Any fix a rear main seal on 00-01 Cherokee b4?

[muddeprived]

Has anyone? Got a question relating to the rear main seal. I picked up the seal today and it's different from what I see in most write-ups. It's the only seal Advance carries for my 01.

This is what I got:



This is what I always see:

[stesul411]

I think they gave you the wrong seal, I'd take it back and get one at a NAPA, also get the one piece pan gasket, a little pricey but worth it.

[muddeprived]

I think they gave you the wrong seal, I'd take it back and get one at a NAPA, also get the one piece pan gasket, a little pricey but worth it.

Napa has the same one. Autozone has two different. From what I'm reading, they changed the seal in 01. I can't confirm it though.

It's like no one with an 01 did their rear main seal. I posted in a few xj forums asking if anyone with an 01 could confirm it. No one has yet. Most of the replies are from older xj's.

[stesul411]

It appears to be the correct seal, PM sent.

[stesul411]

Mud, give me a minute I'm trying to find a link for a 01 XJ FSM for ya.

[DMG]

Any part that is labor-intensive to change like a rear main seal is worth going to the dealership for. Usually OEM is better.

[muddeprived]

Any part that is labor-intensive to change like a rear main seal is worth going to the dealership for. Usually OEM is better.

I don't think it's really labor intensive..well kinda............but it is messy.

[stesul411]

I changed the rear main in my 90 XJ this past spring, I did it myself in an afternoon. Do yourself a favor, drain the oil the night before you plan on changing the seal.

[muddeprived]

I changed the rear main in my 90 XJ this past spring, I did it myself in an afternoon. Do yourself a favor, drain the oil the night before you plan on changing the seal.

Yeah I was warned. We have to drive to my mother's garage to do it so its not gonna be able to sit long. I didn't feel like working on gravel and she has a brand new garage. It needs a few oil spots to break it in. My gf's bro will be with me and doing his 01 too. We are tackling the valve cover, rear main, and oil pan gaskets all at once.

[stesul411]

Yeah I was warned. We have to drive to my mother's garage to do it so its not gonna be able to sit long. I didn't feel like working on gravel and she has a brand new garage. It needs a few oil spots to break it in. My gf's bro will be with me and doing his 01 too. We are tackling the valve cover, rear main, and oil pan gaskets all at once.

IMHO get the one piece silicone gaskets for both the valve cover and oil pan. I put cork on my VC and it leaked, put on a silicone and no leaks 2 years later.

[muddeprived]

IMHO get the one piece silicone gaskets for both the valve cover and oil pan. I put cork on my VC and it leaked, put on a silicone and no leaks 2 years later.

i got the blue rubber/metal one piece oil pan seal but we are using rtv on the valve cover.

[skeebs]

let me know how it goes, I need to replace the rear main in my wifes '01 XJ as well.......just too lazy to do it yet.

[muddeprived]

let me know how it goes, I need to replace the rear main in my wifes '01 XJ as well.......just too lazy to do it yet.

we are planning to do a crazy write-up, similar to my detour's write-up.

[skeebs]

we are planning to do a crazy write-up, similar to my detour's write-up.

I'll give you a case of beer to come do mine

[jeepin ruby]

Hell yeah! Mine needs done too. We should all get together and have a rear main party

[muddeprived]

Hell yeah! Mine needs done too. We should all get together and have a rear main party

I think every damn xj needs a rear main LOL.

I went xj shopping a while ago (when i bought mine) and EVERY xj i inspected had a leaking rear main or valve cover. EVERY SINGLE ONE.

[ridgerunner97]

The valve covers always leaked on them, my dad told me they used shitty plastic ones for a while and it was worse than the metal valve covers. The guy before me who had my xj was runnin 10-30 Mobil 1 synthetic in it. That thing had more leaks than any ive seen. Switched to 15w-40 mobil diesel oil, which my dad gets for free from work, and voila, no more insane valve noise, It still makes noise just like every good 4.0L should though haha. quit leakin like a sieve, and the oil looks and smells better when i change it at 3,000 miles.

[muddeprived]

What a day. It's done though. I don't think I want to do this again.

The valve cover was easy. We took off the old gasket, which was a rubber one with steel frame. It was still in good shape so I cleaned it up and re-used it, using rtv on both sides. I dare it to try to leak.

The rear main was not easy. I know the rig was wrecked before and it's starting to show it's ugly head. The oil pan edge was dented upwards somehow instead of being flat. When we get that off, we remove the rear bearing cap and saw this:





It appears that someone used a flat head screwdriver on it and marked it up right in the middle. It's all scratched up too. I'm thinking they chipped it using the screwdriver and left the debris and reinstalled it. The crankcase surface was spotless though. Getting the damn oil pan back in with an exhaust that rubs on it is NOT fun. You can barely fit a finger in between the two to get the bolt in. It took more time to install the pan that it did to take it out and replace the seal.

I learned quickly how to dodge falling drops of oil. I also learned that dodging too hard left or right leaves a big bruise. Damn drop brackets.....

The Eau Claire mud tastes pretty good too. A big chunk fell into my mouth...

[skeebs]

glad you got it done. now come take care of my wifes XJ

[cjw94xk]

I am thinking about attempting this over the weekend. Any advice besides to sit up to quick?
Thanks

[Jeepin'Jones]

Yeah the Eau Claire mud tastes allot better then Yankee Lake mud. Must be the Mountain air.LOL

[muddeprived]

I am thinking about attempting this over the weekend. Any advice besides to sit up to quick?
Thanks

If there's any chance you can remove the exhaust downpipes, DO IT. With those out of the way, it would cut maybe an hour. It's next to impossible to get the bolts off with the pipes there, and IMPOSSIBLE to torque them to specs. There are four bolts/nuts holding the two downpipes and then 3 nuts/bolts at the bottom.

Buy one of those full face shields instead of just safety glasses. You will thank yourself.

Getting the upper seal in the block was tricky. We had to turn the motor by the pulley to slide it in so that may be neccessary to get the seal seated correctly.