I think I will be needing this done soon.It's out of my realm so I will need it done at my local indie shop.The car has 287k and is worth keeping(no rust).It's not leaking bad now but leaks never get better...

i just bought my 3rd volvo 2 months ago (the best yet) and the lady had already done the main seal; it was 450. but i would make sure its not transmission fluid first

If it is a manual, I would buy a drip pan for the floor where you park it and keep driving until you need a clutch. If you MUST fix the leak, I would replace the clutch while I was at it. It would be silly to put a clutch that was even half-worn out back in when you are paying that kind of money for labor. With a new clutch and a flywheel resurface job, that will put you out around $800 total.

If it is an automatic, there is a reasonable chance that the automatic will outlast the car, so it is just a matter of when you want to bite the bullet.

I replaced my first clutch at 175k miles. The seal was bone dry then, so I ignored the sage advice of the Brickboard, and left it alone.

By 200k miles, it was dripping. It didn't get worse very fast, just an occasional drip on the cardboard that I put where I park the car.

At 250k miles my second clutch failed. May have had something to do with putting my two girls through high school, and the fact that they taught all their friends to drive stick shift. I did the rear main seal with the second clutch replacement.

Hello Phil,

My local Indy (he's very talented, but a PITA) replaced the main seal on my 93 245 last summer. I brought him the Viton seal (he hates it when I ask him to install my parts - punishes me by making a real big deal that he can't warranty the job and scolds me - I'm 57) for $400 except in the process he had to replace a transmission cooler line - of course with original Volvo parts.

Total tab was about $500.

When Ol Red 244 w/ 235K needed the tranny replacement, it took me 3 months, but I replaced the main seal myself during that ordeal.

I'd try to shop around. I bet you can beat the $400 pricetag, maybe even $300 if they're hungry. Also start spraying PB blaster on the tranny cooler lines now in the hopes they don't have to cut them off.

You def can't do the job in slush in the driveway.

Good luck,

Marty
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93,244 149k, 93 244 - 235K (back in action), 93 245 - 180K, 99 v-70 - 113K

I got a genuine Volvo one from Tasca for $17 a couple months ago.

Seal: $5-10
Labor to replace seal: $200 (approx)
Lack of leak: Priceless.
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Sven: '89 245 NA, 951 ECU, expanded air dam, forward belly pan reaches oem belly pan, airbox heater upgraded, E-fan, 205/65-15 at 50 psi, IPD sways, no a/c-p/s belt, E-Codes, amber front corner reflectors, aero front face, quad horns, tach, small clock.

hello Phil
i would be impressed if you can get it done for 2 hundred. let us know what they charge.
good luck
mike

I was just going to say $200 is a steal. If it's a manual, maybe. If it's an auto, no way; unless they only charge $40 an hour for shop labour...
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Dale

I typically charge 4 hours labor to pull the trans, stuff in a rear main and front trans seal. Use only Volvo parts, the money you save is stupid compared to the money you are going to spend to install those parts. Do not supply your own parts, let the shop make the miniscule amount of profit that they are going to make on the two parts so that they have to stand behind the parts that they provided and installed. It is sometimes worth saving a few bucks to provide your own parts and forego anykind of parts warranty but it is down right stupid to do so on a labor intensive job or one that you cannot do yourself, like a rear main seal.

Interesting, I just looked it up in the Chilton's and Motor's time guides and they call out between 5-6.5 hours for a rear seal. Just so you know a really good Volvo tech can bang out those seals in less than an hour, so long as rust and corrosion are not factors. A decent tech should still do it in well under 2 hours.

Mark

My shop man also charges me for about two hours for rear main seal. I think he must be billing us actual time, not book time. He knows how to fix these bricks and can usually get the tough jobs done pretty efficiently.

I had him do a crank position sensor once and the time was something like 30 or 45 minutes, no big deal. He's got long skinny arms and knows just where to reach to change that thing and get it right the first time.

He's excellent, specializes in rwd Volvos and a few other import brands. Will probably fix nearly anything for a friend or a regular customer. He always has at least 6-8 parts bricks in his lot.

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Sven: '89 245 NA, 951 ECU, expanded air dam, forward belly pan reaches oem belly pan, airbox heater upgraded, E-fan, 205/65-15 at 50 psi, IPD sways, no a/c-p/s belt, E-Codes, amber front corner reflectors, aero front face, quad horns, tach, small clock.

hello
my friend worked for volvo for 15 yrs and did the rear main seals in 1 hr 45 min. way below book time. i call it piecework.
he does them for me for 2 hundred, (if i stay home as to not slow him down). well worth it for me.
he lets me use his lift when i want, but i am pretty slow even with the professional tools he has and wont tie up his lift for what would probably take me at least 6-8 hours.
i have helped him do a couple and it wasnt fun for me.
good luck
mike