Tomorrow is the day! I am dropping the oil pan and putting in a new seal. I bought FelPro products. Got a "deal" on amazon.

Does any body have last minute tips? I have plenty of time. The Jeep is not my daily driver. That makes working on it quite a bit more relaxed.

 

Locktite 518 for the four corners where the first and last main bearing caps meet the oil pan's gasket surface of the engine block. If you use the main bearing bolts to rock the rear cap out, make sure they are all the way inside the bolt holes (not protruding past the cap into the block) so you don't scratch the bearing surface on the crankshaft. If the pan won't clear the transmission's bell housing, undo the two transmission to cross member fasteners and jack up the rear of the transmission a few inches.

 

Remember, Brass punch to drive the upper half of the seal out. If it's really stubborn, you can loosen (don't remove) the other caps to drop the end of the crank a bit. That hopefully will give you a bit more room to punch that sucker out. Don't forget the sealant on the end cap and properly torque the caps.

 

If I could give the shop that did mine some post install advice:
(I had my arm in a sling, only the second time I've even used a shop for repairs)

- Don't argue with the customer when he says you don't need to pull the transmission out
- Don't chip out a 1/4" section of the bearing cap trying drive the upper piece out
- Don't give up and only replace the bottom half of the seal
- Do not goober the entire mess with silicon sealer
- The top half of the seal isn't supposed to be bent up and a different color than the bottom half.
- Reinstall ALL of the oil pin bolts and tighten them more than finger tight
- Don't blame the lack of a non-existent PVC valve when the customer says it's leaking worse
- Being the shop owners son doesn't make you infallible.

My helpful advice is lay down some cardboard underneath to catch all the drips. Once you have the pan off, go get lunch and let it drip for awhile. Your hair, face, eyes, and clothes will thank you later.

 

The oil pan is out! My front axle drooped enough to let the pan slip out. I did remove the track bar however. That helped some. And the springs are original from 1987, so they may be a bit saggy.

The pan was stuck pretty good. I am sure this is the first time the pan has been off since the Reagan administration was in power. A thin bladed putty knife and 20 minutes of time did the trick.

All of my bolts were the same, save the 4 corner bolts, so why the fuss about keeping track of what location they came from? I kept track, but why?

 

Success!! Rear main seal is in! The hardest part of the job was putting the oil pan back on. I didnt have a helper today, and wrestling that thing in place while laying on my back was tough.

But, I am drip free!!

Thanks to every one for the tips and help!!

 

You're drip free?

How about the Jeep?

 

Me? Not so much. But yes on the Jeep!

 

i THOUGHT THAT'S WHAT YOU MEANT......