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Anyone near LA want to change my rear main seal??

B

broclirobb

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Venice, CA
Good morning everyone!

I just finished my aftermarket head swap and upgraded my cooling system on my 2001 cherokee i just bought with a thought to be blown head gasket... ended up being a cracked head. It has a leaking rear main seal losing about an oz or less of oil a day. I know most people wouldn't fix this right away and just continue to top off, but i park in a shared garage and dont want to pollute it anymore.

Ive read all about the fix and am ready to buy the new 2 piece seals and 1 piece oil pan gasket but I dont have jack stands or a lift. Also my jeep is stock height with stock tires, so Im aware that I will need to drop the axle enough to clear for the removal of the oil pan and i just dont have access to a lift.

Is there anyone out here who can suggest a fair priced mechanic or anyone who is willing to help me do this either at my place or yours? I have every other tool needed. The problem with most shops around here is they don't have experience with this particular car and when they look up a quote to fix this in their books it is way over priced for what is actually being done!

I am fair and am willing to pay a fair price. I also have so items I could trade for service, ie, hunting stuff, ammo, motorcycle gear, camping gear, motorcycle services, beer....

Thanks! I hope i put this in the correct forum section, please let me know if i need to move it!
 
The job isnt to bad, I did it with a friend in a afternoon. If you plan on doing any work on your xj in the future just buy a jack and stands. When I replaced mine it was at stock height, yes it would be easier lifted but it can be done with jack stands.
 
eflosd said:
The job isnt to bad, I did it with a friend in a afternoon. If you plan on doing any work on your xj in the future just buy a jack and stands. When I replaced mine it was at stock height, yes it would be easier lifted but it can be done with jack stands.
Click to expand...


so did you just lift it as high a possible and disconnect sway bars to get the axle low enough?
 
you need to at the very least disconnect the driveshaft at the axle, undo the upper control arms, and undo the shocks in addition to disconnecting the sway bar. I would also disconnect the track bar at the frame side and remove the steering at the pitman arm.. on a stock height rig it is difficult to get the jeep up high enough and the axle low enough to get the pan off from around the oil pump pickup. at that point you're already 90% of the way to completely removing the front axle from the jeep. this is how I usually do this job, but I'm kind of a big guy and I like the extra room to work.

while you're at it once the upper arms are disconnected from the axle now would be a good time to put new bushings in :D
 
broclirobb said:
so did you just lift it as high a possible and disconnect sway bars to get the axle low enough?
Click to expand...
Yes i just put it up on jack stands under the frame and disconnected the sway bar, I did not need to undo anything else. It wasnt easy sliding the pan back in after replacing the seal but it can be done
 
GrimmJeeper said:
you need to at the very least disconnect the driveshaft at the axle, undo the upper control arms, and undo the shocks in addition to disconnecting the sway bar. I would also disconnect the track bar at the frame side and remove the steering at the pitman arm.. on a stock height rig it is difficult to get the jeep up high enough and the axle low enough to get the pan off from around the oil pump pickup. at that point you're already 90% of the way to completely removing the front axle from the jeep. this is how I usually do this job, but I'm kind of a big guy and I like the extra room to work.

while you're at it once the upper arms are disconnected from the axle now would be a good time to put new bushings in :D
Click to expand...

So i may aswell put adjustable control arms in, upgrade the track bar, lift the truck 6 inches, and regear if the axle is off LOL... I like "eflosd"'s way better!!! He makes it seem easy! LOL

Thanks for the replies so far I do appreciate it. I am still looking for someone to help with this too. I just dont want to buy a jack and stands right now because I am limited in my storage space.
 
im sure that someone in the LA area could use some $ and help you out at the same time. good luck man :)
 
broclirobb said:
So i may aswell put adjustable control arms in, upgrade the track bar, lift the truck 6 inches, and regear if the axle is off LOL... I like "eflosd"'s way better!!! He makes it seem easy! LOL
Click to expand...

I wasn't trying to be a smart ass, I just like doing things the easy way. :wave1:
 
Sometimes taking 30 minutes to remove extra parts for clearance is worth it, when you pinch/twist the gasket because you didn't have room , you'll be wishing you did....

Some people have girl sized hands, or are super crazy dexterous and can do these things with zero clearance, I am not one of those people, and therefore like hearing these extra real world tips... As I'm sure many others do.

I've gone so far as to completely pull the front axle for a rear main, which was overkill, but many hands make light work...
If you can do them without, here's a cookie....
 
sidewaysstarion said:
Are you %100 sure its the rear main? Have you done the valve cover gasket/oil filter housing?
Click to expand...

In OP he said he got a new head swapped in, so unless the recently installed VC gasket is leaking, then that is not it.
 
Johnnie Walker said:
In OP he said he got a new head swapped in, so unless the recently installed VC gasket is leaking, then that is not it.
Click to expand...

Doesn't mean the old VC gasket was reused.

My rig was leaking oil from what looked like the rear main area, it turns out it was the oil filter housing leaking and running down the lip of the pan and dripping off of the back, I'd give that a try first since the orings are ~$4 and you can do it in an hour or so.
 
thanks for all the responses! GrimmJeeper, i know you werent being a smart ass, I was being one! This is what I've heard before from many people, I just wanted to check if anyone has done it with out removing most of the front end. Honestly I know Im capable of doing this, did exactly what I described when I lifted my 94 XJ with yada yada... I just spent more time than I wanted to on the head replacement which was with all new gaskets including changing my valve cover seal to new. I also changed my oil with new filters 2 times in 1 day to flush out as much coolant mixed oil as I could so I have been seeing the oil filter housing up close and no leaks from there either. I am almost positive it is the rear main seal every where else is clean.

I am located in Venice
 
I work at Champion Dodge in Downey, i can ask an experienced tech how much he'd charge to do it for you. it would be much cheaper than the actual dealer would charge you. i'd offer myself but i havent done nearly as many of these and they can do them in like 1/4 the time i can. PM me if you're interested
 
I recently did a stock 2000, removed the upper shocks mounts and sway bar links ONLY.

Used 2 small bottle jacks, one on each side between the axle and frame to jack the axle down a little farther than gravity would take it to get the pan out. No biggie.
 
If you're planning on lifting it, you can delay this until you lift it. Take a shop rag and fold it a few times and jamb it between the pan and the transmission inspection cover. It will soak up the oil leaking from the seal. (Dave Taylor trick). I did my 91 when it was at stock height and used a lift. Pain in the butt getting the axle to drop far enough to get the pan in and out. On my 95 I waited until I lifted it, didn't touch anything on the axle, pulled the starter, dropped the pan and replaced the seal. Took about an hour on a lift.
 
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