vroomvroom

Hey All,

I had a leak at the rear main seal and my oil pan was rusty and had some damage, so I replaced the rear main seal and the oil pan as well. Unfortunately, I got every single bolt torqued down until I got to the last bolt... which just spins... And in a crappy location as well! It's one of the 5/16 bolts in the back of the oil pan where the rear main area is. I've tried a brand new bolt and a slightly longer bolt and neither grabs. Any suggestions? I'd rather not take everything apart again unless I have to. It was a lot of work up until this point.

RockyMtn96XJ

Clean out the bolt hole with a spray can of brake cleaner, then cover the bolt in Red RTV, and put it in, tighten until you know its going to strip past its stop point, and let it cure. Check it everyday for a week to see if its leaking.

Or drop the pan and tap the hole to the next bigger size.... But that may be achievable without dropping the pan if your good enough...

vroomvroom

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to think about this. What about tapping the hole for an M8 bolt? I believe 5/16 is just under 8 right?

Also, what about Helicoils?

RockyMtn96XJ

Here is a recent thread about stripped bolt holes..

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/aw4...-strip-256731/

vroomvroom

Thanks for the suggestions. I was able to get this issue resolved. But guess what, the Jeep leaks around the bellhousing/back of the oil pan... Hopefully not the rear main seal as it is new. Seems like one thing after another. Can't catch a break.

lawsoncl

If the back of the block is wet, look to the valve cover. Also look at the oil filter adapter.

RockyMtn96XJ

Exactly, especially if it wasn't wet back there before.

You could give it a fresh area to leak on if you degrease the area and see what comes back. Also add the UV dye to the oil and use a cheapo blacklight flashlight from harbor freight to look for the areas the dyed oil may be leaking from.