I have searched quite a bit to try and answer these questions but have been unable to. So I have a 2001 stock XJ 4.0 Auto (AW4). It started leaking oil quite heavily while driving up a mountain with a very full load of passengers. The oil dripped down onto exhaust pipe causing smoke which I noticed and pulled over. Didn't lose much oil so engine is fine that way but now I am trying to address the leak. I have already replaced valve cover gasket and oil filter adapter o-ring and have checked that there isn't any oil leaking near the oil pressure switch but still some oil appears on the inspection plate between the transmission and the oil pan. I am planning to replace the rear main seal and oil pan gasket but am having a lot of trouble getting the pan dropped. There is a small plastic piece that keeps me from being able to remove the last two bolts in the oil pan nearest the inspection plate.



What is this plastic piece? Will it come off if I remove the inspection plate? I can't get the plate off because the exhaust pipe keeps the 18mm corner bolt from being removed.







I've seen a lot of threads that say you have to remove the catalytic converters from the exhaust manifold and take off the exhaust to drop the pan but is that absolutely necessary? I think I can cut this bolt off and get a new one to install backwards but would I need to remove the exhaust anyway to drop the pan? I basically just want to drop the oil pan as easily as possible to replace the rear main seal and oil pan gasket, but now it looks like i have to remove the intake manifold to access the exhaust manifold bolts to remove the catalytic converters to move the exhaust pipes to pull the bolt from the access panel to get that little plastic piece out of the way to get those last two bolts out of the oil pan. Complicated much? Haha I think I may be able to get the cats off without removing the intake manifold but it looks like a big PITA! Anyway I just want to know what is the bare minimum I can do to get the seal/gasket replaced. If the little plastic piece isn't real integral to the vehicle I can cut it to get access to the two bolts but I don't want to do that without knowing what the plastic piece is/does. I have seen pics online of earlier model cherokees without that piece but both this car and another 2000 xj have it.
Also- a guy on a different thread said he just put a heavier oil (10w40) and stop leak in and that solved the problem of a slow leak from around the inspection panel. I'm concerned with the longevity of this jeep (it's a daily driver not really for wheeling) so would this "solution" affect the overall life of the engine negatively at all?

 

Bump

Forget the stop leak idea. There are three O rings on the adapter, sounds like you have that covered.

Rarely I will "hammer" a socket onto a bolt head....Not at all familiar with the plastic causing your troubles, but hammers come in a bunch of sizes. Idk, Just my .O2, get the socket on there.

 

My 91 has the same bolt in a weird place near the exhaust. Thought it was a mistake till I saw yours. I would hit it with a grinder and invert a new bolt in it, that's what I'm doing.


Not sure about the plastic on the pan, mine did not have any on it. I was able to get my pan off without taking the exhaust off. I did have to disconnect the front shocks and let the from axle hang with jacks stands on the frame.


Mike

 

Yeah I didn't really like the stop leak idea either. I'd rather fix the problem properly but it's starting to become a real headache!
I wasn't able to get the 2 smaller o-rings for the adapter because no one at any parts stores locally knew what I was talking about and just had the larger main o-ring available so I did that one assuming that would at least keep the oil inside the adapter (and not all over my starter which is dead from being bathed in oil ).
I too thought a hammer might solve my "plastic/rubber piece" problems so I tried tapping the socket up towards the bolt head but the plastic/rubber piece is rigid enough and protrudes out over the heads of the bolts enough to foil that idea. Also-these last two bolts appear to be bigger than the others when I hold a crescent wrench up to size them (all other bolts were 7/16). They look about 1/2 but I don't know why they're different from the rest.

I have seen pics of older XJs that didn't have the little plastic/rubber piece. I'm envious right now because I think that's my main problem! I'm pretty sure it's not sitting where it is supposed to. It doesn't seem like it should obscure those two bolts the way it does but that's whats happening!

Thanks for your help!

 

What you are calling a 'plastic' piece is actually the pan strap.

The pan strap has a coating of rubber on it......that is what you are thinking is plastic, it has hardened.

Get the shield off first and you should have a better advantage to get to the bolts.




Destroy it if you have too, they are still available from the dealer for about $8

 

You got me, I'm still down with the hammer I guess. Just don't strip it. It shouldn't be very tight.

91-01 HO Model Orings

0.676 x 0.070 AS568 size -017
0.859 x 0.139 AS568 size -212
2.484 x 0.139 AS568 size -230

 

Ok quick update: after pounding a larger sized socket toward the pan strap (thanks Jeep Driver ) it became a little more flexible and I was then able to tap the proper sized socket (1/2") into place on the bolts! Hurray!!

Now I just need to know for sure if I have to remove the exhaust in order to drop the pan or can I just move it back and forth and slide it out without removing the exhaust? I keep reading conflicting opinions. Maybe its different for certain years. I dunno but I'd really really like to avoid messing with the exhaust if I can help it!

Thanks for those part specs DFlintstone and for everyone's help!!

 

On my 99, I was able to remove the pan without touching the exhaust.

RSWiser

 

That's what I like to hear! I'm gonna try pulling the pan without removing the exhaust (after some coffee ). I already have the starter out so at least that makes things a bit easier!

 

Yes you can do it without touching the exhaust! I got my pan out by dropping the suspension down a little to give the pan room to come down. Find a jack and jack the side of the sub-frame up so the suspension will let down then move the pan in and out. I did a rear main on my xj, it is a pain in the A$$ lol good luck!

 

Yeah it's definitely a PITA! I have the pan detached and the jeep supported under the frame so the axle is hanging but there still isn't enough clearance between the the axle and the transmission to slide the sump down. I tried jacking the axle up a bit to try and pull it towards the front of the vehicle and make a little more space but to no avail. I haven't detached the drag link from the pitman or detached the track bar yet so I'm gonna do that and see if it helps but I don't think that'll necessarily provide more clearance between trans and axle and that seems to be my biggest hangup right now.. We'll see how she goes!

 

At least one book somewhere says to move the pan aside and unbolt the oil pump. (doesn't sound right to me).......Btw, I'll be there on a 4.0 soon myself.

 

Did you disconnect both front shocks and support the body by the frame?

 

I supported under the frame but didn't disconnect the shocks.. That sounds like it may be the source of my clearance issue! Thanks!!

 

Definitely is, you can just disconnect the lower mounts and let them hang while you work.