I have not seen any write up on being able to do that on an 05? there are 2 precats right under the manifold then the rest of the exhaust just hugs against the oil pan.
I have cordless impact wrench that can easily snap the bolts...Remember I am in NY not AZ we have rust here on every bolt.
TJ2 I am talking about the 2 precats that are right under the manifold I need to disconnect to get the exhaust out of the way to drop the oil pan.
I have snapped rear shock upper bolts, even a body mount bolt and the feeling I got on the precat bolt is it was ready to go as well, so I stopped. Currently just contemplating with living with maybe a drop every other day or forking over the dough to the man?
1st-time poster, but have been a long-time stalker and this my third jeep (CJ, YJ and now 05 Tj 4.0 I6). I have been coming here for years for help, so thank you all. First of all, Chris thank you for the write-up on this RMS. This along with other posts, prayers and videos helped me prepare and complete this. I'll be completely honest...this was a huge PITA and I turned into my dad growing up using many different word combinations and screaming into the air or anything I could look at. Even my animals were staying clear. This is the day after and I am bruised, bloody and popping Advil. On my 2005 removing the exhaust was probably my biggest pain. All the bolts came off ok because I was actually re-doing myself a paid RMS failed fix from a shop that has been pouring out worse than when I took it in.
I would say that the 1st rule of this would be to have a second person around for some things. Gravity works wonders getting things off but putting them back on is pretty tough at times without being creative. Dropping the skid plate was a pain as well. As it drops the transmission a little, I had a jack and a piece of wood lightly hold it in place. That movement scared me. I didn’t know any other way to get the exhaust off without removing the skid and I wasn’t about to cut. I never understood what everyone was talking about with the top RMS tearing at the lip until I tore (shaved) two of them. Luckily I ordered backups but that leverage sucked as well so I recommend removing the clutch dust shield for that better angle. That little piece of Plastic that FelPro sends does help a lot.
I don’t know who out there has these long skinny rubber arms but I just simply could not succeed with getting the exhaust back on the manifold. At this point I was on my 10th hour and I just simply gave up with 1 bolt attached on each and will take it into a shop that has more leverage to get in there.
One thing also is that everyone says is to spray/soak those exhaust bolts the night before for removal ease…Well prepare for some foul-smelling smoke for a while. All done, and no leaks at all for once in 10 years but It honestly doesn’t feel satisfying. All that time and blood just for two tiny pieces of rubber kind of ticks me off..The funny ending (not at the time) is that after everything was back on...my jack was stuck all the way extended.
Thank you again and sorry to write a novel..
While I haven't actually seen one personally, the fact that it's a foam gasket, and that it's actually attached to the dust cover/inspection plate, I'd tend to agree with you on its purpose and function. If it was me, I wouldn't remove it unless I had a replacement. Just a thought.I’m thinking it’s just to block dust and dirt, not an oil seal.
While I haven't actually seen one personally, the fact that it's a foam gasket, and that it's actually attached to the dust cover/inspection plate, I'd tend to agree with you on its purpose and function. If it was me, I wouldn't remove it unless I had a replacement. Just a thought.
...Mine is leaking again FYI... so it is the agony of defeat. I had both the Mopar and the Fel-pro. I shaved the Mopar one on install so I had to switch over. The Mopar one will not come with the little plastic guide. I honestly just want to squeeze the entire tube of ultra black up there..Well, I just ordered a Mopar replacement for my Fel-Pro that went in about 5k miles ago. Pretty sure I did everything right...it's not rocket science. Thinking I got a bad seal. Since it's such a pain dealing with the exhaust, I decided on the Mopar vs a warranty replacement. It was about 10 bucks more than the Aftermarket part.
I'm a big fan of trusting the experts.As long as you are not going into debt, I find no shame in paying to have a subject matter expert fix something if you don’t have the time or level of comfort to do it yourself.
I'm a big fan of trusting the experts.
Shop #1 was not. Friday, when I pulled into shop #2 to drop off, in the lot were 2 CJs, a YJ, several TJs, and a couple WranglersWithExtraDoors.
Good find. I'm hoping to find such a shop in my city, and just may have...I knew right away I was in the right place. The next morning, they came back with $600+ estimate that included a new pan. I asked if the part would be OEM or better, and they said they wouldn't advise using anything less. It old them to service the Auto Trans as well. I'll have it back this week.