HarleyRob

As most of you know, removing the oil pan on a stock jeep can be difficult. I have a 99 xj with 160K miles. After raising the front end and letting the axle droop as much as possible, I disconnected the shocks at the bottom bolts and then placed a couple of jacks between the axle and frame to allow for more clearance between the bottom of the pan and the axle. I've attached a couple of pictures (sorry if the pictures are sideways).

Caution....if you do this, be mindful/careful of your brake lines. Don't over extend them and damage.

I did remove the starter to aid in clearance but that was all. I did not disconnect the exhaust pipe, transmission lines, or inspection plate as many suggest. Pan came right out.

Joebagadonuts

I'm about to jump into pan gasket, and rear main oil seal on my 2001 Cherokee Sport. I am fortunate enough to have a two post lift in my garage and it looks like I will have room to drop the pan down. I thought about removing the steering link (yellow) and or panhard bar (red) to get some more room if necessary.

I'm going to take the starter of but leave the exhaust pipe in place as that looks more like a real pain in the butt due to the rusted condition on the bolts. (It was an Indiana Jeep until I bought it in 2008)

HarleyRob

Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.

Joebagadonuts

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarleyRob

Good luck! Let usknow how it turns out.

Got that oil pan out! Mercifully just before I was about to resort to half a stick of dynamite!


Remember, I have a two post lift and a transmission jack that will reach from the floor to the vehicle up on the lift.




1. Removed the steering ink at the ball joint end of the steering arm. Did not remove the Panhard bar.(Jeep FSM calls it a track bar)


2. Removed starter.


3. Removed exhaust (dual catalytic converters) at the manifold. Had to us “S’ok” and let it sit for a day to get the bolts come out of the speed nuts on the exhaust manifold. Had to cut the bolts off the exhaust pipe flange. Did this as I plan to replace the entire exhaust system since it’s the one that came with the car and is pretty ratty.


4. Removed the flywheel cover to make it easier to get the rear pan stiffener off. It’s the “U” shaped piece that keeps the rear of the oil pan tight up against the bottom of the rear bearing cap.(the front of the pan contacts the bottom of the timing chain cover and which has tapped holes for pan bolts)


NOTE: the driver side bolt that holds the flywheel cover in place has to be pulled out, and since the head is to the front, the exhaust pipe has to be removed! On reassembly will turn that sucker around so it can be removed from the rear!


5. Got pan bolts out and was about ¼ inch short of the back of the pan clearing the bottom of the transmission bell housing. Rather than use the “jack the axle down” or “jack the engine up” I opted to just loosen the four rear transmission mount bolts from the rear cross member and “jack up the transmission” to get the clearance.“Viola!”...the pan came out the rear.


"Product Improvement" plans: (nobody ever built something that cannot be "improved upon"!)


I cannot figure out why so many of the pan bolts are studs with nuts on them. Some are needed to hold brackets (transmission oil cooler lines) but most are just a “stud & nut” doing what a simple cap screw can do!Some of the hex head cap screws are a pain in the wazoo to get out, especially if the exhaust pipes are not removed. So my plan it to replace all I can with socket head cap screws! It’s a helluva lot easier to work in tight places with a long ¼ inch drive extension and an Allen wrench!


More to follow as the job progresses! Being a retiree, Ican easily “stuff” a 3 hour job in a week if I so choose!

Jennifer kowalski

CRLAMBERTJR

My 99 is stock height. All I did to get it out was removed the shocks, as I was replacing them anyway. Took the starter off. That's all to get it out. Putting back, I removed the end of the steering damper on the drivers side ! Good luck ! Dirtiest job that I've done so far !!!

