I have to change my rear main seal on my jeep, but I have had some conflicting advice on how to handle it, so I'm on here to get some advice.

Its 2000, 6 cylinder, 4x4, sport. 176k miles on it.

The dealership said I was going to have to drop the transmission while others said not. Also, some have said I need to check the crankshaft because that will still create a leak even after I have changed the rear main seal. Some have said all I need to do is drop the oil pan, and not the entire transmission.

Help on where I should start and what needs to be removed, and should I take a look at the crankshaft while I'm under there?

Thanks

 

Been there, done that. You do not have to drop the tranny, just the oil pan, tray, and rear main cap. You'll need some black rtv and some grease, a punch of some kind to turn out the top of the old seal. They can be a pain to get to turn out but don't lose hope, it will come out. Don't scratch the crank or the journals. Make sure you torque everything back down to spec. While you have the pan off, change that gasket too. Also not a bad time to swap out the oil pump while you're in there.

 

So is the dealership just telling me I need to drop the tranny to charge me more? I'm doing it myself but they said that when I asked to get a rear main seal from them.

Also, in your experience, should I worry about the crankshaft?

 

the only hard part about it is cleaning that gasket off of the pan and block and getting the gasket to line up evenly in the back. i dont ever want to do one again...

 

Just pull the motor with a little experiance you can pull a motor in a little under 4 hrs then you can over everything and while its out give it a good power washing it will help your engine run cooler I rebuilt the engine in my 91 and now it never gets over 200 degrees and what a power and fuel mileage increase

 

U can def do it without pulling anything other than the oil pan. Make sure u change the gasket on it as well. Perfect time to pull the oli filter adapter off and swap those gaskets as well. Its super easy to do. Valve cover gaskets are cheap also might as well do all of them and she should be leak free

 

Thanks so much for the help. Looks like I have a fun project this weekend.

 

I have needed to unbolt the trans mount and jack it up some to get a bit more clearance to sneak the pan out. Turn the wheel to the left to get the drag link out of the way some.

The dealer is smoking crack if they want to pull the trans to change a 2 piece seal.

 

A lot of people including me thought that was the problem, When in fact it was my oil filter adapter. There are 3 o-rings in it and when it leaks oil goes down the engine wall and runs to the oil drain bolt.