99 Cherokee...Oil Pan gasket

[BostonIrish]

How much of a pain in the ass is this...I think its leaking...its hard to tell because I first though it was the RMS but its kinda wet on the starter side too.I was told I might have to pull the Tranny to replace the RMS...do I need to drop the front axle down to make it below the pickup? I dont have a lift and was thinking of doing it in the garage...Thanks

 

[98XJLongBuild]

Use two car jacks underneather the firewall and lift the front up so the suspension drops down all the way. The take the pan out. You should be able to drop the pan without lifting the front end up. Really depands if its stock height or if it has a lift.

But before you try doing any of that have you turned all 100 off the bolts a 1/4 turn tighter to squeeze the gasket out a little more.

 

[BostonIrish]

Not yet..people tell me it could be the oil filter adapter too.Might try that too...it's not a huge leak but the oil is blowing everywhere..

 

[Talyn]

Check the bolt torque. Don't go all heman on them, just snug them down. Oil filter adapter, RMS, oil pan gasket, and valve cover are know leaks. You may also want to clean it off and try to track down there the leak actually is.

 

[O-Gauge Steamer]

How much of a pain in the ass is this...I think its leaking...its hard to tell because I first though it was the RMS but its kinda wet on the starter side too.I was told I might have to pull the Tranny to replace the RMS...do I need to drop the front axle down to make it below the pickup? I dont have a lift and was thinking of doing it in the garage...Thanks

Well, it is a right royal PITA to do but, at least, the transmission does not need to come out. The biggest chance of success it to drop the front suspension as far as you can. As in take the wheels off and drop it, drop it. Consider disconnecting the shocks drop it.

The FSM calls for a proceedure (I have posted it here, on . Do a search, it is here some place...) that involves a side lift so as to allow the front axle to get out of the way. We can't do that but we can get the suspension to fully drop by using tall jack stands. You also will find it handy to remove the starter.

First thing I recommend though is a trip to the car wash. Take a set of ramps with you, if you have them, and very thouroughly clean all the sludge off of the Heep. You need to know, for sure, where it is leaking prior to disassembly or you will be risking replacing the wrong part.

Plus, who really wants to work in a grease pit?