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Rear Main

Kejtar

PostMaster General
NAXJA Member
OK... looks like the time has come to get it done. I searched the forums and read some post and then in one of the posts I came across this link: http://www.jeepin.com/features/rearmain/index.asp which seems to be very nice and detailed. Is there anything else that I should be aware of? any other hints? pointers??

Also is the following the best gasket to get for the oil pan? http://www.4wd.com/shopwrangler/ProductDetail.asp?ProductSKU=53007568

ANd is there a specific one I should get for the rear main??
 
Be careful not to warp the pan when taking it off. If it aint good and straight when you put it back on itll most likely leak somewhere. Dont ask me how i know :anon:


Mike
 
This is true of both the oil pan and valve cover. Once you have either off and cleaned put the cover on a FLAT METAL SURFACE and, A: Run a feeler gauge all the way around looking for non flat spots, or, B: Put a light under it and look for light leaks. When you find a problem area look at it first, don't just beat it up or down because the surfaces on either side of it could be 'up' and causing the gap. For the valve covers I use a big wood jointer that has 5ft x 12" deck with a 12" high back on it, for an oil pan I use an old steel decked table saw. If I ever get a garage I'll have a piece of boiler plate on one of the work benches for this..
 
FYI-While you have the starter off and the pan removed, Jeep has a technical service bulletin about longevity of the rear main seal. All it says is to seal up the 1" diameter hole in the rear area next to the starter( you'll see it on the bottom of the block) with a high temp sillycone to help prevent the rear main seal from wearing out as fast on vehicles used off road. Apparently dust and dirt can get in there and cause the seal to wear faster. :party:
 
willysnut said:
FYI-While you have the starter off and the pan removed, Jeep has a technical service bulletin about longevity of the rear main seal. All it says is to seal up the 1" diameter hole in the rear area next to the starter( you'll see it on the bottom of the block) with a high temp sillycone to help prevent the rear main seal from wearing out as fast on vehicles used off road. Apparently dust and dirt can get in there and cause the seal to wear faster. :party:

That note needs to be kept somewhere, maybe under 'do this before playing off road' or something like that...
 
Just went through this last week. Wasn't bad as it sounded. All I did was release my discos to help the axle drop farther. The oilpan came off with a little moving around to clear the oil pump but all in all about 5 minutes of contortioning to get it out.
Couple of suggestions I am sure you read in other posts:
1. Change the oilpump if you think you even might need to. You didn't list your miles but at 156, 000 I figured I might as well to save pulling the pan again.
2. make sure the 3m sPRAY 90 OR RTV whatever you use is dry before mating the pan back up.
3. KEEP TRACK OF WHAT PAN BOLTS GO WHERE....don't ask.....PITA
4. I used the felpro rear main seal. buy two in case one rips or tweaks while putting it in. Easy enought to return the extra or save it for next time.
5. I used a piece of nylon rod, little smaller than pencil diameter, to knock out the old main seal. careful of that crank. remember to lightly lube the main bearing when bolting back up.
6. Wear safety glasses, nothing worse than dirty oil and crud in the eyes when under your rig.
7. As the others said, make sure both surfaces, block and pan, are clean, smooth and dry.
8. Took me about 3.5 hours with airtools. Not hard, just messy.
9. btw, the dishsoap trick worked great when inserting the new seal.

Have fun.

david.
 
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