to lift or not to lift; replacing rear main seal and oil pan gasket 1990 RT4WD

CamoCivic

Hi there civics, I'm about to undertake the great oil leak sealing, the likes of which have not been seen since Holland built new dikes. My incontinent civic is dripping about a quart of oil every 800miles and I'm thinking the last clutch I did (in January, with only 6k miles) failed b/c of oil on it. My new LUK clutch just went 32k this summer but I know that at some point all this oil seeping will catch up with me. A few questions. I don't know where all it's leaking. I was thinking of adding some UV Dye to the oil and running it a bit and looking with a blacklight. Anyone ever do that? (I have some dye that I used on an A/C test, but not sure if that's engine oil compatible). Since I just crawled around under this, I'd bet it's leaking some at the oil pan, a touch at the dist.O-ring, but mostly the rear main seal. I do have an engine hoist, but I've never pulled this engine. With all of these possible leak points (and of course, I'll check on my clutch and every possible fluid etc when I dig in), should I pull the engine&tranny together and just work on this hanging in the garage, or keep it 'in car' and get the exhaust aside enough to the oil pan gasket and do the rear main seal by dropping the tranny only? BTW, I need to change my driver's front axle tomorrow too--I think these projects can all be done 'together.' Any tips for the first time this girl is going to pull an engine/drop a tranny? Anybody in WY want to work in a heated garage with me? I should be fine. Got all my dad's tools and he'll help keep things safe, at least with an extra set of hands. Other things to look for/do when I do these steps? I can't seem to find any good posts on rear main seals. Thanks!

bam-bam

1) I don't have any experience with the dye, but I do know that dye kits exist for the purpose. My gut says that if it's safe for AC systems, it surely won't hurt something as relatively crude as your engine. Try it and let us know!

2) My preference is to pull the whole package from the car, then split the engine from trans. By the time you remove the trans., all that's left is one engine mount, a couple fuel lines, and a couple of wiring plugs to have engine out. Besides, if you intend to remove the oil pan you'll have to suspend the engine from the top.
Also, the exhaust isn't the only obstacle to oil pan removal on your RT. The transfer case part of the trans. is in the way.

3) It's hard for this type of rear main to leak onto the clutch. It's on the other side of the flywheel and flanged. If it was reeeaally pouring, I guess centrifugal slinging could get enough up high in the bellhousing to drip down into the clutch.

...and about that rear crank seal: I can't see exactly why, but the Honda and Acura manuals I have seen stress the importance of NOT bottoming the seal in the bore of the seal carrier. IIRC they specify .050" clearance.
after removing the transmission and oil pan, unbolt the seal carrier and pull it off of the crank with the seal still in it. Note the gap behind the seal before prying it out. If possible use the old seal along with some 2x4 blocks and a vise to press the seal in the carrier. It's difficult for even an experienced hand to install the seal squarely with a hammer and punch, especially because you don't bottom the seal.