Tackling the oil leaks.

Basics - 96 Country 4.0 AW4 231 140k Bone stock

I'm going to spend the next few weeks tackling the 3 major and common sources of leaking oil on my 96 Country, but I had some questions.

Valve Cover Gasket - Any brand I should go with/stay away from?

Rear Main Seal - I've read the how-to's on this. Is this really something a novice like me can do without professional help? I know it's messy, that's fine. I just don't wanna mess anything up.

Oil Filter Adapter - Should I buy the O-ring set (there looks to be about a million pieces in it) or should I just buy a whole new unit?

Thanks for any help/advice guys.

1. Felpro.

2. You can do it. There is a write up in the FAQ section by 5-90; spray a little silicone on the upper piece to ease in sliding it into place without tearing.

3. The OFA o-ring kit has THREE o-rings in it, at the dealer about $8. The only issue will be what center bolt you have, I think it is either 14mm hex or T60. Do some reading here before you tackle it. There is ZERO reason to buy a complete OFA.

Joe is right on. But, I would do the valve cover gasket first, then the OFA. Wait a bit and see if the RMS is really leaking.

I agree with cruiser. Do the RMS last. However, if you do not have a good understanding of basic mechanics, decent tools, and a fair amount of patience, you will probably mess up the RMS installation. It is not difficult, but it can be time consuming.

There are a few things that can kill you or the Jeep during this repair, including properly jacking the front of the vehicle to lower the front suspension, forgetting to disconnect the battery (should remove the starter), damaging the bearing caps during seal removal and cleaning, biffing the seal installation (and having to do it again), and improper torque of bearing cap and pan bolts.

If you do this yourself, expect to get crap in your eyes, oil on your wife's new kitchen towels, banged knuckles, and broken parts. However, you will join the select club prideful XJ owners who choose to do their own maintenance, and because of that, you will earn everyone's respect, regardless of consequences to health and safety.

As for the OFA, that is a simple job. Get the 3 o-rings and be prepared to use a bit of muscle (or a long pry bar) to remove the adapter bolt. Research will reveal proper tools and methods. After you take care of these leaks, you'll want to get a lift and tires. It gets in your blood, man.

Ok, so I'll do the valve cover first, then the OFA. The more I look in at the OFA, I don't think it'll be as bad as I thought it would be in terms of space. I have the exact wrenches I saw in one of the write-ups, I just need the T-60 bit and I'll punch out the piece if the socket can't fit. The oil pressure unit should come out easy, since it's brand new (broke it when I had to get the glued-on filter off). I'll probably take on the valve cover next week, along with stage 3 of the slow, prolgressive tranny fluid change. Thanks for the help guys!

I used my hi-lift jack handle on the wrench. Worked perfectly.

I used high temprature gray RTV on my valve cover, followed the directions on the tube. Over a year later there are still no leaks. I decided to go the RTV after hearing about problems with valve cover gaskets.