couple of drops/day rear main. how long ?

hello, i got a couple of drops a day coming from the rear main. is this something i gotta do right away or do i have time before she becomes a gusher?

i got a 99 xj,4.0,aw4,231 with 75,000 miles. is this normal for a rear main at 75,000?
i am running 10w-40 oil. thanks for response. mike

p.s. this is my first xj, if this is normal oil leakage i apologize for waisted thread space.

They can leak from there for a long time.......I don't think you have to worry about it becoming a "gusher."

Are you sure its rear main and not the valve cover leaking down, has been know to happen.

yeah i've run my hand on the head under the valve cover and it is dry.

Also check the oil filter adapter. When those "O" rings leak the oil runs along the block and down to the rear main area.

I put off replacing mine for about a year, when finally I got around to it, I wondered why I'd put it off for so long. It's not that complicated to replace.

XJEEPER said:

I put off replacing mine for about a year, when finally I got around to it, I wondered why I'd put it off for so long. It's not that complicated to replace.

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Good to hear. We need to do mine.

When it gets so bad your wife can follow you to your girlfriends place, you know you've let it go too long.
I could live with a few drops, you can tell my regular hangouts, by the oil stains.
People have had trouble with the replacement seal, going bad after a few months. A couple of drops, I wouldn't sweat it till it's gets really annoying.

A couple of drops a day could go forever without getting much worse, but do check very carefully that it isn't the oil filter adapter. The oil from that can end up in much the same place, and it can become a gusher.

i've been checking it and monitoring for around three weeks. the oil filter adapter is bone dry. even the block is dry near the oil filter adapter. i have eliminated the valve cover because it is dry in the back of the head and dry on top of the belhousing. let it sit over night and come out in the morning and 1 drop on the garage floor. with another drop getting ready to fall off the bellhousing bottom. also trans pan has oil on it from blow back on the highway. if you really aren't looking it is not that noticable. nextime i see a 4.0l in a parking lot i will look under it and see if others are having the same minor oil leakage? mike