I have a 1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport XJ I-6 4.0L with Automatic Transmission that I'm working through an oil pan replacement on now...
I am the original owner and am not aware of this oil pan as ever having been removed.

This XJ is pretty clean, only about 95K miles. I am replacing the pan due to oil seeping through in the lower sump area where porosity, rust and road debris hitting the pan in this area have weekend the pan steel.
It basically 'sweats' oil in the front of the sump area.

This forum post is about the "Engine Oil Pan Support" shown below in the 7/4/2003 Parts Manual as part number J3243116.
I've also included below a picture of the Oil Pan Support I removed from my 1998 XJ Sport I-6 4.0L Auto Trans.

I see this "Engine Oil Pan Support" part mentioned in several oil pan and rear main seal replacement threads, but I've not seen answers to questions I have...

# When I google search on the J3243116 part, the Mopar part #53015011AA is the only applicable result I find.

# This Mopar 53015011AA part is similar to mine as the half moon shape, but has what I see in pictures as a rubber encasement/flange that may provide added dust protection when seated against the transmission bell housing access cover.

# The part as removed from my XJ is not encased in rubber, nor does it look as if it had been at one time with the rubber having flaked away.

# To me the part removed from my XJ seems like it is just a 16 gauge steel strap used as a doubler to strengthen the pan gasket seal area across the rear of the block; something that may help prevent leaks.

# As I continue researching, I find the Mopar #53015011AA seems to mostly be mentioned for use on Grand Cherokees or other non-XJ vehicles from year 2000 onward. I do not see any mention of #53015011AA for use on an XJ Sport with production year less than 2000....

Questions:
1) Does anyone with experience on this part agree with me that this is simply a doubler strap to increase pan rigidity/strength at the rear of the block to help prevent oil leaks from the rear of the pan?

2) Does anyone with experience on this part know if they switched from using a simple 16 gauge steel strap J3243116 to this Mopar #53015011AA rubber coated strap about the year 2000 time frame?

3) Does anyone with experience on this part know that this Mopar #53015011AA is a direct fit replacement for the J3243116 on my 1998 XJ Sport I-6 4.0 with Automatic Transmission?

4) As I look at the J3243116 I removed from my XJ, I see it in good condition, did not see any evidence of ever having been rubber coated, and am curious if it should be replaced with a pan replacement as the old J3243116 may have stretched over time reducing it's effectiveness when paired with a new Spectra Premium CRP06A Oil Pan. Any thoughts on this?



Thank you



A few reference posts:

I see one post here that is really just about identifying the part number: https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/wha...il-pan-164153/

Another post where the part is shown but the year/make/model is not noted: https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/oil...ill-ok-258093/

And another post where J3243116 seems to be identified as Mopar part number 53010511AA: https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/oil...-stock-221295/
In this post we are referred to mympoarparts.com where the part is seen as applicable to 2001-2006 models: https://www.mymoparparts.com/oem-par...IFJlc3VsdHM%3D



"Engine Oil Pan Support" removed from my XJ. No evidence of it ever having rubber coating/flange.

 

To close this post out, here's what I came to:

1) Yes
2) Yes
3 & 4) I just reused the J3243116 I had.