I was under the Jeep the other day and noticed a fresh oil residue on the rear of the oil pan near the drain plug. Looking straight up there is a "valley" between the oil pan/block and transmission and that appears to be where the oil is coming from.
Its not a big leak where I can see a visible trail of oil coming down and it its not making it on to my driveway so I wonder what the cause is... any clues for me?
TIA
-- Taylor
'89 Audi 200 '03 Audi S6 Avant '98 Jeep Cherokee Sport
This is a common spot to find oil as it's the lowest and most rearward area on the engine for it to accumulate. Most likely to be 1) a leaky valve cover gasket, 2) leaking main seal, 3) leaking oil pan gasket, 4) all of the above, 5) none of the above. I'd advise you clean it off with solvent and watch it for awhile. Before you pop for a new rear main & pan gasket, when it's cool to the touch, reach around the back of the cylinder head by the firewall and see if you feel any oil running down the head below the valve cover. If the gasket is leaking you'll find oil in this area, this is a very common leak source on these engines.
That was replaced at 73,000 miles under my last warranty visit back in May... that one was easy to spot as it appeared as if the oil filter was leaking. Thanks just the same though for the tip.
-- Taylor
'89 Audi 200 '03 Audi S6 Avant '98 Jeep Cherokee Sport
Thanks Gerald, I am going to clean the area this weekend then keep an eye on it. Going by how the leak appears to be pretty high up I would think valve cover or main seal... mileage is 76,000 and change so I guess its time.... pretty much all are beyond this back yard mechanics realm of doing myself so I guess a call to my mechanic will be in order... :(
-- Taylor
'89 Audi 200 '03 Audi S6 Avant '98 Jeep Cherokee Sport
The valve cover gasket is an easy fix. Sometimes all you have to do is tighten the loose bolts. Go feel them with your fingers, bet some are loose.
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
Well could be one of 3 different tools, either a 5/8's (?) wrench, a t50 (?) torks bit (thats is one of those 6 pointed stars) or a metric Allan wrench, I eventually ended up having a local shop change my seal's when they changed my valve cover gasket and changed the rear sway bar and front track bar, wasn't to bad of a bill either as I supplied all the parts I only had to pay for labour and taxes. Now I just need to replace the track bar frame mount due its heavily worn.
Snow..93 XJ, 4.0, 90% stock & 85% new...
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