Manual trans leak near catalytic converter

Where is this leak coming from?

97 XJ 5speed ---- No leaks at all while parked or idling, but after even a moderate highway drive, I get out and smell burnt gear lube, and see a few drops clinging to the passenger side of the crossmember. Leaves a spot on my driveway the size of a quarter; seems the rest of the escaping fluid lands on my catalytic converter. Hopefully I can save myself the time and trouble of poking around under my Jeep in a New York winter by asking if anyone knows which seal/gasket this leak is coming from.

Gear lube or Tranny fluid?

The output shaft likes to leak on the t-case. It really doesn't "show itself" because it slings all the oil everwhere, and never really leaves a puddle. Check that.

Manual trans fluid. GL3. It's limited to the passenger side; seems to be more of a specific location, not slung everywhere. The far passenger end of the crossmember is always wet, and there's visible evidence of burnt fluid on the exhaust, but otherwise . . . no mess. Only leaks while driving -- I can wipe the crossmember clean and it will stay that way until the next trip.

Either your drain plug is leaking, or your output shaft seal has failed on the tranny. There should be a little weep hole on the tranny / t-case to allow it to drain should that seal fail.

The drain and fill plugs are fine; I've been checking the fluid level periodically to gauge the leak -- and wiping everything clean when I'm done. I even checked up and around the shifter. It's dry.

("Weep hole", you say? Where is this weep hole?)

It's very hard to see, unless you know what you're looking for. I've got a pic or two somewhere....give me a minute to find them and I'll post them up. The reason the weep hole is there is to let you know if the output seal on the tranny is bad...

will edit w/ pics in a minute...

Jeff

here's the hole. It's the smaller one inboard of the hole for the stud on the TC. It's really hard to see from underneath the vehicle because the Xmember blocks a good view of the back part of the tranny:



And here's a shot of the back of the tranny. The output seal (black) goes bad and allows gear oil to seep past it. It travels down that machined passage, and out the weep hole, to let you know the seal is bad:



Hope that helps you,
Jeff

Ah! This sounds promising. Thanks for taking the time to respond and post pics.

( . . . but would this weep out entirely to the passenger side?)

Trust me....it weeps everywhere. It leaks down onto the Xmember and then carries all over the place.