Mudshack

I am going to replace the valve cover gasket and the oil pan gasket tomorrow. If I get far enough, I will change the tranny filter and tranny gasket.

Any tips for things to look out for? Seems like some straight forward 1 Banana kind of stuff, but this will be my frist time wrenching on the XJ. All my other wrenching has been on Toyotas.

I do have the FSM.

Mike1998XJ

If your Cherokee is lifted it makes it a lot easier to get the oil pan off. Valve cover gaskets are easy as long as you buy the best silicone gaskets your auto shop has.

atomic-xj

Hi Mudshack,
To start with. Good luck if you have a 4x4. I just did this job, and the valve cover is straight forward and easy. Just remove the two bolts that hold the throttle cables down (to the right of the valve cover from the front). However, the oil pan is a pain in the a$$. If all you want to do is replace the pan gasket, you can just jack the Jeep up as far as you can, then drop the pan, slide the gasket in (the hardest part is sliding it around the oil pan pickup) then rebolt it. However, if you want to remove the pan to clean it out and the oil pickup, then you need to play a different game. Unbolt the shock absorbers (i unbolted the lower ends) and jack the jeep up to where the front wheels are just barely off the ground. Then the oil pan will come out. You will have to turn it sideways, and pull it out on the passenger side. Some members have suggested jacking up the axle and pulling the pan out this way. I cant vouch for this, but it makes sense. The oil pan moves towards the axle the higher the jeep is to the axle. Jacking up the axle relative to the body increases the amount of distance between the pan and axle. Either way its a pain in the rear. jeep should have made this easier. Good luck. Its doable, but replacing the XJ oil pan gasket is the oiliest job you will ever do on a car.

atomic-xj

Also, I recommend using Dealership gaskets...they fit! They are more expensive, but they work, and you dont have to run back to the auto store.

Mudshack

Pay stealership prices??

Mike1998XJ

It's been debated before if it's worth it to change the tranny filter.
First of all it's a pain in the butt to pull the dipstick out so you can easily drop the pan.
My theory is to pull the plug and drain the tranny fluid into a clean pan. If you see anything like heavy metal shavings or chips then go ahead and pull the pan and replace the tranny filter. You can also look at the magnetic drain plug and see if you have any chips on there. Usually you just have a gray substance which is small metal shavings and what not. (This is normal).
I will never drop another tranny pan unless I have determined that there are problems with the tranny. At that point it's time to pull the whole thing anyways.
Just drain the 3 to 4 quarts and replace it with Dex three tranny fluid. Another topic that has been debated on here many times. You may here others tell you to use ATF but for my money and 99% of the other people on here that's a mistake. Use Dex three!
Mike

atomic-xj

The stealership prices werent much more than my local Napa! Good luck. Hope it goes well. I ended up spending three days changing the valve cover, the oil pan gasket, the oil pump, and the oil filter mount o rings. bleh. glad thats over! it definitely makes you a stud to do it all!

95Cherokee

were the O-rings the easiest part?

je4reyk

Hi with the oil pan off. It might be a good time to replace the rear main seal they say it is. Not that hard , just have to take the pan off is most of the work.I found out the hard way,after replacing my pan gasket.

Mudshack

All done. Thanks for the tips. No one mentioned the bolt closest to the firewall. I got it out, but putting it back was a pain. I dropped it and it was lost for about 15min. It found a cozy place back there between the engine and firewall.

Man, the stupid plastic pieces holding the fuel injector wireing line in place were my biggest problem. Them, combined with the radiator hose made for a very tight fit getting the valve cover out, and then back in.

What are the two vacuum lines coming out the top of the valve cover? They both had a lot of play in them, and were cruddy. Because I didn't know, I didn't mess with them.

alpine.adrenaline

Those are your crankcase ventilation hoses. One draws air out via the vacuum on the throttle body, the other allows fresh air in from the intake manifold. There should be a Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) valve on the hose going to your intake from your valve cover, this maintains pressures and airflow to reduce engine blowby.

Mudshack

It appears that there is not a good seal around where both the inlet and outlet are on the top of the valve cover. Soot has built up. Is this good/bad/normal?

alpine.adrenaline

It is important that air flows through these hoses to reduce blow-by. It sounds like the soot may have clogged them and pressure is going out the grommets on your valve cover. If they're gunked up, clean them thoroughly and replace your PCV valve.