Front main seal leak

[Jeepmedic46]

My 4.0 in my 2000 Cherokee is apparently leaking oil onto my belt. I was told that the leak was coming from the front seal. Unfortunately I can’t seem to find any information on what a from seal is. Is it where the timing chain is. Please go easy I’m learning as I go. Is it a easy fix? Is it a fix that can wait a while I have to go to Ny in the middle of the month.

 

[jeep ride]

Yes it's a timing cover seal how bad is the leak nothing like being broke down 500 miles from home.

 

[Jeepmedic46]

Doesn’t look to bad at the moment. Do I need to replace the timing chain at the same time?

 

[jeep ride]

How many miles on the jeep you don't have to replace the chain but this is a good time to do it if it's needed.

 

[lawsoncl]

My 4.0 in my 2000 Cherokee is apparently leaking oil onto my belt. I was told that the leak was coming from the front seal. Unfortunately I can’t seem to find any information on what a from seal is. Is it where the timing chain is. Please go easy I’m learning as I go. Is it a easy fix? Is it a fix that can wait a while I have to go to Ny in the middle of the month.

The front main seal is behind the harmonic balancer, the larger pulley on the end of the crank. I would plan on replacing the balancer while your there, since the rubber that sepearates the inner/outer sections eventually falls apart. Plus there is a good chance the snout on it where the seal rides is grooved.

There are a few videos and writeup on doing the harmonc balancer. The #1 tip I give is to get a longer bolt for pulling the new balancer on. If you try to use the original bolt, it won't engage enough threads and will rip the last couple of threads out of the crank.

 

[Jeepmedic46]

How many miles on the jeep you don't have to replace the chain but this is a good time to do it if it's needed.

Motor probably has a little over a 100,000 miles on it. It was a junkyard motor that was put in before I bought the Jeep.

 

[lawsoncl]

Figure out if it's the timing cover or the seal behind the harmonic balancer. The seal behind the HB is far more common.