I have developed a oil leak from the crank seal at the rear of the engine (4.9L). My understanding is that I can replace the seals while leaving the engine in the truck (95 F150) and dropping the tranny. Do you guys agree? Are there any special tools that might come in handy? Anyplace where I could pull up instructions for the job? Thanks in advance for the help.

 

There is a special tool made for reinstalling the seal. Be very careful removing the original seal, or you can screw up the crank, and it will not seal correctly. Some people have been successful without the tool, but as much hassle it is to remove the transmission, I always borrow the tool from a friend (he is a Ford tech). I have changed about 8 of them and never had one leak yet.

here is a link to the tool:

http://www.etoolcart.com/browseprodu...r-OTC7786.HTML

I was kicking myself in the *** last year, one of these went for 15 bucks on eBay brand new, and I missed the auction.

Ford also makes their own, of course.

 

Thanks for the tip. Nothing on ebay right now. google didn't find anything on the ford p/n for the tool either. I'll have to check around and see if I can find one. You said the tranny is a "hassle". Is that the normal hassle of dropping the tranny, or is there something "unique" about this one I should know? Thanks again.