Rear main seal

[mageborn]

1043171

After a 150,000 miles, I finally have to put some money into my jeep. I have a 92 Cherokee Laredo 4.0 high output 4x4 that the rear main engine seal is going out. Everybody wants between $400 and $600 to repair this. How hard is it to put a new split seal in without pulling the engine? do I need any special tools? Where could I find a good manual to help with this? I am miserable without my jeep![addsig]

 

[MudderChuck]

1043182

Putting just the seals in, is often a waste of time. Often the main bearings are worn, which caused the seal to fail in the first place. The book says if it doesn´t leak more than a quart every five hundred miles don´t panic. I drilled a hole in the bottom of the bell housing, sealed the bottom of the dust cover (with silicon) on the bell housing and ran a short rubber tubbing down past the muffler crossover (that cured the stink). Mine would loose a quart about every two thousand miles. I replaced the seal, which lasted about 8 months before it started leaking again. Did it with the motor in, it was a pain, but doable. Getting the motor up high enough and some of the suspension disconnected and out of the way (to lower the front diff as much as possible) to remove the pan was the hardest part. After removing the front motor mounts and when jacking up the motor, be careful not to crush or break anything between the valve cover and the firewall (ouch$). Fel Pro sells a nice little kit for this job.[addsig]