oil in the starter

hey guys and girls I pulled my starter last week to test it and it was full of oil so i changed it and then again it happened is there a rule of thumb sort to speak mabey like rear main seal or something that would allow oil to get in the starter its an 88 xj 4.0 ltr straight six auto hopefully thats all the info needed

First things I'd check - oil filter adapter, and valve cover seal (in that order.)

The oil filter adapter is just in front of and above the starter - there are three orings in there.
The 88XJ should take a 5/8" wrench to pull the bolt through the adapter, and you'll find one on the bolt proper, one on the engine side of the adapter, and one under the bolt head. It's easier for us RENIX people, since we can use an open end wrench - instead of a Torx bit!

Be careful pulling the bolt, and take a moment to make sure that the threads are clean on both the thread and the hole - it's REALLY easy to break that bolt!

The valve cover is a little tickish - it's easy to crush that gasket. I usually use a cork gasket, coat it with LocTite 518 Gasket Eliminator. Tighten the bolts down with a nutdriver to contact the gasket, and go off for a sandwich and some coffee (about 20 minutes) to let everything tack up. Go back out and torque USING A TORQUE WRENCH to about 7 pound-feet (84 pound-inches) - more will likely crush the gasket and make you do it over again. Allow the sealant to cure overnight.

In either case, clean the engine well (I like LPS Precision Clean - it works quickly and well on a warmed-up engine) and run for a few minutes or so to check exactly where the leak is coming from - or you can just do both, since they're probably both due anyhow.

I don't have the part numbers for the orings handy, but you can probably find a thread with the numbers after a brief search. They're pretty cheap - and if the dealer doesn't have them, you can get them from anywhere else that has a decent selection - as long as they're either Viton or Buna-N, you're alright (check to make sure - if they don't know, check somehwere else. Most Hardware store orings are meant for water, but they often have Buna-N orings, which will work with oil.)

Again - MAKE SURE THE THREADS ARE CLEAN if you do the oil adapter, and lubricate them well. I broke one of these bolts, and I was glad to have had a spare - they're not heat treated, and the hole down the middle is farily large. They're drilled at 90* angles, about an inch from the top, which makes them fragile. BE CAREFUL!

5-90

Might also want to have a look at the front crank/harmonic balalncer seal. My harmonic balancer seal leak, was traveling down the bottom ridge on block sides, near the pan gasket and building up on the rear of the motor, near the bell housing.
The wifes does that periodically, it´s the oil filter adaptor leaking. Doesn´t leak much, but it sure seems to find it´s way, into the starter. I put a very small bead of silicon seal, around the starter base and around the rubber gromet for the starter motor power cable, which seems to help some.
Gonna have to change the "O" rings soon, just waiting for the next oil change to do it.
Be carefull what you use to clean out the starter, Carb cleaner, will wash the varnish coating off of, the windings.
When ever you wash the starter out with a solvent, remember to re lube the reduction gears.

thanks for the tip on cleanning the starter i was gonna use brake cleaner but i have'nt yet well soon as my gst gets here i will change the orings and do a oil change and clean the engine to see if my valve cover needs to be done looks new but that was an interesting point on over tighting thanks guys youve been of great assistance ill let you guys know how it went over the weekend

so i changed my o rings and valve cover and no luck the oil is dripping out of my inspection plate so i guess it probebly my rear main seal will be another weekend of fun but for now its just back to work and dripping oil every were (dope) thanks again for the tips

On my '98 I though is was the rear of the valve cover gasket, bought one, then gunked.

Found that the head was seeping oil only on pass. side. People on the forum said don't sweat it too much, just oil galleys on that side, keep an eye out for coolant in oil though.

Engine runs mint, not sure if I can snug down the head bolts (any suggestions someone?) or need to go all the way w/ new head gasket.

In the meantime I'm going to fab a shield above starter to keep it dry...

sv

mikeny59 said:

On my '98 I though is was the rear of the valve cover gasket, bought one, then gunked.

Found that the head was seeping oil only on pass. side. People on the forum said don't sweat it too much, just oil galleys on that side, keep an eye out for coolant in oil though.

Engine runs mint, not sure if I can snug down the head bolts (any suggestions someone?) or need to go all the way w/ new head gasket.

In the meantime I'm going to fab a shield above starter to keep it dry...

sv

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My 89 has a little seep in the same spot, in my case, not enough to really worry about though. I just wash it off, occasionally. It would really be a bumber, to pull the head and find out, it has a bow in it, that may or may not seal ever again, without some mill work. But if the leak is bad enough, you´ll probably have to eventually deal with it. I rechecked the torque on my head bolts, just in case one or two had come loose.
You can use a small paint brush and pretty much seal the starter, except for the gear end. A light bead of silicon around the front of the winding part of the case, again in the rear and around the grommets. Where the shaft goes through to the reduction gears, a glob of grease around the shaft, will slow down the oil (or water/mud) flow from the front, if present. Don´t over do the grease. Grease eventually picks up sand and works as a fairly aggressive abrasive.

Other option is to clean that seep area with a good degreaser, then clean it with a paint thinner like prepsol. Force a small bead or black RTV into that area, use a flat narrow paint scraper like for spackling and kind of push it in, go about 2" past both ends of the seep area. Then let it setup for a full 12-18 hours. That might stop it.
The intake manifold for the 2.8L Chevy v6 uses RTV to seal the back and front of the intake manifold so I know that works. What is going to decide if that will work on yours is if the seep is from the pressurized side of the oil system or the return side, I tend to think it's from the return/no pressure side.

I waterproofed the starter lectrical connections with ScotchKote liquid sealer, holds up really well under heat and oil, need acetone to remove.


Theoretically I guess you can brush it wherever it'll stay put, it's syrupy, could stick it in the fridge to really thicken it up. It really works great, a bit expensive though.

sv