If you have to do the rear main seal, do yourself a favor and purchase a new kit that contains the rear cover, seal and gasket for about 35.00 There are fine threads in the rear cover where the 2 long bolts come up through the back of the oil pan. If the threads are starting to fail in the aluminum you will not be able to pull the oil pan to mate with the rear cover and you will get a leak, but it will not be the rear main seal leaking........ There are also several seal housing alignment tools out there for about 25.00 to 40.00 well worth doing the job ONCE!

Amazing how a lot of this trouble could be avoided if chevy/GM had just used 2 doweled bolts to hold the plate in just the right spot. Just like Honda did on their timing covers, just the 2 at the bottom.

Dude you just saved me from having to drop this trans twice! Thank you so much great info man!

Ive had trouble with the Chevy 5.3 rear main seals. If you just buy the seal you will get these problems. But if you buy a new plate it's much easier. They sell them in a set, guess that's the fix.

I'm not a certified mechanic but alot of late model cars look like engineers intentionally went out of their way to design these cars with labor intensity in mind

Great advice, too bad I found this video after I made that exact mistake, now I gotta do a rear main seal in a 4 wheel drive.

Couldn’t explain it better than that. Thanks

Kent More tools makes a dowel kit that you install as guides to install the rear cover. If your doing the oil pan gasket you do it first and finish with the rear cover and rear main seal. Not reading the instructions in the manual or just winging it will cause problems. Follow the correct assembly procedure and youll never have an issue. Pan first read cover and seal and final assembly.

Hell yeah brother

The Plate that holds the rear main oil seal comes lose and leaks at the plate gasket I've seen then so lose I could take them out with my fingers so make sure to lock tight and get the parts from the dealer only well that's the only way I will do it not leaking on my name with cheaper parts to much work for that bs !! And u know it's 4x4 !!

On the Corvette you will be pulling out the rear sub frame, rear end, transmission and torque tube to get to that rear main seal and a clutch or flywheel depending on if it’s a manual or auto car. 👌🏻

Thanks for the tip. The gm dealership did my oil pan gasket, oil pick up tube seal and did this exact mistake. Plus they broke my previously working oil level sensor. My rear main leaks like crazy afterwards.

A couple of years ago I changed my oil pump, oil pan gasket etc. This is a major consideration for both the front and back covers. Great video.

The inner gasket around the plate and the actual seal itself needs to be replaced and put liquid gasket around.

And the leak is not the main seal as most people believe, it is leaking from the rear main housing gasket around the pressurized oil passage.

What is the torque specs for those bolts....wished I would have seen this before I changed my oil pan gasket.

Stumbled upon this....your intro in this video has me rolling on the floor laughing 😂. Probably the combo of the sarcasm and the tone of your voice. Thanks for the laugh. Good advice too! I had no idea there was an alignment tool for the seal.

check the cam position sensor---mine was leaking into the bellhousing just like the rear seal or plate was leaking

Spot on advice , I’m replacing: barbell diverter, rear seal and pan gasket. I’ve watched a lot of vids regarding sequence , yours is some spot on advice, thanks for the post

It sounds like GM made life a lot harder for it's customers by omitting the alignment pin. A pair of alignment pins should be easy enough to add if you can find two safe places to drill into the block.