rear main engine seal

jeepin92yj · 09-19-2006, 07:57 PM

anybody know the best way to replace a rear main engine seal? some people say to drop the oil pan and my dad was saying to pull the tranny and how long am i looking for the whole project. this is my first time doing something major to my wrangler and was looking for some advice.

bobbert350 · 09-19-2006, 08:06 PM

i belive its a 2 piece engine seal...so ur postive its the rear main seal tho...i would listen to ur dad and pull the tranny and skid plate and all that crap it will give u alot more room to work...umm its a pretty big deal but if u have someone who knows how to do it or have a service manual that can help u should be fine..also dont get frustrated it while doing it if u do take a break cauz its a little hard to work back there...the easiest way to replace that is to pull the engine but thats out of the question for u i guess

emyselfandi · 09-19-2006, 08:08 PM

drain the oil, pull the starter, drop the oil pan, put some safety glasses on, unbolt the rear cap. Use a piece of plastic or something to push the top seal out a little. Use plyers to grab the other side and pull it out. I used a thick weed eater cord (cut down to a few inches) and used it to push the top seal a little. you don't want to scratch the seal seat or it will leak. They say to us dish soap on the new upper seal and slide it in. Oil on the bottom and use a little RTV on the end of the cap. Can't remember the torque for the caps but 80 pound foot rings a bell (double check that). Get a new oil pan gasket (get a XJ one piece one, I got mine at Carquest for 35 bucks). make sure you get the rear of the gasket seated right on the back of the block. bolt up the pan and install the starter. Add oil and give it a test. No need to drop the tranny on the 4.0L. only on the 4 banger. Do a search and you'll find tons of writeups. Tim

jeepin92yj · 09-19-2006, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbert350

i belive its a 2 piece engine seal...so ur postive its the rear main seal tho...i would listen to ur dad and pull the tranny and skid plate and all that crap it will give u alot more room to work...umm its a pretty big deal but if u have someone who knows how to do it or have a service manual that can help u should be fine..also dont get frustrated it while doing it if u do take a break cauz its a little hard to work back there...the easiest way to replace that is to pull the engine but thats out of the question for u i guess

thanks man this will be easy compared to working on a 95 accord. lol talk about no room to work. well if i pull the tranny ill be able to check out the clutch while im at it. but yea my dad knows a little bit about jeeps, he used to have a cj5 back in the day but he hs never done a rear engine seal.

bobbert350 · 09-19-2006, 08:21 PM

yea thats y i mentioned to drop the tranny u can check out the condition of everything makes it much easier...and u have more room to work with..when i did somehting similar i should of dropped the tranny but didnt and i ended up cursing at everything cauz i had not much room to work..also its a good way to check the condion of everything and change fluids...and if u drop the oil pan get a new oil pick up screen while ur at it..and clean the inside of the pan out from debris

bobbert350 · 09-19-2006, 08:22 PM

check out this forum and ask this guy about anyother questions u have he just did his http://jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=317774

BudmanV6 · 09-19-2006, 09:29 PM

Taking out the tranny makes things easier. If you have the clutch slave cylinder that is a hydraulic doughnut shapped setup, I would suggest replacing it, since they go out all the time. Take your time with the seal, and if you scrape any of the rubber off the outside of the seal start over with a new one. Its hard to get right, and make sure you put rtv where it needs to be and keep it off of where it shouldnt be, I would suggest a hayes manual or something similar.

**vadslram** · 09-20-2006, 06:38 AM

Bobbert linked to my thread. I didn't need to drop my tranny. The only benefit would have been a little more knuckle room.
Invest in a long thin punch. the upper seal is just a semi-circle and the metal backbone is on the outside (away from crank) place the punch on that metal and tap lightly it will move. once you get enough out on the other side grab it with some needle nose pliers and carefully work it around. DON"T TRY TO PULL IT STRAIGHT OUT! it will be very hard to bend and probably bugger the crankshaft or seal slot on the block.
When I put the new one in I made sure the lip was facing the right way and dipped the whole thing in new motor oil. It slid in about 3/4 of the way by hand then I pushed it the rest of the way with a new paint stirrer (Nice hard but not too maple, no scraping of anything metal). Install the lower seal into the bearing cap (make sure the bearing isn't moved) oil the seal, spread a VERY light coat of RTV at outside edges of the cap where it joins to block (AWAY from bearing) and torque to spec..80 ftlbs by my book.

pyro9862 · 09-20-2006, 07:25 AM

Don't pull the tranny. You will have plenty of room to work. Just drop the oil pan and it's right there.
Their are some great writeups about it but unfortunatly with the search down I can't find them.

tcourdin · 09-20-2006, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pyro9862

Don't pull the tranny. You will have plenty of room to work. Just drop the oil pan and it's right there.
Their are some great writeups about it but unfortunatly with the search down I can't find them.

Defiantely dont pull the tranny, absolutely no need to do all that! Drop the pan and remove the bearing cap an push the seal out with a long punch as stated. The worst part of the whole process is all the oil dripping out on you. The last one I did, I took the pan off and let it sit overnight so most of the oil was gone and not dripping on you. Very simple to change, good luck.

King03Kev · 09-20-2006, 10:59 AM

Don't forget to order a 1 piece seal, much easier to work with. Well worth the $20-25.00. Not hard to do, and no need other than to check clutch to remove trans & transfer. Good luck.

koeingsyj · 09-20-2006, 12:52 PM

there is a tool that i'v always called a "sneaky peak" used for replacing rear main seals. Ask you local parts store about. Makes putting the new one in alittle easier with out dropping the tranny.

pyro9862 · 09-20-2006, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tcourdin

The last one I did, I took the pan off and let it sit overnight so most of the oil was gone and not dripping on you. Very simple to change, good luck.

Park it, go to bed, wake up, and change the seal. All the oil is down in the pan at that point so you won't have anything dripping from the engine. At least I didn't. Ok, I lied I wiped some oil off the pickup with a paper towel.

Quote:

Originally Posted by King03Kev

Don't forget to order a 1 piece seal, much easier to work with. Well worth the $20-25.00. Not hard to do, and no need other than to check clutch to remove trans & transfer. Good luck.

See my above post as to why the muli-piece seal is easier to work with. If you try putting a cork oil pan gasket on dry forget about it, it's never going to seal. Do it right and it is much easier and cheaper then a one piece.

**vadslram** · 09-20-2006, 05:41 PM

1 Piece seal????
You mean pan gasket or rear oil seal??
Don't see how you could have a 1 piece rear main, the flange on the crank is bigger then the bearing/seal area.
As for the pan gasket. 1 piece is DEFINITELY the way to go. the sides of the Felpro I just got had a metal "skeleton" the holes matched, no bends, no worries about creases or cracked cork. The back part (around the bearing cap) wasperfectly lined up and the front (timing cover) was an H shaped molding that fit like a glove.
The part # that I got was either FELPRO , OS 34308 R or 64142 (both #s are on the box and I'm not sure wich is the part#)

RunningDog · 09-21-2006, 12:50 PM

Two piece seal. I did mine 18k miles ago very easy. Drop the pan. Remove the rear cap. Push the top seal out with a plastic stick of some sort so as not to damage the crank. Lube the new seal up and push it back into place. Replace the bottom half seal. Then bolt it all back up. Whether you go to the dealer or parts store it's a two piece seal.