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AW4 pan gasket replacement with RC longarm

BarelyGettinBy

NAXJA Forum User
Searched everywhere without finding a definite answer. Mechanically inclined but new to the jeep world. Recently bought a 99 xj with a Rough country longarm kit. It needs a trans pan gasket and tv cable. I need to drop the control arms and crossmember to access this. Can this be done with the springs installed? Jack stands under the unibody and axle?
 
Springs can stay installed unless there is something weird im not thinking about. May what to do a stand under the pinion so it doesn't rotate and block tires. I don't know why you'd have to remove the crossmember for a trans pan, thought there'd be enough room under there but I'm not physically looking at my jeep currently.
 
I saw one forum member that responded to another post by saying “Take your tcase skid off unbolt tranny mount chock front wheels put jack stand under tcase unbolt arms and belly pull belly out and service your tranny” does that seem right?
 
I've had my RC long arm suspension apart a few times. Its always a challenge getting the suspension parts lined up when reassembling. Its more difficult if the springs are installed. If the vehicle is not jacked up, the spring force on the front axle is very high. The spring cups are located in front of the axle centerline which drives the axle to rotate. Chocking the wheels helps but doesn't eliminate the issue.

If you are going to do this with the springs installed and full load on the axle, I recommend attempting to drop the crossmember with the long arms installed, and with the short arms disconnected from the axle. This will allow the cross member to drop without forcing the axle to rotate. Chock the front and rear wheels thoroughly. Put a lot of air in the tires after chocking the wheels.

For reassembly, the first step will be to reinstall the cross member. Then reattach the short arms. You'll probably need to use a ratchet strap or come-along to rotate the axle back. I did this by pulling on the mounting point on the axle for the short arm, specifically, the mounting point that is not integrated with the pumpkin. The other end of the ratchet strap was attached to the rear axle. One option may be to strap the front axle before you remove the short arm. Even if strapping in advance, the axle will definitely rotate somewhat. The loads are very high.

Another option is to do the job with the vehicle on jackstands to partially unload the front suspension. This might make it easier to get the cross member and short arms lined up with their mounting points.

Last option is to remove shocks, springs, and calipers. Can leave long arms attached at both ends and disconnect short arms at the axle. Its close to a full disassembly of the front suspension, but there will be less challenge with getting the suspension reattached.

Its too bad RC made their cross member like this. I've thought about modding the cross member to allow removing the center section like many other brands offer. It would be relatively inexpensive if DIY, but probably the cost of a better front suspension if having a shop mod the crossmember.

FYI, you may find that the bushing on the axle for the non-pumpkin short arm mounting point is loose in the mount. Radius arm suspensions tend to put high loads on bushings and will wallow out that mounting point because its just sheet metal. A new bushing doesn't fix the issue.
 
Awesome info man. Sounds likes it’s gonna suck no matter what direction I go. Its gotta be done though my tv cable has snapped and I’ve got a major leak at the trans pan
 
I think that if you don't want the axle to rotate when you disconnect both short arms, you'll need to put the TC into 4WD. If you have an NP242 TC, then specifically part-time 4WD.
 
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