How long did it take you? I’m trying to decide if it’s something I should undertake, or hand over $600.
Rear Main Seal Replacement (4.0)
- Thread starter Chris
- Start date
Yep, I just came to this thread to see if the original how to showed that there are two RMS and only the later 00-06 is the symmetrical version. The earlier one has the little legs sticking off to the side on the lower half.
Beautiful write-up, @Chris. I've done a number of RMS replacements on different engines through the years. Some are easier than others. Ever do a rope seal? Fun stuff! Anyway, this is a very comprehensive guide for the folks without the experience who might be trying to decide if they want to tackle it, or not. Well done! :thumbup:
OP
No I have not. We are fortunate that the 4.0 doesn’t require the transmission to be dropped, as is the case with most vehicles!
Yep, just had to replace the RMS on my wife's Lexus GX 470 and had to drop the transmission or let me rephrase that, the service shop had to drop the transmission. So far no leaky leaky on the 4.0 yet but as we all know my time will come.
Submarine
Member
Additional notes for a 2004 Rubicon
-when you drop down the transfer case skid plate remember there is a bracket on the rear drivers side that has motors for the lockers bolted to it. There were four 12mm bolts. I zip tied this out of the way
-the exhaust manifold bolts are 5/8" and there are four. I used a 20" extension and a short socket.
-the catalytic to muffler flange bolts are 9/16"
-all the oil pan bolts are 7/16". You need a 12" and 8" extension. I have a 1" motor mount lift so it was really easy to get the pan out.
-mine had the additional bracket on the rear of the pan, I put it back in but I don't think it does anything.
-The bearing brace bolts are 5/8 and the bearing cap where the seal is was 13/16 if I remember correctly
-no issues tapping the seal out with a pin punch then grabbing it with needle nose
-I almost didn't clean off the oil pan powder coating but then said screw it and took it to bare metal with a blue abrasive wheel. The powder coating fills in a lot of imperfections in the stamping process, I think I would just leave it on there. I had cleaned it with Spray 9, a razor blade held perpendicular, and brake cleaner.
-use the box the oil pan seal comes in to trace the oil seal so you can lay your bolts out. This helped a lot to save time and get the right ones in the first time.
-my Felpro gasket came with "Snap-Ups" and these made putting the seal on really easy. You put them through the seal and screw the Snap Ups into the larger bolt holes at the front corners of the engine and the two farthest rear ones. Then the pan goes over the "Snap" part and it holds the pan up while you get all the bolts in. Bravo to whomever came up with these.
-No issues with oil drip at all surprisingly, either because I used Delo 400 last time or because I let it drain for two days. It has Mobil 1 10w30 now so don't hate.
-the hardest part was putting the exhaust back in at the engine manifold. I took a long break before doing that. It was easier to not use a creeper as I have a 3" lift. If I had 4" I could have used one.
-a headlamp was invaluable. Lots of grime ended up on the floor and on me but not oil.
This took me 6-7 hours but I waste a lot of time going back and forth from my split 3 car garage as the tools are in one garage and the Jeep in the main one. Hoping the tool list helps someone challenged like me. I also had a new g/f texting me all day so that probably added at least a half hour. If you can do your own oil changes and brakes you could do this job. I checked with a local shop and they wanted $470 so that motivated me to do it myself.
Tools needed:
3/4" wrench and sockets
3/4" impact socket and impact wrench
13/16" wrench and sockets
5/8" short socket
9/16" deep socket and wrench
1/2" deep socket
7/16 short socket
various 3/8" ratchets
3",8",10",12" and 20" extensions
torque wrench
anerobic gasket sealer, Ultra grey or black, brake cleaner, degreaser like Spray 9,
brass or stainless steel brush
razor blade or gasket scraper
-when you drop down the transfer case skid plate remember there is a bracket on the rear drivers side that has motors for the lockers bolted to it. There were four 12mm bolts. I zip tied this out of the way
-the exhaust manifold bolts are 5/8" and there are four. I used a 20" extension and a short socket.
-the catalytic to muffler flange bolts are 9/16"
-all the oil pan bolts are 7/16". You need a 12" and 8" extension. I have a 1" motor mount lift so it was really easy to get the pan out.
-mine had the additional bracket on the rear of the pan, I put it back in but I don't think it does anything.
-The bearing brace bolts are 5/8 and the bearing cap where the seal is was 13/16 if I remember correctly
-no issues tapping the seal out with a pin punch then grabbing it with needle nose
-I almost didn't clean off the oil pan powder coating but then said screw it and took it to bare metal with a blue abrasive wheel. The powder coating fills in a lot of imperfections in the stamping process, I think I would just leave it on there. I had cleaned it with Spray 9, a razor blade held perpendicular, and brake cleaner.
