How do I remove the rear bearing cap? What is the Aluminum piece that the rear 2 bolts of the oil pan connect to? & how is it removed? The manual talks about "side seals" would they come with the new seal? Thanks for a great web site.

shearnstable@earthlink.net

you need to remove the oil pan first. i have an 85 d-150 that has a bracket on the drivers side that connects the motor and the tran(833od), once that was off i had no clearence issues getting the pan out. the only aluminum piece i had was in front of my flywheel but it fell out once i took the above bracket out. once the pan is out you will see two bolts that hold the cap in, take these out and wiggle the cap while pulling down on it to get it out. i used channel locks to hold onto it and pull it down, it is still kind of a pain. the end seals do come with the rear main seal. the two biggest things to ramember are 1. make sure the seal is facing the right way with the gorrved part facing the motor. 2. make sure you leave one side of the lower seal sticking out wich will make one side recess into the cap and leave the opposite side on the top seal sticking out so the two seals will seal correctely. i hope i explained that right. i guess i could have just said read and follow the manual to the letter.

dodgecrazy@aol.com

Bill,
There is a pretty good article on this in the article section.
(somehow the link is missing, so see below)
A lot of info came up when I used the search function, key works: rear main seal.
(search "all" words, be sure the time range is set for a long preiod, like 20 months)
Let us know if you have aditional questions.
DD



Main Seal and Oil Pan Sealing