I was looking at replacing rear main seal on the 01, 3.9,2wd,auto, dakota an noticed on the parts list theres the typical Felpro 2 piece ,but on Mahle ,under it, it has a 2 piece with a small o ring .What is that to exactly ? .part #Jv1607 Mahle
Also,is there any chance I can get the oil pan pulled without a lot of jacking up the engine ?
Any info is appreciated.

 

Engine will have to come up 3-4 inches to get the pan past the crank throws.

Not sure what the 1" o-ring is for.

 

Possibly the oil pump??

 

Looks like that is where its leaking,though theres nothing on the ground.
Did a clean up an that tiny drip is there between oil pan an seal area .Must be coming out as I'm driving.
I see it's pretty common on these engines too.
So, even when my oil pan is fully loosened, the pan wont move far enough out of the way to get to those seals I guess?
I'll look to raise motor.Will I need to remove anything besides the mounts that support it?
Any tips on after I get pan off such as if I should offset the new ,lubricated, seals an by how much.,use sealant on outer steel bearing edges, an what else to look at or clean out such as oil pickup screen,etc ?
Any info is appreciated.

Still stumped at where that little o ring goes ,though felpro[the one I have] doesnt include one.

 

Leave the mounts on the engine - just remove the two 5/8" bolts that go into the frame cradles and unbolt the transmission from the crossmember.

Then the easiest thing to do would be to take a ratchet strap on each side, loop them around each exhaust manifold, and up to the cherry picker. The engine doesn't weigh but maybe 200 pounds wet and dressed - I was able to wrestle it with ease with no fluids or accessories.

Lift the engine until the distributor cap tops out against the cowl, about 3 inches. Make sure the driveshaft doesn't slide out of the trans seal and start leaking fluid out the back.

That should give you enough room to lower the pan, but you wont be able to get it off the truck, it will hang up on the first main.

 

Thanks,yea I meant the 2 supports by the oil pan .
is there any way ,with plenty of jack's, stands wood,etc,to raise the engine from the bottom if I go in the right places an have ample support? An if I can,will I need to remove anything from atop for clearance ?
Can it go high enough to pull the oil pan out ?
Id really like to get a look at things .

 

You can either gamble and pull the distributor completely and go straight up, or the safer option is to drain the trans, pull the driveshaft, unbolt the trans, remove the distirbutor cap and rotor (leave the base in the block), remove the cooling stack, and lift the engine up and forward at the same time.

 

I was not able to get the pan off my 99 2wd Dakota, with 3.9 and that was with being on a lift, raising engine til the trans hit the pinchweld on the firewall, putting 2X4s in under the mounts. Doing it on the ground would be a definite "NO WAY" without pulling engine. I had to change oil pan gasket after doing the timing chain cover. I had to drop the pan as far as I could and fish the new pan gasket in around the oil pickup screen then line up pan gasket (did glue the rear 1/2 round portion in place, to keep it there while raising pan) and there aint no way the rear main is coming out with the pan in the way. Be sure the back of the intake isnt leaking and running down the back of engine, or the oil sending unit. I've seen more of both of these, mistaken for a rear main leak before. you can see from above looking at the back of the engine with a strong light.....

 

That's why i said it needs to come up and forward / pitched at a good angle. Too many things that conflict for space.

 

Yes I'm gonna recheck the intake an oil switch area again since i cleaned everything up a few days ago ,would be great if it's at sensor or rear valve cover...Can I use this as long as theres a secure point to attatch the outside hook to use as leverage to hold it up? An have a tow strap or ratchet at engine to hook come along at.
An if ok what areas should I hook or attatch at engine.