Rear Main seal?
CF Veteran
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 5,383
Likes: 5
Year: 1988 limited
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 litre
I had to do that in a parking lot, here are some pics, it took me 8 hours of work, the oil pan was really really tough to take off, engine came out clean, considering it's an '88 with 140k, didin't find the double lip seal so i had to get the stock, all i had was my wrench case and a couple of screwdrivers...
Last edited by fantic238; Jun 19, 2009 at 04:31 AM. Reason: incomplete
CF Veteran
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 5,383
Likes: 5
Year: 1988 limited
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 litre
It finally came off with a POP when i stucked 4 screwdrivers in the front corners and started patiently to cut the gasket with a blade, when i put everything back together, waited a night to let the red silicon dry, started the engine and looked under I couldn't beleive what was happening. It was pissing huge amounts of oil from the bent corners... i just sat down on the pavement and started to cry... BUT the seal was OK!! so i fixed the leak and was done...
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 104
Likes: 0
Year: 1990
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
I killed the oil pan, it just won't come off, i hammered it with a wrench, a stone, a log, kicked it, jacked it sideways.... nothing.
It finally came off with a POP when i stucked 4 screwdrivers in the front corners and started patiently to cut the gasket with a blade, when i put everything back together, waited a night to let the red silicon dry, started the engine and looked under I couldn't beleive what was happening. It was pissing huge amounts of oil from the bent corners... i just sat down on the pavement and started to cry... BUT the seal was OK!! so i fixed the leak and was done...
It finally came off with a POP when i stucked 4 screwdrivers in the front corners and started patiently to cut the gasket with a blade, when i put everything back together, waited a night to let the red silicon dry, started the engine and looked under I couldn't beleive what was happening. It was pissing huge amounts of oil from the bent corners... i just sat down on the pavement and started to cry... BUT the seal was OK!! so i fixed the leak and was done...
CF Veteran
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 5,383
Likes: 5
Year: 1988 limited
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 litre
Probably the easiest way to do this is cutting the gasket all around with loads of patience and a good cutting tool that has a solid grip, something like an x-acto or a very thin sharp kitchen knife, after unbolting everything. Another good thing to do is wait one day after u turned the engine off before u drain the oil, or the dripping will drive u crazy.
Check this out:
http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoRearMain.htm
and:
http://www.jeepin.com/features/rearmain/
Last edited by fantic238; Jun 20, 2009 at 12:05 PM.
Seasoned Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 397
Likes: 0
From: I'm bad, I'm nationwide.
Year: 1996
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
the pan ain't so hard once you learn a trick.
Lift the vehicle till the suspension is totally sagging. I did this on a bay lift but you could do it on jack stands, blocks, whatever just be safe cause later on you'll want everything to be stable. Then unbolt the pan and pull it down. Damn it! If the axle just sagged another inch you could get the pan out right? Wrong. Since the control arms on the jeepster are so short as the axle sags it moves towards the rear of the vehicle. I used a tranny jack. The kind with the paddle at the bottom that when you push it the jack bobs a few inches. I put it under the axle and raised it about an inch or two and the pan fell out on the ground. Freaking awesome. Read that on this forum somewhere and it works like a freaking charm.
Lift the vehicle till the suspension is totally sagging. I did this on a bay lift but you could do it on jack stands, blocks, whatever just be safe cause later on you'll want everything to be stable. Then unbolt the pan and pull it down. Damn it! If the axle just sagged another inch you could get the pan out right? Wrong. Since the control arms on the jeepster are so short as the axle sags it moves towards the rear of the vehicle. I used a tranny jack. The kind with the paddle at the bottom that when you push it the jack bobs a few inches. I put it under the axle and raised it about an inch or two and the pan fell out on the ground. Freaking awesome. Read that on this forum somewhere and it works like a freaking charm.
CF Veteran
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 5,383
Likes: 5
Year: 1988 limited
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 litre
My pan came out easily with the jeep on the floor, no jacking (check my pics), just the 3,5 in lift. The painful job though was to GET THAT THING SEPARATED FROM THE BLOCK! That's all the matter about...
"CF Moderator"
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 3,045
Likes: 3
From: N.J. Shore Area
Year: 1994
Model: Cherokee
Engine: l6 HO
My Jeep started gushing oil out of the rear of the block, and all over the transmission as well as the exhaust today. Lost a quart-ish in the sixty miles it took to get her home. (yes I did stop and add oil. Never went over temp either.) There was no knocking noises or anything like that, I didn't let her run very low during the trip home.
My friend (a mechanic, but more of a chevy 350 kinda guy) said it looks like the rear main oil seal to him. So, my questions to those in the know:
1) How bad is this? Is it something I can do in a couple hours? Do I need to take the engine out to get to the damn thing?
2) If I was to do this myself, do I need any specialty tools or should my "standard" Jeep repair tools work?
3) Would I just be better off taking it to a shop and letting someone else do the headache work?
Thanks!
--Todd--
My friend (a mechanic, but more of a chevy 350 kinda guy) said it looks like the rear main oil seal to him. So, my questions to those in the know:
1) How bad is this? Is it something I can do in a couple hours? Do I need to take the engine out to get to the damn thing?
2) If I was to do this myself, do I need any specialty tools or should my "standard" Jeep repair tools work?
3) Would I just be better off taking it to a shop and letting someone else do the headache work?
Thanks!
--Todd--
http://go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoRearMain.htm