Nissan Repair: Oil leak, nissan altima, pan gasket

Question
I recently found out I had an oil leak coming from my 1997 Nissan Altima. I got a local automotive shop to check it out & give me an estimate. They result was I had a rear engine seal & upper oil pan gasket that need to be replaced. They are in hard to reach places & require some labor to replace, but I thought the price of $1000.00 was a little on the high side. Can you give me some analysis & an answer on whether this seems reasonable?

Answer
Hi Colin -

If it is the rear main seal, the cost is legit. However, I have worked wonders with oil additives that expand the seal a bit and give new life to hard rubber.

I would suggest you try an additive that expands seals. Please check with your local car parts store. I get mine from Carquest, and it is called AT205. However you may use anything that is designed to expand rubber.

Let me know if you cannot find it.

aloha
calvin