-use the box the oil pan seal comes in to trace the oil seal so you can lay your bolts out. This helped a lot to save time and get the right ones in the first time.
-my Felpro gasket came with "Snap-Ups" and these made putting the seal on really easy. You put them through the seal and screw the Snap Ups into the larger bolt holes at the front corners of the engine and the two farthest rear ones. Then the pan goes over the "Snap" part and it holds the pan up while you get all the bolts in. Bravo to whomever came up with these.
-No issues with oil drip at all surprisingly, either because I used Delo 400 last time or because I let it drain for two days. It has Mobil 1 10w30 now so don't hate.
-the hardest part was putting the exhaust back in at the engine manifold. I took a long break before doing that. It was easier to not use a creeper as I have a 3" lift. If I had 4" I could have used one.
-a headlamp was invaluable. Lots of grime ended up on the floor and on me but not oil.
This took me 6-7 hours but I waste a lot of time going back and forth from my split 3 car garage as the tools are in one garage and the Jeep in the main one. Hoping the tool list helps someone challenged like me. I also had a new g/f texting me all day so that probably added at least a half hour. If you can do your own oil changes and brakes you could do this job. I checked with a local shop and they wanted $470 so that motivated me to do it myself.
Tools needed:
3/4" wrench and sockets
3/4" impact socket and impact wrench
13/16" wrench and sockets
5/8" short socket
9/16" deep socket and wrench
1/2" deep socket
7/16 short socket
various 3/8" ratchets
3",8",10",12" and 20" extensions
torque wrench
anerobic gasket sealer, Ultra grey or black, brake cleaner, degreaser like Spray 9,
brass or stainless steel brush
razor blade or gasket scraper
OP
Alvin A
Member
My rear seal is just leaking a few drops a day. Can I just wait until its gets worse, or is it possible that it would burst and cause damage?
2006 4.0L
2006 4.0L
It's not going to burst or anything. As far as a few drops a day, I would be more worried if I saw no oil on the ground below a 4.0L
Are you sure it's a RMS leak? I would bet that over half of people saying their RMS is leaking actually have a valve cover leak.
I had it in for an estimate. They said it is the rear seal. The estimate was 650. They said they had to drop the transmission. I notice in the above it is not necessary to drop the transmission.
If they said the transmission needs to come out, take it to a different shop or better yet, do it yourself, but either way I would still 100% verify that it's not a valve cover gasket. It's really hard to tell though. Most just replace the valve cover gasket and see if the leak stops before replacing the RMS.
OP
It isn't necessary to drop the transmission. Take it to another shop that knows Jeeps, cause clearly those people don't know what they're talking about.
On the 05 it also looks like you have to remove the starter? I am not sure I want to tackle this...even with a lift. I can't even get to 2 of the 4 bolts on the front cats to drop the exhaust. The front bolt does not want to move even with a breaker bar and it was soaked in kroil overnight. My regular mechanic quoted roughly 5 labor hours @his $95 per hour shop.
It really only drops about 1 drop overnight but I have a little OCD about this stuff. Even My 74 TR6 only drops about 1 drop per month.
It really only drops about 1 drop overnight but I have a little OCD about this stuff. Even My 74 TR6 only drops about 1 drop per month.
If that price doesn't bother you, I'd certainly be glad to pay it. We've done a bunch of them and we paid a guy who used to work at the dealer 450 bucks to do the one on my helper's rig because we just don't like doing them. We had the exhaust, belly pan, and everything out of his way so all he had to do was drop the oil pan and start from there. Money well spent.
Then don't! Just pay the guy.
What free time I have on the weekends, I prefer to spend with my family and getting stuff done around the house. My local guy charged me $415, and all I had to do was drop it off one day and pick it up the next. It was completely worth it for me. I don't really care about the "satisfaction of doing it myself". I care about getting it done, and god forbid that bitch starts leaking again I can bring it right back and have him do it over.
I am not complaining about what he wants to charge ,as a business owner myself, I am fully aware that everyone is supposed to make a profit in their business. I gazed at it under the lift and walked away last weekend.....it would probably take me 10 hours and a bunch of bitching and moaning. The write ups make it look much easier than it is....especially on a Northeast Jeep, my 81 corvette rear main seal was a breeze compared to this and on that I had to drop the front steering components.
My main question was does the starter also have to be dropped? as that is not mentioned in most of the write ups I have seen.
My main question was does the starter also have to be dropped? as that is not mentioned in most of the write ups I have seen.