Ben-88Comanche Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Hey guys, quick question if any of you changed your rear main seal/oil pan gaskets, (on a 4.0 automatic 4x4) did you have trouble getting the pan on/off? After breaking it loose from the engine block, and it was hanging freely, it took me around 2 hours of moving it around with another person to get it off. Now today i was going to put it back on, tried for about 4 hours, again with another person, couldnt manuever it past the axle to get it on the truck. In all the writeups and manuals, nobody mentions this as being the hard part, so I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong, or if the fact that its a 4x4 automatic (adding cooler lines and vacuum lines into the equation) is what is making it harder? is there some other way to drop the axle? so far ive already removed.. -tires -skid plate -view cover on bell housing -oil pump -steering bolt -shocks and i can't seem to get quite enough clearance, its close, but not close enough Also this is just trying to get the pan on without the gasket, with that it will be even harder, so if anyone has any helpful advice that would be greatly appreciated =] Or if nobody else is having this problem and theres just somethin messed up with my MJ, if anyone knows a way to make the front axle sag more besides taking the tires off and unbolting the shocks, that would also help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfpackjeeper Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 when I did mine last time, we jacked the frame up as high as we could get it, then pulled the shocks, and popped the tierods out of the knuckles with a hammer, pull the tires, and undo the brake lines from the fender. Then it was drooped enough to pull the pan out the back. That was a few years ago, the last couple of times I have had a reason to pull the pan it was because we were swapping the motor... edit: I mean take the bolt out of the fender, not undo the rubber brake line from the hard line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvusse Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Jack the truck up, set the front of the "frame" on jack stands, and let the front axle droop down. Disconnecting shocks and brake hose/line connection bracket will help. If stock, lower control arms can also be a limiting factor. After them the stock track bar and (on the passenger side) the upper control arm will limit you. I had to disconnect all that to get 4.5" springs in, but most of that stuff got replaced at the same time so had to be removed anyway. The rest (just the upper control arms) will be replaced this coming week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildman Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 I don't know if this would help you now.......But....... http://gojeep.willyshotrod.com/HowtoRearMain.htm I'll agree that dropping the axle is the way to go, supporting the frame up high, and disconnecting the shocks and sway bar links. I know I read some where's where you can disconnect the oil pump, and that will give you addition room to slide the pan out the back, but the last one I did, with dropping the axle, gave it more than enough room to drop the pan. change the RMS, new one piece gasket, and a new oil pan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben-88Comanche Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 lol thanks for the responses, and yea all those writeups seem to leave quite a few detailts out :cry: Ill pop the tierods out tomarrow and see if that helps, and just keep moving down the list of things to remove i guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildman Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 I don't think you want to loosen the tie rods, you would want to take the sway bar links off. Another thought.......after you loosen the swap bar links, or the whole thing from the frame.......place the screw jack between the frame and the axle, on the right side and force the coil down to give you some extra room. You didn't mention if you removed the starter???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben-88Comanche Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 oh yea starters long gone, my bad. very intruigued by the screw jack idea, was trying to think of something to push down on the axle with, that just might work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxRacing282 Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 how about a fat kid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben-88Comanche Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 alright i removed the connectors on the sway bar, don't think that got me any more room tried the screw jack thing, pushes axle down a little, but i don't think itll be enough (havent tried yet, took the time not knowing what to do to paint the oil pan, waiting on it to dry now) Still lookin for some sort of miracle that will save me from having to drop the axle, the bolts look pretty stuck in there :roll: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 This is where I put the bottle jack when I was removing the coils (or something, I forget). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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