ok i have a 96 xj with the 4.0 h.o. motor and the rear main is leaking so do i have to pull the trans to fix or just drop the oil pan and any pointers are helpful

Its one of 2 things. Either your crank shaft has a groove where the lip of the seal and worn it down or the rear main seal is gone. Pull your rear main cap off and check for slight groove on the sealing surface of the crank. If thats the case you can skip the expensive route this time by getting adouble lip rear seal. OR replace the crank.

When my 93 HO was leaking, I formed a tool out of a coat hanger and ended up sneaking it out and back in without pulling the trans, kinda difficult but pulling the trans is worse. I'm sure you can buy a tool made just for that purpose.

iv'e changed my rear main 3 times and the freakin thing still leaks. Jeeps leak, we just have to learn to live with it.

What whwheeler21 said. Mine has been done twice and still leaks ocassionally. Not to mention I ended up stripping two of the oil pan bolts in the front of the engine. Honestly more of a pain then it is worth.

I still try to keep my moms 87 (290k miles original owner) running but I don't have the time or ambition anymore to change the rear main. It is a two piece so it can be done by undooing coils so the front axle can droop so you can pull the oil pan then pounding a new one in. The big thing people forget is to use rtv to seal the seal halves to each other.

IMHO just set an oil drain pan underneath where the engine is when it is parked. Auto-oil changing setup. Just keep adding oil from time to time.

The best rear main in the world will still leak if the main bearings are worn.

I changed mine.

300mi later the old 4.0 gave out @ 260,000mi.
Wide open throttle for about 4 to 5 min.(pulling a hill)
no more oil pressure:(

What a waste of time! :homer:

If you leave a r/m leak you will soak your tranny mount.

I've heard of oil fires as well.

To actually answer your question. If your rig is lifted enough you can drop the oil pan with the vehicle sitting in the driveway. Once down, remove both rear main cap bolts. Replace lower half of the seal. The upper half will still be in the block, you have to push it through and snake it out. Install the other half and reinstall. Soak your new seal in oil before hand, make sure you install the seal facing the correct way.

There are multiple write ups online.

It aint gonna fall out.

I beat on mine for 45 min.:mad3:

Then I beat on it some more:mad3::mad3:

After I cussed it and sweet talked it for a while it moved.:):smokin: