my son just bought a 84 cherokee with a 4 cyl, it is a newer FI 4 cyl so I think it is 87 or newer, but the rear main seal is leaking bad, is there anyway to change with out dropping the crank?? I know for the chevies you could get a kit to change the seal with the crank in place, but that was years ago,,,,,,,any help would be great,,,,

yeah i have a 4 banger yj and i had to lower my whole tranny and then the pan to get to it, it cost like $5 for the seal but the work to get that little seal in is a bitch, but that is for a yj not sure on a cherokee

did you have to drop the crank out or were you able to get it in with the crank in place?

i cant speak for the 2.5l, but on my 4.0 its pretty simple. didnt have to drop the trans, didnt have to drop the crank.

took off the oil pan, took off the rear main cap, took out the seal, and used a brass punch to push the 2 piece seal in that i got from mopar. lube it up with some soap, push the top half in, set the bottom half, torque the cap back down, put the pan back on, and you're good to go.

dont forget to put some oil in her :flipoff2:

thanks for the info!!!

the 4.0 is different than the 2.5 you just have to drop the oil oan, but on the 2.5 you have to drop the tranny and the oil pan but you can leave the crank in place, but you also have to remove all of the clutch stuff too, in order to get to that little seal. I know this for sure about the 4 and the 6 becasue i helped my body on his six and we only had to drop the pan, but on mine it was a little harder.