My dealer showed me an oil leak along the passenger side of the engine and said my head gasket needed to be replaced. He also said that DC had redesigned the head gasket to prevent these leaks fro the oil galleys.
My 2000 TJ has just over 98K miles and I switched to Mobil 1 for the first time about two weeks ago. A google search turned up evidence of this leak as a common problem, but most decided to ignore it as the leak wasn't severe.
Anybody know the true story here?
Matt Osborn did pass the time by typing:
Just to clarify something. There is a valve cover gasket and a head gasket. Odds of the head gasket needing replaced because of an oil leak is about as close to zero as you can get.
What you have is a small leak from the valve cover gasket that's running back and down the side of your engine. Just like mine does. :)
A full synthetic will find holes regular dino won't. I'd just wipe the engine side and watch for where the leak is. If your not getting drips on the driveway I'd ignore it.
That's what I thought as well, The google search turned up reports about the galleys feeding oil to the valves were under high pressure and that the head gasket was susceptible to the leak.
I'll take your advice and keep a close eye on it.
Is it a seep or a leak?
A seep makes a mark and is quite normal, a leak drips.
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT'sMatt, Osborn wrote:
I had a Stealth that I started using Mobil 1 in at about 65k miles. Found all sorts of holes that conventional oil didn't. Ended up needing just about every gasket replaced. Dealer quote: $1300 for rebuilding the engine with new gaskets and old parts. No way.
Eric
Matt Osborn proclaimed:
?!!!?!! If the dealer really is trying to sell you a new head gasket run, do not walk, to another dealer. The engine is infamous for leaking valve cover gaskets, easily fixed but expensive with dealer parts and labor.
You might want to try a few capfuls of Marvel Mystery oil in your crankcase to help. Or switch to a different brand of synthetic or even a synth blend. At 98K miles however, surprised you haven't noticed a bit of leakage from the valve cover before.
So I have to ask: If the synthetic oil makes the engine leak, what would be the reason for switching?
-- "A thousand ghost cows roar with laughter." Anthony McCafferty explains urban planning in AFU.
The sales droids have folks convinced it 'must' be better because it is 'synthetic' and costs 4 times as much.
They forget to mention that the word 'synthetic' means absolutely 'Nothing' legally so they can use the regular old oil add a chemical or tweak a chemical and charge 4 times extra by putting the name 'synthetic' on it.
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT'sLee Ayrt>
Minnesota winters. It's parked in a lot over a block from where I live. Starting at -20F is a challenge even with new a new battery.
Switching is fine if you do it early on. And only do it if you really need to. For example, back home in Alaska, when it would get really cold out normal oil would be sludge when sythetic would still pour. Thus, when you started your engine oil was actually circulating instead of sitting in a ball in your oil pan.
Of course if you switch later on in the engine's life, it may find all those holes that were previously plugged up.
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