Rear Main Seal / Transmission Issues + Advice

[BinaryData]

It's been awhile since I've been on here with truck questions, life has been good and up until now, I haven't had any major truck problems. Figures life would sucker punch me like this, haha. Since I joined this forums ages ago, my life has changed quite a lot and in a great way. To give some backstory of how I got to this situation, it's story time!

Back in 2020 my 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 5.7 Hemi decided to move from 8cyl to 7cyl all on its own. I have no idea how it decided to this, but it did. This lead me to getting a re-manufactured engine. I was under the impression that when an engine was re-manufactured, new parts were being used. Turns out, that isn't the case at all. Fast forward to now, I took my truck into the shop for an oil change, and was informed I needed to replace my Rear Main Seal in the near future, and have work done on my differential. When I told my brother what was going on, all I heard was swearing that would make a sailor blush.

Now I have questions;

1. Is this worth it to fix?
2. What kind of costs am I looking at? (
3. Does the seal affect the operation of the transmission? (I ask because I have higher than usual RPMs and shifting is delayed quite a bit)
4. How long am I looking at being in the shop for, if Question #1 is a yes.
5. Is it worth it for the differential to be worked on? Same questions above are applied.

I drive an hour to and from work, a total of 102 miles per day, 4 days a week and recently, it's been 5 days a week. I had originally planned on getting a motorcycle, but that doesn't help me now that winter is rapidly approaching and it's supposedly going to be a wild one. I live in the Pacific Northwest (Washington State), winters can be real ugly here.

I've been wanting to get a new vehicle for some time, for reasons above and more. I'm 6'4", 350lbs. I'm not a small person, and cars aren't really comfortable to me. I'd prefer a truck due to where I live but I'd like to get everyones thoughts before I dive down the rabbit hole of new vehicles.

 

[Travelin Ram]

If you’re planning to trade anyway, now is the time.

You didn’t include the mileage on the vehicle and engine, hard to assess without knowing that.

 

[Sherman Bird]

Get another professional opinion/ assessment. Those colored "cartoon" evaluation forms are designed by psychologists to part you from your money. I don't trust those folks or forms.

As to your question about whether or not to fix the truck? I would if rust, wear and tear, and overall condition of the truck as a whole is still good. I'm replacing the engine in my wife's 2007 Sorento with 234,000 miles on the clock... but the rest of the truck bears out this expenditure.

One of my customers has a 2006 GMC Sierra crew cab, SLE with all the bells and whistles. The overall condition of the body/ interior/ accessories is excellent. He has chosen to replace the seized engine and replace the equally old transmission since it has to come out anyway (due to the engine being seized). We are also replacing the A/C compressor... and once again, it has to be removed during this operation. Many other ancillary items are being replaced while we are at it. His bill will be a small fraction of a new truck.... It's a no-brainer in his particular case....AND he is about your size as well!

You will ultimately have to decide the merits for yourself! Good luck!

 

[Zoe Saldana]

It's been awhile since I've been on here with truck questions, life has been good and up until now, I haven't had any major truck problems. Figures life would sucker punch me like this, haha. Since I joined this forums ages ago, my life has changed quite a lot and in a great way. To give some backstory of how I got to this situation, it's story time!

Back in 2020 my 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 5.7 Hemi decided to move from 8cyl to 7cyl all on its own. I have no idea how it decided to this, but it did. This lead me to getting a re-manufactured engine. I was under the impression that when an engine was re-manufactured, new parts were being used. Turns out, that isn't the case at all. Fast forward to now, I took my truck into the shop for an oil change, and was informed I needed to replace my Rear Main Seal in the near future, and have work done on my differential. When I told my brother what was going on, all I heard was swearing that would make a sailor blush.

Now I have questions;

1. Is this worth it to fix?
2. What kind of costs am I looking at? (
3. Does the seal affect the operation of the transmission? (I ask because I have higher than usual RPMs and shifting is delayed quite a bit)
4. How long am I looking at being in the shop for, if Question #1 is a yes.
5. Is it worth it for the differential to be worked on? Same questions above are applied.

I drive an hour to and from work, a total of 102 miles per day, 4 days a week and recently, it's been 5 days a week. I had originally planned on getting a motorcycle, but that doesn't help me now that winter is rapidly approaching and it's supposedly going to be a wild one. I live in the Pacific Northwest (Washington State), winters can be real ugly here.

