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Gap between oil pan and trans?

kap009

NAXJA Forum User
Location
CA
Working on curing all our XJ's oil leaks and getting ready to replace the rear main seal. When I got under the car today to double check the seal was actually leaking before jumping in, I realized there seems to be a gap between the back of the oil pan and the transmission?

Trying to figure out if this is normal before going straight for the RMS in case this is actually the source of the leak. I've attached the best picture I could get while under there for reference.





IMG_6428.jpg
 
Take that cover off the transmission and look for oil on the flex plate/flywheel.
 
that would indicate a rear main seal rather than valve cover gasket or trans pan is the source of the leak.
 
If I'm getting your question? The bottom half +/- of the front of the bell housing is a dust cover (shield) and doesn't really keep anything in, it just keeps some mud and dust out.

Most are notched to let seepage out of the bell housing.

Just an opinion, if the rear main seal is just seeping i.e. a few drops over night, I'd leave it. It can seep a few drops a day for years.

The bottom of the bell housing can also collect those drops over a longer period and then take a small dump when you park nose down on an incline.

Used to be a seep was any oil loss of less than a quart every 500 miles (old school). Mine typically looses a quarter of a quart every couple of months, I can live with that.
 
I've replaced the RMS in my own Jeeps and don't recall seeing oil on the flex plate. It is quite nice not having any oil leaks. You should verify the leak is not coming from above, such as the valve cover gasket or oil filter mount.
 
Thanks everyone. The leak is definitely in this area. Valve cover was leaking pretty bad , but gasket has been replaced and is verified not leaking anymore. This resolved most of it actually. Have also confirmed no leaks from the oil filter adapter.

It's hard to see in the picture, but basically there is a gap at the center of the trans where it meets the engine, right at the oil pan. Big enough to look into and see the center of the flex plate. Want to confirm this isn't an issue before tearing in and doing the RMS. Don't mind doing the work if the RMS is the problem, but would like to be sure first.

As for leaving it, it's bad enough that as soon as it's up to temp it leaks oil onto the exhaust, stinks, and creates a small amount of smoke when stopped. Not fire hazard bad but enough that I'm not willing tolerate it. It's not losing loads of oil but I still need to get it fixed to use the Jeep.
 
That gap is between the dust shield and the oil pan. That shield isn't meant to seal anything, just keep most of the crap out of the bellhousing. Just take it off and do a real inspection of the RMS. Degrease the crap out of everything, clean it up and then check for leaks after a good warm up.
 
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