rear main seal

[thebigbr]

hey , got a 1990 jeep cherokee, i have motor oil leak comeing out of the main rear seal.just wondering if i have to drop the tranny to fix it. i understand some cryslers have a two part joint there.
thanx

[Rod Norris]

I have a 1989 Jeep Cherokee Laredo with 4.0 liter that I replaced the rear main seal by raising the vehicle so that suspension drops. I then removed the oil pan to access the crankshaft bearing caps. Loosen slightly but do not remove all cap bolts. Remove only the rear main cap and bolts. Usually by the time the rear main seal is leaking those neat little seal removers won't work because the seal has hardened. The rear main seal is a 2-piece seal. The bottom easily comes out with the cap. The piece that is on top of crank can be eased around by pushing one end until you see the other end begin to expose itself. You should be able to slide it around the journal an remove. Reinstall in reverse of what I just told you. The new pan gasket should be a 1-piece rubber gasket. Hope this helps.

[acarguy1234]

i have an 88 jeep cherokee with a rear main seal leak too but mine is ony a 3.1 will that make a difference

[scrap_iron]

It looks like I may try this - Do you need to unbolt the torque converter replace the seal ?

[Dale Aeppli]

Originally Posted by scrap_iron

It looks like I may try this - Do you need to unbolt the torque converter replace the seal ?

HI GO TO jeepin.com hey have a writeup on changing oil seal [email protected] DALE

[Saudade]

They do. It's here:

http://jeepin.com/features/rearmain/index.asp

I used it to change mine out ('88). The only real problem I had was getting the pan off. Seems it must have leaked a bit for a previous owner so the used sealer to stop the leak. Once I got the pan off, I had to use 2 cans of gasket solvent to remove all traces of the old gasket and sealer.

[scrap_iron]

Thanks for the info guys ! ...I will tackle this in a couple of weeks. I just hope that top half of the seal comes out as easy they show !