MurrietaRob

I've read too many posts about how "easy" an oil pan removal / RMS change is; but most of the instructions I found online turn out to be on lifted rigs, or otherwise not stock; Not a complaint at all, but be fair warned this is a PITA job on a stock rig; I am working on a stock 2000 XJ limited 4x4 with 180K miles with an RMS leak. Note that unless you have a lift in your garage or like gear to safely get the vehicle on stands to allow for the required front axle drop, you're in for some fun. First I had to remove all of the stock skid plates and cardboard-like covers to get access to the pan; no big deal but none of the videos, etc. had any of that to deal with. Also, I have 2 different size fasteners on the pan; 3 are 1/2" (or 13 MM) 2 are the ones at the rear holding the dust seal near inspection plate; the other is at the front passenger side corner; the rest are all a mix of studs and nuts at 7/16 (11 MM). Also, the dust seal (@ rear) was hard as a rock after 180K miles and I had to break it to get full access the rear nuts; I imagine the dust seal when new is pliable but not after lots of miles. I too am replacing the shocks but did not think it would add clearance to get my currently stuck pan out; I removed the starter, but so far have left the exhaust in place (what a PITA that one pan nut was to remove behind the rear most exhaust down pipe; Anyway, a long winded way to state I hope your experience with dropping the shocks works for me...thanks for posting the idea.

MurrietaRob

Update: another detail is that this is a CA emission twin cats on the down pipes so room is extremely tight. After removing shocks I still am unable to remove oil pan; now trying to remove twin exhaust down pipes but cannot get a socket on the rear down pipe, nor the inside flange stud on the front down pipe. After soaking the studs in penetrating oil I did manage to remove the front most stud.

Question: what socket setup will fit up in that tight space if anyone knows? My 1/2" impact sockets do not; will try to fit 3/8" but the heat shields, etc. are another PITA . I also removed the air box and now have very limited access to the top flange nuts but not sure that's the way to go. Fortunately this is a project vehicle so no rush to break things yet!

Thanks for any info/response on tools.

MurrietaRob

When All Else Fails, read the instructions

Here are removal instructions from the 2000 service manual:

OIL PAN REMOVAL

(1) Disconnect negative cable from battery.
(2) Raise the vehicle.
(3) Remove the oil pan drain plug and drain the engine oil.
(4) Disconnect the exhaust pipe at the exhaust manifold.
(5) Disconnect the exhaust hanger at the catalytic converter and lower the pipe.
(6) Remove the starter motor.
(7) Remove the engine flywheel and transmission torque converter housing access cover.
(8) If equipped with an oil level sensor, disconnect the sensor.
(9) Position a jack stand directly under the engine vibration damper.
(10) Place a piece of wood (2 x 2) between the jack stand and the engine vibration damper.
(11) Remove the engine mount through bolts.
(12) Using the jack stand, raise the engine until adequate clearance is obtained to remove the oil pan.
(13) Remove transmission oil cooling lines (ifequipped) and oxygen sensor wiring supports thatare attached to the oil pan studs.
(14) Remove the oil pan bolts and studs. Carefully slide the oil pan and gasket to the rear. If equipped with an oil level sensor, take care not to damage the sensor.

My plan after removing the exhaust pipe from header if I still cannot remove pan will be the engine mount through bolts and lift to create more room as stated above; but hoping the axle drop + exhaust removal will be enough...

MurrietaRob

Here's another mystery to this PITA job; For those interested, Mopar part# 53010511AA - Oil Pan Support Bracket is the half circle part I had to destroy to remove the rear most corner bolts on the pan. The 2000 XJ parts catalog does not list this part number, and several Mopar parts online sites do not list either, and state that the part number is invalid for the XJ; so why was it installed on my stock XJ? Anyway, many other Jeep forums state this is a required part to help secure the rear of the oil pan to prevent leaks - again it was a PITA for find the part number and a source so hope this helps. I used MyMoparParts.com as the source; tried the local dealer but they said they could not get part for another 5 months? as usual YMMV.

PatHenry

Being yours is a 2000, it's highly possible that a P.O. blew up the original engine due to the 0331 defect and swapped in a block from another year since the block is compatible across a wide range of years.

MurrietaRob

Thanks for the response - I’m the original owner and no engine swap; some motor mount, etc but all OEM

Dave51

Search for 53010 511AA or look on page 177.

MurrietaRob

Thanks - I had no idea what to search for but appreciate the response.