I decided to do my RMS yesterday. I'd read stories about how difficult it could be but I'm smarter than them, I said. After seven hours, my Jeep was spread all over the driveway and the oil pan was still stuck on the axle. Now, a day later, it's time to start again. We'll see how long my reservoir of persistence lasts.

 

Try undoing the shocks and sway bar. so the axle can drop out of the way.

 

I fought the same thing. People said to undo shocks and sway bar but my axle still wouldnt drop far enough. I had to remove the 2 engine mount bolts and jack the engine up to get the pan out.

 

The easiest way I have found to get the oil pan out is to jack up the front and let the axle droop. This worked on my stock '92 and my lifted '91. I didn't have to disconnect anything. It gave me plenty of room over the axle to get the pan out.

 

If you need more droop, disconnect the trackbar and LCA at the axle. at this point the axle is only held to the Jeep by the TREs.

 

I haven't done mine but ....my book says to shift the pan over to reach the oil pump bolts, then remove both at once, IIRC. Sure don't like the idea of assembling that way. Don't forget you can get little plastic deals that fit in the pan holes to hold the gasket in place on install.

I wonder if removing the wheels would cut down on how high you need to jack the frame.

Didn't mean to sound "smart". Our deepest regrets are with you in this time of grief. Our prayers are for you. My outer seal on my command track Disco is pissen a little. I thought I was one to handle it. So, on the bright side, this will help harden you up for when that comes up.

 

put jeep on jackstands, remove wheels, get a couple buddies to stand on the axle to force it down. big pry bar also works.

 

I used dental floss to hold the gasket in place, just have to be careful not to leave any on

 

I'd done a bunch before joining the forum, where I learned about the deals. I guess they are similar to the goodies than hold interior door panels. Looks like they hold the gasket well.
I've looped thread around more than a few times to hold brushes out, while the commutator slides in..only use dental floss in in the garden.....

 

This was awesome advice. I'd disconnected the shocks but not the sway bar and that is what was holding it up. I disconnected the sway and the pan pulled right out.

I don't have any friends.

This is brilliant.

Thank you for your support

The funny part is that the easiest part of replacing the RMS has been replacing the RMS. I got my pan all scrubbed out, sanded, and repainted (because I'm OCD and can't put dirty crap back on). I got the pan bolted back up but noticed that the gasket was misaligned in that "U" area at the back of the pan so I had to pull it again. I can't believe this is going to be a three day job but progress is being made.

 

Two steps forward, to one back seems OK. Just, it bothers me when 12 back comes before the (guessing), the 18, forward.

 

I'm really hoping things go smoothly(er) today.

 

Hey, while removing the inspection plate (I think?), this bracket fell on the driveway. I can't seem to figure out where it goes. Thoughts?



It's weathered on one side (the side pictured) and shiny on the other (not pictured) so I assume it was sandwiched against something but I can't figure out what.

 

Might be the piece, that bolts to the inspection cover, on the passenger side. I think it holds hard lines, but your part, looks broken. Notice the edge by your middle finger.

 

I agree, I looked at it again (after reading this) and there is evidence that it's not all there. I'm going to leave it off for now but suspect that doing so will cause my power windows to stop working... and I don't even have power windows.