset kit would be synergistic? How much additional labor for adding LSD while trans is already lowered? is that even worth it with so many miles on the car?

Thoughts?

-Make sure you get the newest revision OEM RMS (which has the seal flipped the opposite direction so oil pressure makes the seal tighter) or an upgraded seal such as the iAbed industries piece.
-Subframe does not have to be taken out to drop the trans, although some do because it gives more space.
-Can't help with LSD install cost although I believe it will be pricey.
-Thought about replacing your clutch while you're there? It add no extra labor.

Can't really think of anything else that you could tackle while you're doing the job except replacing the trans mount or dogbone mount. Perhaps remove your clutch bleeder restrictor piece or add a short shifter while you have those pieces off.

I think it would be a good time to knock that out,deadset kit, as for the LSD...idk that is kind of up to you. You are looking at 800-1k at least for LSD w/ install at that point you might be looking to replace the clutch too which is at least another $350 for just another OEM clutch.

Question? After RMS replaced, does wheel alignment required?
Only Rear main seal job, Indy shop $800 + parts and Dealer quoted 1,090 w/ parts + TAX...in my area.....

Ik1015 said:

Question? After RMS replaced, does wheel alignment required?
Only Rear main seal job, Indy shop $800 + parts and Dealer quoted 1,090 w/ parts + TAX...in my area.....

Click to expand...

Alignment not required. The only parts required are the RMS itself and silicon sealant. Parts will be less than $100. There are some bolts that are torque-to-yield and thus, should technically be replaced. However, most won't replace them their first time out.

Tony48 said:

Alignment not required. The only parts required are the RMS itself and silicon sealant. Parts will be less than $100. There are some bolts that are torque-to-yield and thus, should technically be replaced. However, most won't replace them their first time out.

Click to expand...

^Thanks^

If i were you i would get the axle flange seals replaced. I did my clutch at 75k miles and one of the seals was leaking very slowly (didn't notice until the axle was off). Slowly but non the less, leaking.

Dans GTI said:

If i were you i would get the axle flange seals replaced. I did my clutch at 75k miles and one of the seals was leaking very slowly (didn't notice until the axle was off). Slowly but non the less, leaking.

Click to expand...

Yes, this is a good idea. When I did my clutch I realized that I should have done these seals while I had the trans out. Mine weren't leaking but they're cheap enough and easy to get to with the trans off the car.

1 or 2 of these?
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine...ront-axle-flange-seal-priced-each/02m301189g/

rawag77 said:

1 or 2 of these?
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine...ront-axle-flange-seal-priced-each/02m301189g/

Click to expand...

2

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm DSG so clutch replacement isn't an issue.

I've already had one axle replaced (twice actually) and I think I'm hearing some noise from the other axle. The axle flange seals would normally be replaced as part of replacing the entire axle yeah?

I'm also looking for a differential diagnosis on the oil leak. I'm also getting some creaking at low speeds including when the engine might be rocking, so possibly engine/trans mounts are failed/failing? Sounds like the OEM ones have oil in them so that might be causing the oil on the ground.

For me the LSD consideration is also one of mileage and what the future of my vehicle will be. It seems a bit late to put a brand new LSD into a 7 year old vehicle with 145k miles, unless I'm going to own this car for the rest of its life, and if that were the case it would have to stop being my daily driver at some point. ~$1500 or more for an LSD is an awful big commitment when I'm already considering dumping a pretty big pile of cash into the car fairly shortly (once tax return and bonus come in):

• Struts are feeling pretty worn/bouncy so entry-level coilovers are going in, probably ST X ($800+install+corner balance)
• Rear Sway Bar (~$250)
• I backed slowly into something (turned into it actually) and crushed the side marker supports in the front bumper and left deep scratches, may replace front bumper (~$600 part+painted, ugh dumb)
• RMS replacement (figure ~$1k incl. labor) if this is actually an issue
• Tyrolsport deadset+bolts ($250ish, may be able to save on labor if done together with all this)
• SuperPro LCA bushing set (~$250)
• Trans/Engine mounts+APR Pendulum mount (>$600 parts alone, but shared labor with RMS if needed)
• Cobb AP with Stratified tune ($700)

Thoughts? Should I bite the bullet and do the RMS proactively even if it isn't the sole cause of the leaks, but could be soon with this many miles?

If the rear main seal is leaking it would have been caused by a failed PCV, so check and replace that too!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Carlosfandango said:

If the rear main seal is leaking it would have been caused by a failed PCV, so check and replace that too!

Click to expand...

For sure, but I did proactively replace the PCV maybe 30k miles ago or so, and don't have any other symptoms of failed PCV. I'm considering an APR catch can to mitigate crankcase pressurization risk though, but it's not as urgent as the other items on my list.

^x2 from what i understand.

From what i've found researching LSD costs, it appears to cost around 1000 for labor. again, having the trans already out will be a factor in that of course, maybe another 500 to install one?

My PCV clogged recently (full and frozen catch can) and now i'm starting to see spots in my driveway... uhoh - might be in a similar boat to you lol

riceburner said:

^x2 from what i understand.

From what i've found researching LSD costs, it appears to cost around 1000 for labor. again, having the trans already out will be a factor in that of course, maybe another 500 to install one?

My PCV clogged recently (full and frozen catch can) and now i'm starting to see spots in my driveway... uhoh - might be in a similar boat to you lol

Click to expand...

If your catch can eliminates the pipe from the intake manifold to the PCV plate, then it wouldn't be caused by crankcase pressurization from PCV failure. If it retains that pipe though, or any other way for your PCV plate to see boost pressure, you may be in that boat. Most catch cans should eliminate that risk though.

However there are a lot of ways these cars can leak oil. Lower timing cover, upper timing cover, cam cover seal, rear PCV hose, camshaft position sensor is known to leak oil as well... I recall the 2.5L base engines can have oil sump seal leaks, not sure if the 2.0TSI has that issue. Pretty sure my car has slow leaks/weeping from most of those areas. One day when I'm bored I'll degrease the engine and check to see which ones are active/bad enough to do anything about.