'95 Sahara, 1st YJ

RMS Attempt #2:

I drained the oil last week and remove the oil pan. I ordered the victor-reinz seal and the Crown version. Since the fel-pro seal apparently didn’t work, I wanted to try a different brand. I looked closely at the old seal and the two new options and decided the victor-reinz looked the most promising.

Fel-Pro from November:
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V-R:
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It was much easier to remove the upper half that had been in there for ~2 months that the original one. I sprayed brake cleaner in the block groove over the crank and cleaned everything well.

At a suggestion from the TJ forum, I jacked up the back of the jeep to keep draining oil away from the bearing while the anaerobic sealant cured. I used the red sealant sparingly and torqued the bearing cap bolts.

I let it sit like that for 3 days before installing the oil pan. I looked closely at the oil pan for any deformation and noticed that where the edge of the pan dips down to go around the crankshaft the metal mating surface curves, but the gasket is more of a right angle. There is a tiny gap at those corners and I thought it could be a source of leaks, so I put a small amount of RTV in that right angle corner on the bottom of the gasket and buttoned everything up.

It sat for 48 hours and I filled it and started it. It idled normally with no leaks and I’ll take it out tomorrow and put it to the test.

I’m really hoping it works this time.

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TRevs said:
It was much easier to remove the upper half that had been in there for ~2 months that the original one. I sprayed brake cleaner in the block groove over the crank and cleaned everything well.

At a suggestion from the TJ forum, I jacked up the back of the jeep to keep draining oil away from the bearing while the anaerobic sealant cured. I used the red sealant sparingly and torqued the bearing cap bolts.

I let it sit like that for 3 days before installing the oil pan. I looked closely at the oil pan for any deformation and noticed that where the edge of the pan dips down to go around the crankshaft the metal mating surface curves, but the gasket is more of a right angle. There is a tiny gap at those corners and I thought it could be a source of leaks, so I put a small amount of RTV in that right angle corner on the bottom of the gasket and buttoned everything up.

It sat for 48 hours and I filled it and started it. It idled normally with no leaks and I’ll take it out tomorrow and put it to the test.

I’m really hoping it works this time.

View attachment 124600View attachment 124601
Click to expand...

Hoping to see good results from yours with that RTV. I have always wondered about that joint, but last time I did my RMS was with the engine out flipped upside down on a stand. I eyeballed those areas with the pan installed and it looked super tight, so I assumed all is fine there without RTV. I wish Mopar gaskets were still around although for some reason I feel like I used one last time, but maybe I’m misremembering.

Edit: I dug back into emails and definitely did buy a Mopar gasket. I think my issue is a small nick on the crankshaft interacting with the seal itself, not anything with the gasket.
 
I'm going to need to do this again myself. I used the Felpro when I rebuilt my YJ. I damaged the first one while installing, pulled it and installed another. I really took my time, used the RTV in the other locations and it held great for maybe 5 or 6 months. I've had a leak ever since. Never drips on the garage floor but it always has a drip hanging.

I'll definitely be curious to see your results.
 
My heater blower motor is acting up again. A while back it wasn’t working at all and was blowing fuses. After a long chase it turned out to be a failed diode in a parallel part of the circuit. But for the past month or so I’ve had only hi speed; lo and med are dead. I figured it was the resistor so I bought another one, and it worked fine for about 3 minutes.

After some research, it seems likely that the motor itself if drawing too much current and blowing the thermal fuse on the resistor.
 
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Nice find man. YJ is the best IMO. What year model and engine did she come with or have in her?
My engine is built by Newcomer Racing... waiting on the billet roller camshaft kit to come in, My friends 258 (276 CI) is being built now, the video will be up soon on NCR youtube channel as apart of the 258 Series that NCR is doing... check it out when you have time, the stock baseline 258 video went up a few months ago... great series... mine will follow and end out the series I THINK... you never know what Keith is going to come up with next!

If you decide to freshen up that engine ( If its an I6) give Keith @ NCR a try, best in the business.

Very clean ride man, Enjoy that!
 
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I ordered parts on RockAuto: $8 resistor and a $12 blower motor on closeout.

I dropped the heater box leaving the dash in place. Had to transfer the fan to the new motor, and splice the wiring, and it all worked.

Those resistors are delicate; I mushed one putting it in the duct (the thermal fuse was open anyway), and on the new one while testing the low-speed coil had been bent just enough to short to the fuse wire.

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Yes, that’s a spark.

Fortunately I didn’t break the fuse and once I separated the wires and used a shopvac for cooling, lo-speed worked fine without overheating the resistor.
 
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