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Oil Pan Removal, Lifted Jeep

B

Black1990jeep

NAXJA Forum User
Location
california
My 1990 cherokee needs to have oil pan removed from motor. (4.0 liter inline six)

The jeep is lifted 5.5 inches

Must I raise the motor, disconnect exhaust, and remove starter for this task? Factory Service Manual says I do, but with a 5.5 inch lift, do I still need to do this?

I dont want to be left stuck with a half removed pan, only to find I need to raise motor, disconnect exhaust. I really dont want to deal with the exhaust if I can avoid it, bolts are rusted on tight to the exhaust.

So can the motor oil pan be removed on a 5.5 lift 1990 cherokee without lifting the motor, disconnecting the exhaust?

Thanks!
 
The Jeep being lifted wouldn’t keep you from needing to remove the exhaust. Not sure about raising the motor. When I did the oils pan on my 4.0 TJ I had to remove the down pipe but didn’t have to raise the motor.
 
On a stock vehicle the usual issue is enough clearance between the axle and the oil pan to get the oil pan out. This can be solved by disconnecting the sway bar and track bar and shock bolts at the axle. You do not need to raise the engine or disconnect the exhaust. I typically remove the starter if nothing else to clean it and the thin sheetmetal that covers the flywheel With 5.5" of lift you probably don't need to any of that.
 
Ive taken mine off a few times without any problems, both at stock height and now lifted. Only had to disconnect and remove the starter. Easy and no moving of the exhaust necessary. I cant recommend enough disconnecting the starter though. Ive touched the terminals together with the wrench trying to unbolt it and move it and that is pretty scary and quite an electrifying experience.
 
What was said before is accurate. Tip for installation is to use 4 zip ties to hold new gasket in place. Start all the bolts and then cut/remove ties.
 
jk_surgeonfish said:
What was said before is accurate. Tip for installation is to use 4 zip ties to hold new gasket in place. Start all the bolts and then cut/remove ties.
Click to expand...
X2 Nice tip.

Also like a previous poster said, watch out for the power. I remove a battery cable, even if I leave the starter in.

Personally, I like having the starter out of the way.

A flexible extension can help with the bolts close to the exhaust.

Spend a couple of bucks at the quarter wash and clean the bottom of the engine and suspension before starting. It makes things
a lot nicer.
 
If you buy Felpro kits they come with plastic aligner/holder pins. Or you could go all the way like I do and stud the pan, it makes the install simple easy!
P1080513_zpskwcz0l2l.jpg
 
I did it on a stock height Jeep by removing wheels supporting at the unibody allowing the axle to droop as much as possible (didn't disconnect anything else) then removed the starter and one of the large corner bolts/nuts on the flexplate cover on the same side as the starter and got it out easy enough.

The felpro kit with the little plastic screw in studs made the job a million times easier than normal and it's a damn good gasket so I highly recommend that route for a replacement.
 
Picked the one piece Felpro gasket today, will start pan removal and broken dip stick tube removal shortly.

Thanks for all the sound advice. You all are da bomb!
 
RCP Phx said:
If you buy Felpro kits they come with plastic aligner/holder pins. Or you could go all the way like I do and stud the pan, it makes the install simple easy!
P1080513_zpskwcz0l2l.jpg
Click to expand...

I learned the hard way that if you stud the pan, you can't pull the timing cover without pulling the pan first. Now I put bolts in the 4 holes that go into the timing cover.
 
cal said:
I learned the hard way that if you stud the pan, you can't pull the timing cover without pulling the pan first. Now I put bolts in the 4 holes that go into the timing cover.
Click to expand...

My pan was held with bolts, no studs. It came on and off fine, the Felpro installation studs sure worked well too. Besure to wrap the exhaust and any other things the pan may bump during install, I used thin card board around the exhaust, and plastic bags around some wires that had lots of dirt, or flaky rust on them so that no grit would be dislodged into the pan as I maneuvered the pan into place. Wiping these parts clean was not enough, so wrapping them worked out well.

Got the oil dip stick tube out and she is good now.

Thanks everyone!
 
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