Steelcityfan29

I am trying to get my transmission pan gasket replaced here... are there any tricks to it. Im stumped at getting it off with the dip stick apeice on the side of it there.. anyone have any tricks?

BlueXJ

Pull the dipstick. Put the gasket on the pan before lifting it into place. Light pressure on those pan bolts.

Bigclubs

Well I concure the engineer who designed the pan on 90's jeep was a Dipstick. If I remember the dipstick is attached to the side of the transmission pan and maked it impossible to drop the pan completely. My only drops @3 inches. I tried to disconnect the dipstick tube from the engine mount and even tried to heat the connection halfway down the tube to separate it at the joint, with no results. I could not get the pan below the crossbrace. I had to use 1/4 drive socket to remove the bolts to replace the filter. I remember the gasket did not need to go over the dipstick though, when instalingl the pan. It just takes a lot more time to replace the gasket and filter. Even the dealers cringe when asked to change the filter and opt for the fluid exchange. They will charge about $150 to do it. I'll still take the extra time over this price.

Mike1998XJ

Unbolt the dipstick fron the engine mount bolt and the whole thing will drop to the ground. My 1999 has a drain plug. I would go that route if your hesitant about dropping the pan. I did a filter on a 99' that had 250,000 miles on it and the filter was still fine. Next time I'll just pull the plug and let the fluid flow into a clean pan. If I see any chips then I'll remove the pan and filter. If not just add fluid and go.

98 JeepJeep

X2 on adding fluid...there is only a fine "screen" inside the pan mounted to the valve body. The factory uses Pink RTV and it is a b!tch to get off. since it is a pan filled trans...its a 2 piece dipstick tube mounted on the pan. I could not seperate mine, i ended up droping the pan with tube attached and cleaning the magnets and reinstalling. You need to have the jeep on jack stands to drain the pan fully. about 4 quarts will come out.........

bigbadxj

We need some pics of this.

robertj

+1 on unbolting the dipstick tube and dropping the entire thing. Also, I tried to use a gasket with no luck, and it leaked like crazy. Ended up using only RTV, and it's never leaked in 7,000 miles. The matching surfaces aren't that bad to clean the old RTV off of. The pan you do on your work bench, and the tranny side is nice and flat. A standard gasket scrapper works just fine.

Mike1998XJ

See attached picture. If your going to drop the pan make sure you buy the best gasket they have at your locale autoparts store. Have the tools in the picture available. Don't be aggressive when you remove the pan. If you pound a screwdriver in there to break the gasket sealer you will need the straight edge to check the pan sealing lip for straightness. Put the pan upside down on a flat surface and tap the lip straight with something flat if need be.
Use the gasket scraper to remove most of the sealant. I bought this one at Sears and a pack of blades. Don't scratch the lip on the pan.
Then use a drill with a scotchguard pad or fine wire wheel on it to remove the rest of the sealant. Ask the guys at your auto store to help you pick out the right wheel for this.
Then use the laquor thinner to clean the pan and the tranny. Once I have them clean I rub my finger along them to feel any possible burrs. I take a flat file and place it in full contact with the pan or tranny where the burr is. I then flat file the surface making sure to hold the whole file against the surface I'm filing. (take the handle off the file if it has one so you can hold it flat.
Take your time, use plenty of light and your hands to feel for burrs and you will be ok if you decide to drop the pan. Familiarize yourself with a torque wrench and use it to torque the pan bolts. Or try and learn the feel of the specified torque spec. It's not much on these bolts. Use a 1/4" drive ratchet at the most.
Good luck. And have fun getting the bolt that holds the tranny dipstick to the engine off! I lost a lot of skin on that one. I wouldn't heat the tube up to try and break the seal on the 2 piece stick. I think there is a rubber O-ring in there.
You should not need rtv if done carefully.

FrossB

This thread has some good info in it! I will be putting it to use here soon as I have a tranny leak and I believe it is coming from the pan gasket. Thanks!

ShowMe Cherokee

My pan was the same way. Had to unbolt the dipstick to drop enough to access stuff, and cleaning the old gasket material is a serious pain.

I have seen pics where someone cut the tubing above the pan with a small tube cutter to drop the pan, and then covered the cut with tubing and hose clamps so they could drop more easily in the future. Probably a smart thing to do.

Greg

scottmphoto

When I replaced my fluid and filter after I got this XJ, I had the same problem. Drop the pan, leaving the dipstick attached to the engine. After all the bolts are out, gently but firmly pull down on the pan while rotating it back and forth. There is a rubber o-ring in the connection between upper and lower dipstick tube and after so many years, it'll stick. After it comes loose, disconnect the upper tube from the engine. Pull off the old o-ring and use a wire brush to get the gunk off. If the o-ring is torn up, replace it. I was able to reuse mine, then use grease on the upper part that slides into the lower. Install the new filter and pan. Install the upper tube last. Start the upper tube into the lower then with firm but gentle downward pressure, rotate the tube back and forth until it lines up with the mounting hole, bolt in place, and you're done. Next time you need to remove the pan will be easier.

xj14

When I changed my fluid I just used an air tool cutter to cut the dip stick tube in half and drop the pan. Then i got a new tube from Jeep which if I remember right was only like $12 bucks. Once you have the pan out it is alot easier to remove the tube from the pan. Also NEVER change the fluid without changing the filter. IMO. When you add new fluid it will have cleaning agents in it and will clean out the tranny and a new filter will hold more debris. Iv seen lots of people have transmission troubles with these Jeeps (mail route jeeps) until they started changing the fluid and filter more often.

Anony

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XJLEX

Thankfully i have enough clearance to drop the pan and just let it hang.. A bit of light prying got it loose, im pretty sure i saw some pink rtv on here telling me this bad boys been on there since it rolled off the lot some 20 years ago. Clean enough to eat out of

The whole point behind dropping the pan is to locate the wheel your throttle control(kickdown) cable sits in...what a pain in the ****.

jshultz78

Mine has a cork gasket, So I guess it's been into before, makes me feel better about dropping the pan and cleaning it out with 224k on the clock. That's the last thing I need is doing a fluid and filter change and killing the trans.