I've been wanting to get a new vehicle for some time, for reasons above and more. I'm 6'4", 350lbs. I'm not a small person, and cars aren't really comfortable to me. I'd prefer a truck due to where I live but I'd like to get everyones thoughts before I dive down the rabbit hole of new vehicles.

First - This is a low level person who made the recommendation

Second, did you look at the seal? Do you see anything leaking? If so where is the fluid coming from? It might not be the trans, seal.

Third, get another opinon.

Forth, you can try other fixes depending upon where the fluid is coming from:

https://www.amazon.com/Bars-Leaks-1420-Grey-Transmission/dp/B00754YK2S/ref=asc_df_B00754YK2S/?tag=&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312147482150&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8190595322159172681&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1014485&hvtargid=pla-570932875676&ref=&adgrpid=65039680554&th=1

Lucas Stop Leak for oil

Fifth, check bold torque of seal.

 

[BinaryData]

If you’re planning to trade anyway, now is the time.

You didn’t include the mileage on the vehicle and engine, hard to assess without knowing that.

Ahh. My apologies.

I just hit 223k miles on it. As far as I know, it still has the original transmission in it. The engine is a 5.7L FI OHV Hemi 8cyl (Pulled from AutoZone, used VIN to add it to my "shop" on their website)

Get another professional opinion/ assessment. Those colored "cartoon" evaluation forms are designed by psychologists to part you from your money. I don't trust those folks or forms.

As to your question about whether or not to fix the truck? I would if rust, wear and tear, and overall condition of the truck as a whole is still good. I'm replacing the engine in my wife's 2007 Sorento with 234,000 miles on the clock... but the rest of the truck bears out this expenditure.

One of my customers has a 2006 GMC Sierra crew cab, SLE with all the bells and whistles. The overall condition of the body/ interior/ accessories is excellent. He has chosen to replace the seized engine and replace the equally old transmission since it has to come out anyway (due to the engine being seized). We are also replacing the A/C compressor... and once again, it has to be removed during this operation. Many other ancillary items are being replaced while we are at it. His bill will be a small fraction of a new truck.... It's a no-brainer in his particular case....AND he is about your size as well!

You will ultimately have to decide the merits for yourself! Good luck!

I've already replaced the engine, and I'm fairly certain the torque converter is going out, I had the code pop a few years back when I hauled an empty horse trailer without tow mode enabled. I posted on here about it, but the code eventually went away and I forgot about it.

First - This is a low level person who made the recommendation

Second, did you look at the seal? Do you see anything leaking? If so where is the fluid coming from? It might not be the trans, seal.

Third, get another opinon.

Forth, you can try other fixes depending upon where the fluid is coming from:

https://www.amazon.com/Bars-Leaks-1420-Grey-Transmission/dp/B00754YK2S/ref=asc_df_B00754YK2S/?tag=&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312147482150&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8190595322159172681&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1014485&hvtargid=pla-570932875676&ref=&adgrpid=65039680554&th=1

Lucas Stop Leak for oil

Fifth, check bold torque of seal.

1. Didn't know that.
2. I'm too fat to fit under my truck, lol. I'll ask my colleague at work if he can check it for me. If he can fit under it, I'll ask him to take pictures and that'll give you all a slightly better look.
3. I'll take it to my mom's shop and see what they say.
4. I wasn't sure if those things worked or not. I found them while Googling for information about it.
5. No idea what that is, but I'll ask my brother and Google about it.


Overall, if the cost to fix everything that's wrong with it (Transmission/Torque Converter, Rear Main Seal, and Differential is less than $7500, I'd do the repairs vs getting a new vehicle). But if it's more than that, I'll drive it until it dies, stick it in a shed somewhere, and fix it later while buying a new vehicle. This is my second used vehicle, and after the amount of money I've put into it, I'm never buying used again. I bought it at 96k miles, for $20,000 + $5,000 Extended warranty & taxes. Extended Warranty was a joke, and covered almost nothing. With all the repairs I've put into it so far, I've put 75% of what I spent on it, back into it. Engine $9500, Rear Control Arms, Fuel Pump (covered by warranty, but the 30 mile tow wasn't), among many other issues.

Y'all have given me some good food for thought, looks like I've got a bit to think about.

 

[Travelin Ram]

I don’t consider any domestic truck with a quarter million miles to merit much investment.

What you’re into is the sunk cost phenomenon. Because it already cost you an engine, you’re willing to buy a transmission and maybe a differential. But realistically it’s at the point where it’s going to be one thing after another.

