It is not as hard as you may believe it to be. I did one about a month ago. The hardest part is dealing w/ the oil pan...even that isn't hard if you take your time.
I didn't have to remove starter either. Just take the pan off, all one thousand little bolts. That is after you drain the oil!!
Take the oil pump off to get access to the rear main. You will be getting splatted w/ lots of oil because the oil never stops dripping. Wear old clothes!
Take the rear main off. Slide the old seal out of the rear main cap. Gingerly take the old seal out of the block. I used needle nose pliers and a screwdriver, but be sure not to scratch the crank or you'll be sorry. PUsh up on one side, then grap the other side when enough comes thru and pull it out.
Take the new seal and coat it w/ oil. Be sure the lip groove faces front of engine. Easily slide it up into the block around the crank. There is no need to loosen up the other bearing caps. I didn't have to.
Place the bottom seal in the rear cap and reattach. I torqued my bolts to 65 foot lbs. You may want to replace your oil pump ...they are cheap.
when reinstalling the oil pump, ensure the rod from distributor goes in correctly. While the pan is off, check torque on all other bearing caps...65 ft lbs.
Now the frustrating part, put that pan back on w/ out moving the gasket! i use fishing string to tie a few bolt holes to the gasket so it wont move. Ensure you have gasket sealer at the corners of the gasket where the bends wrap around the crank.
Your starter cable should be connected to one of these pan bolts as well as a bracket holding the transmission lines together if you have an automatic.
It really isn't hard to do, just take your time and do not scratch your crank when removing / installing the seal.
Andy
www.delbridge.net
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