Coolant leak- timing chain cover (supply list?)

Just finished this job up last week.

-Water pump

-Timing chain cover gasket/seal

-Harmonic damper. Note about this: I bought a Crown damper. When bolting the serp belt pulley back on to it, all of the threaded holes stripped out. After googling a little, I found out that this is a common occurrence. I had heli-coils on the shelf, so I repaired the threads and it's been fine.

-Timing chain and gear set. Note about this: If you're going to have it torn down this far, you should have the chain and gears on hand just in case. It's $30-ish well spent.

-Check tensioner pulley, idler pulley, and serpentine belt, replace if necessary.

Shopping around, I got all the parts to do this for roughly $130. Rock Auto and eBay. I had just replaced the serp belt, so I didn't need that.

So I'm reviving my old thread here with a few updates/questions. My leak wasn't bad enough that I ever had to tackle it in the past year. Well now it's bad enough that I need to address it!

I've enlisted the help of a friend of mine for a day so I'm going to try to get to as much as possible when everything is ripped apart, including some oil leaks, preventative maintenance, etc.

Updated mileage and Jeep info: 1996 GC ZJ, 5.2l, ~180,000 miles

Parts list:

1. Fan Clutch - RockAuto: Hayden 2791 - (replacing while off to help with cooling issues - already replaced pretty much everything else in the cooling system a year or so ago - ie radiator)
2. Thermostat (replaced a few years ago but cheap enough to replace again while off)
3. Thermostat housing gasket
4. Water pump - Gates 43034 - rockauto (this pump comes with "water pump, gasket, o-ring, and pipe")
5. S- belt (if I have spare cash at the end, probably won't get it though thinking about it more...)
6. Timing chain gasket
7. Timing chain/gear set (for ~ $30 it's worth it to replace while in there)
8. Harmonic Balancer - Dorman 594021 - rockauto
9. Oil pan gasket
10. Oil Pump?
11. Rear Main Seal
10. Valve cover gaskets (definitely leaking, might not get to it in the same day but needs to be done)

Probably going Felpro for all gaskets if given the option.

My specific questions regarding my parts list:

1. Any glaring parts missing if I'm tackling these? Recommended brands for anything else?
2. With the oil pan off, is it worth replacing the oil pump since the ZJ is getting up there in mileage? I have no idea if it was ever replaced or not...
3. If replacing the oil pump, any recommended brands? Also, standard volume vs. high volume pump... which is preferred/recommended?
4. The water pump kit says it comes with "pipe"... Same part number on Amazon says it comes with heater hose tube, so I'm assuming that is what the "pipe" is. Sound about right? Anything else needed for the water pump?

2. When I swapped my thermostat, I also used this housing: Dorman 902318 Thermostat Housing

4. When I replaced my water pump I used a Mopar 5302 0280 pump and a Mopar 0474 6864 Heater Return Tube O-Ring. I just sanded and repainted the original heater return pipe.



5. When I did my cooling, I changed all the hoses (except heater), belts and pulleys. I used these parts: Gates 21995 Radiator Lower Hose; Gates 21998 Radiator Upper Hose; Gates 22038 Bypass Hose; Gates K070901 Belt; Gates 38033 Idler Pulley and Gates 38016 Tensioner Pulley.

8. When I had the timing cover off I installed a new harmonic balancer seal. I used the Miller 6635 tool to align the cover to be concentric to the crankshaft.







9. When I changed the oil pan gasket I fabricated the FSM-specified alignment tools, as-shown in this reply. That reply shows the only way to remove / replace the oil pan w/o extra steps.

10. IMO if the oil pump is working then keep using that pump. When I had mine out I removed the pickup tube for a massive cleaning, then replaced the tube. LOTS of gunk was removed. Don't forget to prime the pump.

11. When I replaced the rear main seal the second time I installed it w/ 30° rotation, so the halves don't meet at the block surface. It leaked the first time, per the FSM. It didn't leak the second time w/ the rotation.

2nd 10. MAKE A TABLE of the locations for bolts and studs retaining the rocker cover to the heads. You can thank me when replacing those parts. Follow the TSB 18-48-98 for the spark plug wire routing.

Chances are the original rocker cover grommets have gotten hard. I replaced mine w/ the Mopar 0294 6079 Crankcase Vent Grommet and the Mopar 5303 0017 Crankcase Vent Grommet. They can be a butt pain to replace but the new ones work better than the old.



If the Mopar 5300 9219 Oil Filter Adapter is leaking then a new Mopar 5302 0461 Oil Filter Adapter Gasket can resolve that problem.







If it has never been done, then the TSB for intake plenum torque is probably required. My suggestion is to use new Fel-Pro bolts and follow the TSB.

The cooling passage seals were not terrific on mine, so I replaced all of them w/ brass parts, sealed per the FSM. There are no issues w/ leakage now.







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I had to do this exact repair. Word of advice, be prepared. My oil pan gasket ripped when I removed the front timing cover. This causes you to drop the exhaust and pan. If you have had any exhaust work done and by that I mean, no more clamp in front of your converter and it's welded, then you have to drop the trans cross member as well. Such a PITA.

Also, get the TCS45999 timing cover gasket set. Better cover gasket and depending on your build date will dictate if you have the driver side bottom inside bolt or not. Mine did not. If you do have that bolt then you cannot use TCS45999. Everyone will say you have to set the engine to TDC to do the timing chain. Not true, there is absolutely no way to put it on wrong because both sprockets have keyways that can only go on one way to crankshaft and camshaft.

I did not have the miller tool to do the balancer seal. A big block wood and a hammer works the same lol. Good luck.

Many like the thick plenum plate. I instead retained usage of the OEM plate and OEM plate bolts.

For mine, I chased the threads of the blind plenum plate bolt holes and of the bolts. I then verified that the bolts could all snug into the holes by hand, w/ no plate and no gasket. Prior to chasing the threads that was not possible. IMO, this step is required to ensure that the gasket receives the full clamping force of the plate and the bolts.

Many like using a sealant between the plenum and the block. I instead used the rubber-impregnated cork gaskets and the four of the Mopar 4006 583 Intake Manifold Gasket Dowels, as-shown in the images. These have been working fine for 2½ years.