I would approach it as either trading or selling while it’s running and driving, or just driving it till dead and parting it out.

Taking it one issue at a time, let’s run through it.

The rear main seal, if actually bad, is no big deal. A fairly easy repair if the transmission comes out. If the transmission stays in, I’d just keep adding oil. Does it leave puddles or drips where parked?

The transmission is the big $$$$ risk. Has it been properly maintained to date? Could be all it needs is a valve body repair. But at the mileage, most shops will shy away from touching it and will only want to do a full rebuild or replace.

Rear diff; hard to say with no description of the alleged issue. But a truck of this year, I’d be thinking junkyard axle swap rather than paying too many hours of shop time to repair the original.

As I see it a truck of this age can be a viable option for a person doing their own work. However when you’re paying shop rates and shop markups on parts, it’s very expensive to keep on the road.

 

[BinaryData]

I don’t consider any domestic truck with a quarter million miles to merit much investment.

What you’re into is the sunk cost phenomenon. Because it already cost you an engine, you’re willing to buy a transmission and maybe a differential. But realistically it’s at the point where it’s going to be one thing after another.

I would approach it as either trading or selling while it’s running and driving, or just driving it till dead and parting it out.

Taking it one issue at a time, let’s run through it.

The rear main seal, if actually bad, is no big deal. A fairly easy repair if the transmission comes out. If the transmission stays in, I’d just keep adding oil. Does it leave puddles or drips where parked?

The transmission is the big $$$$ risk. Has it been properly maintained to date? Could be all it needs is a valve body repair. But at the mileage, most shops will shy away from touching it and will only want to do a full rebuild or replace.

Rear diff; hard to say with no description of the alleged issue. But a truck of this year, I’d be thinking junkyard axle swap rather than paying too many hours of shop time to repair the original.

As I see it a truck of this age can be a viable option for a person doing their own work. However when you’re paying shop rates and shop markups on parts, it’s very expensive to keep on the road.

I don't think I've had the transmission worked on more than once in the 4 or 5 years I've owned it. I probably should have, but during those times, I was lucky enough to eat full meal.

Rear Diff - I have no idea, I didn't even notice there were notes about it until my brother looked that sheet over.
Transmission - I've hauled quite a bit of weight with it, so I'm going to say that it hasn't been taken care of. I haven't hauled anything with it for over 2 years now. Family bought a diesel and 5th wheel for the horses, which we no longer have.
Rear Main Seal - That's solid to hear.

I'll find out what the shop wants in terms of cash, and look into getting a second opinion on it. I'd ultimately like to be able to put $10,000 on any new vehicle I buy, especially if it's a truck. I'll keep thinking on it and speak to a few shops around here.

 

[Jeepwalker]

The other thing is, it's the RFE transmission (based on the year) Quite often solenoids go flaky on them, so much so, that Amazon sells a solenoid 'kit'. Flaky shift control solenoid can lead to wierd shifting and in & out shifting behavior going down the road. It's a common thing, and easy for a shop to replace. The time to do it is when the fluid needs to be changed b/c the oil pan needs to come off. Other things which can affect the trans is a flaky Throttle Position Sensor, engine vacuum (PCV), plugged or high resistance upper trans filter (was THAT ever replaced?). The technicians scan tool can read transmission codes and it would indicate if there was a solenoid issue and/or any other sensor. And they can do a test and activate it to determine if it's working properly. There's an upper oil filter on these which can cause issues too. It's part of the oil filter kit, but takes extra work ....sometimes overlooked.

If they need to replace the engine rear main seal, then the time to do all these things is at once when the tranny is out: Rear Main, Torque Converter, Tranny work (valve body or solenoids).

 

[Jeepwalker]

But then again, with the miles on your truck, it probably makes more sense to move on and sell your truck as-is, or trade it in. Let a mechanically-minded person buy your Ram while you stick the money into something new or nearly new (with a remaining factory warranty you can extend).

What to buy? How about the following:
1) Another Ram (new or lightly used with fact warranty)
2) Chevy Tk (I've always had great luck with Chevy trucks)
3) Nissan Titan. They are kind of the underdogs of the Tk world. Nissan in general makes great cars & tks. They were offering real healthy incentives on them. I haven't owned one, but looking over them they look great where details matter (frame/fasteners/mechanics). See if you can swing a great deal. But obviously do your research.
4) Tahoe (plenty of interior room, interior hauling capacity, good family vehicle ...if that matters to you. Proven platform). They also have good resale...generally.

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