I have a 98 1500 4x4 gas, any tips on replacing the rear main seal? I just did the rear main seal on my sons 97 2wd 2 weeks ago, with no issues. It looks like there may be enough clearance to drop the pan without lifting the engine. His 2wd pan dropped easy with no lifting of the engine, wasn't sure if there was anything different to look out for on a 4wd vs 2wd. His is a 5.2 and mine is a 5.9, but I assume they should be exactly the same.

 

Yep, exactly the same. I had plenty of room to drop the pan without unbolting the engine mounts. Had to pull the starter, a couple braces, and the dust shield from the trans though. If the engine is high mileage, great time to toss in a high volume oil pump as well. (NOT high pressure.) With the 4wd, you will have to deal with the transfer case as well..... adds a bit of complication to the job.

 

How does the t-case come into play?

 

It's bolted to the back of the trans..... and there is a driveshaft running up the drivers side. But, I keep forgetting that the magnums use a two-piece rear main... so you don't actually have to drop the trans to change it.

 

That's why I was confused, it's like a Chevy 350 seal. I thought you just drop oil pan and don't do much with tx

 

That's the same way I've done them on any of the Chrysler small blocks, magnum or non-magnum since they both have two piece rear main seals. No need to remove the transmission..

 

Thanks for the confirmation. Plan on getting it done tomorrow. Just got my new Fel-Pro rear main seal and oil pan gasket.

 

So, just wanted to share my thoughts after completing the rear main seal replacement this past Friday. My sons 97 2wd oil pan was much easier to remove and replace than my 98 4wd. On my 4wd, I have a Rough Country dual steering stabilizer and had to remove it because the U-bolts that hold it to the front axle would not allow enough clearance to get the oil pan out. When installing the pan, I had to get a helper, as the gasket kept wanting to push off due to lack of clearance on the crankshaft throws. The worst part of this job was getting the pan installed. I did install a new oil pump as Hey You suggested, primed it before installation, but couldn't get a high-volume pump in time, so went with a stock pressure mellings. I did clean out the sump screen and had a moderate amount of debris in there, looked like a few small pieces of a leaf and some small gasket material. The bottom of the oil pan was clean, just wiped it out with a rag before installation. Overall a pretty simple job. My rear seal has been leaking for a while, and recently I had started to smell oil burning like it got on a hot exhaust, was thinking that the oil from the rear seal was blowing back onto the exhaust, but after a few drives, I still smell it, so I guess I will have to start looking for the leaky gasket, likely a valve cover leaking onto the manifold, I had taken a quick look previously and did not see any obvious leaks, but will have to get a better look now.

 

Maybe something further up on the engine leaking. Mine had some valve cover leaks that would run down onto the exhaust manifolds, and burn off... so, the 'evidence' of where it was coming from was kinda lacking. Oil never hit the ground either.

Of course, just fixing the leak won't immediately take care of the smell. Still gonna be some residual oil that needs to burn off, before it goes away.

 

I just did VC gaskets on a 2000. It sat at my place for months (long story) and in this case it was easy to see because while sitting it had coated the tops of both exhaust manifolds in a very obvious black sludge. Not terribly helpful but if for some reason the truck sits for several days or more maybe it would help....especially if you think to visually note the condition of the manifolds when initially parked?