Maybe it is an oil pan heater

 

 

That looks Ike the rubber splash shield. Pic is kinda dark though.

does it hook up under the radiator support and the run to the rear of the engine and off to both sides?

if so it’s just a splash shield.

 

yea that's what it is. Do I need i?

 

Depends. How do you use your Cherokee? Daily driver? Off-roader?

 

Its nice to have if you drive in a wet environment. It keeps water from splashing up on the engine. The alternator is mounted low. It’s nice to keep those from getting soaked.
But it’s not mandatory

 

If it is the mud shield I prefer to run it. Cause the alternator is down there.
It is just in with clips.
They resemble these. Might even be these.


I buy mine from Napa and can look up the part number in my files if you need me to.
I also use this to remove them.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/BK_7769160

 

sweet. Thanks. Well...I just ripped mine accidentally removing it. Was already ripped though. Any good replacement shields of better quality that you know of?

 

They can still be bought last time I checked. But poking around it appears not.
I always thought that it was the same one for all XJ's but appears it is:
55174736 for '94 and up
52003570 for '93 and down.
So poke around maybe you will get lucky.
I would imagine that it is easy enough to make one.

 

would a skid plate cover that same area?

 

You mean a front factory skid?
If so no.

 

Tried pulling on the two bolts,
tried a rubber hammer,
Tried a headless screw driver
what's next?
this thing is stuck in there good

 

I have brass or steel drifts for tapping upon each side, if that fails, whale savagely upon it with a ballpein hammer

 

I'm on day 3 of the rear main seal job for my 1992 cherokee. Firdt mechanical job I've ever done on a car. Jack stands under frame rails, tires still attached. Not a lot of room under there but enough to get by. Oil pan came off easily without removing exhaust and starter. Bearing cap was a pain in the *** to get off, and so it taking out the upper half of the seal. I'm working on that now. While doing this, some questions have arised, that I haven't seen answered in other threads or on the famous YouTube videos of how to replace RMS. My questions are:

1. Do I need to use carb cleaner to clean the bearing cap bolts and bolt holes so that they are dry upon reassembly?
2. do I need to clean the oil pan bolts with carb cleaner before reassembly?
3. Is it safe to use degreaser to clean inside my oil pan?
4. Can I/ should I use carb cleaner to clean the rear main bearing cap?
5. Since my tires are still on the car and the suspension is drooping so that the axles hangs down a bit, is this going to damage or affect anything on my suspension?

Thanks

 

1. Brake cleaner works better. Make sure you have good ventilation. REALLY good. And wear nitrile gloves. Not sure about being dry on reassembly, though. Some fasteners need to be dry, some need to be lubed to get the proper torque. But "clean" is an absolute requirement.
2. Again, brake cleaner. Or you can give them a bath in some de-greaser. Not so critical here, but clean IS required.
3. Yep. Just make sure it's all gone before you reassemble.
4. Again, brake cleaner is better, and again, clean is critical.
5. No problem.

Maybe someone else can help on the dry vs. lubed question. Sorry I can't help on that.