Oil Leak? damn it....

[Nova Wake]

Ok today i took my jeep on a long drive up some pretty steep hills and i noticed that the oil pressure drops to about 20 when idle, and above 40 when i have my foot on the gas. I checked the dip stick and the oil is not low and is where it should be. When i stopped the oil was dripping pretty good from around the rear of the oil pan and cross member also onto the exhaust where it runs straight across causing some smoking.. If i don't go anywhere where the rpms are high the oil drip is less. But oil pressure still a little low unless foot is on the gas. Id like to narrow down what it it. Valve cover, oil filter, ?? The engine is a 4.0 and is newer from the factory with about 12,000 miles on it so is the tranny. So im hoping it isn't the rear main. Sorry for any dumb questions, im a novice when it comes to repairs. I haven't got a real good look at it yet and i suck at diagnosing things, but this is the first time i noticed oil leaking at a good clip. It was scattered and not in one puddle also, and the oil isn't dirty it seems very clean. like i just pored it out of the bottle.

 

[joe_peters]

1. Minimum idle oil pressure is 13 psi per FSM. (Rule of thumb, 10 psi at idle and 10 psi per 1,000 rpm.)

2. Sources of 4.0 oil leaks: RMS, valve cover gasket, OFA, oil filter, oil pressure sending unit or its right angle adapter, distributor--yes, there is a seal, headgasket weeping on the passenger's side of the engine, front crank seal.

3. Common problem is pressurizing the crankcase when the CCV system becomes blocked. Make sure the orifice in the rear of the valve cover is open, that the vacuum line attached to it is open, and that the vacuum supply port on the intake manifold is also open.

 

[mfascuba]

My money is on the oil filter adaptor - an O ring set from Mopar is about six bucks, think it through and it can be changed in an hour. I did mine last weekend, had the oil in the same places as you do - bottom of pan, bottom of transmission pan, side of block, starter covered, oil all around the oil filter - put in the new O rings, degreased the engine, no more crap on the ground underneath.

Mark

 

[Nova Wake]

Thanks ill look into the cheap parts first, any other recommendations on what may be the culprit? I'm hoping its a cheap fix like the oil filter or adapter like said.

 

[cruiser54]

I'd bet Joe's on to something. CCV system dirty/clogged and creating crankcase pressure which will cause the valve cover to gasket to leak. Always start at the top when searching for oil leaks and fix them from top to bottom, cleaning the old oil off as you go. Oil, like other things, always flows downhill.

 

[Nova Wake]

Looks like it is the valve cover and oil filler area, thanks for the help though, now I'll be eating ramen noodles for a few weeks, since I don"t have spare time to do it myself.

 

[kastein]

valve cover? it doesn't take much time... maybe an hour or two. Sleep less for a day and you have things covered.

 

[hightime81]

first thing that hit me funny was that you said it only has about 12K on it from the factory, in my opinion this really shouldn't be happening so early on... that being said, i tend to agree with joe (who really disagrees with joe? lol) . for that much oil, this early on in the engines life, it sounds like the CCV is clogged. can you check your air filter to see if there is a oil (significant amount) on it?

Kastein is right as well - if it is a leaky valve cover, the cheap cork one is like 6$ and the good rubber one is like 20$, need some hitemp RTV ($5) and an hour or two of your time.

good luck!

 

[Nova Wake]

Yeah the air filter is pretty dirty, (he engine and tranny were replaced about 12,000-15,000 miles ago by the po, I got the jeep a few months ago being sick of not having one for two years due to my other one rusting away, it was a texas truck so this thing has no rust at all on it and I'm in the rust belt. Lots of highway miles and there's not a spot of dirt mud or oil,until recently, under the thing at all. Though it does have a few qwirks, that I'm fixing slowly. it leaks at the oil cap and valve gasket, other than that the thing runs like a top, ill have to post some pictures. THanks for the help, I'm sure ill have other inquiries, as it seems this willl be a slow build until tax time. -how do I unclog the ccv? I'm sorry I'm a novice but gotta start somewhere. I moved recently also and don't have many tools, ill be able to do more crap to my jeep when things are settled.

I had them go over it with a fine toothed comb and what they found was the above and front brakes, serpitine belt, and air filter. That's all that the jeep needs mechanically. I found it need a blower resistor and the windows only work from the driver side, I also want to upgrade the wiring in front due to it throwing a code once for a batterery disconnect and the headlights blow compared to my last car also so they need to be upgraded so mightaswell do the wiring, as well as some other things that you can feel free to suggest.

 

[joe_peters]

CCV--crankcase ventilation--system has a fresh filtered air intake from the air box to the front grommet on the valve cover. Make sure everything is attached and that the "J" hose off the air box isn't rotted inside--when rotted they like to collapse and screw things up.

At the rear on the valve cover there is an orifice that like to plug up--use a stiff piece of wire or a drill bit to clean it out. The vacuum line that attaches there also like to clog up, this is where a stiff wire comes in handy, and then at the other end of that vacuum line is the intake manifold vacuum port--make sure it is open, again with the stiff wire or a drill bit.

Good luck.

 

[Nova Wake]

Alright the valve gasket and oil filler cap were replaced, and i was hunting around the engine and the small diameter hose that comes out of the rear of the valve cover had electrical tape on it i unwound it to reveal a broken end, luckily i have my other 95 and the one on that one was fine and i put it on now oil pressure went up a little bit but now i get the following noise, in the following link, but the clicking spins down after a few seconds. to nothing. I can hear the oil draining back down into the pan also whitch is normal, not sure about the ticking though.

http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums/showthread.php?t=350957

picture of broken tube, damn po.

 

[joe_peters]

When you say you can hear the oil draining back into the pan, you mean AFTER the engine is shut off?

If that is what you mean it shouldn't be happening unless you put a cheap filter on there with a nitrile rubber anti-drain back valve. Those cheap filters will give you dry starts and engine damage.

 

[JJacobs]

How do you figure, Joe? I bet there's at least a quart under the valve cover at any given moment- it's going to go into the pan when the engine stops, no way around it.

 

[joe_peters]

How do you figure, Joe? I bet there's at least a quart under the valve cover at any given moment- it's going to go into the pan when the engine stops, no way around it.

Your right, I just don't think I have ever heard the oil running back into the crankcase before. Might just be my hearing though, hasn't been good since the early 60s.

 

[Nova Wake]

Your right, I just don't think I have ever heard the oil running back into the crankcase before. Might just be my hearing though, hasn't been good since the early 60s.

yeah Ive always heard oil dripping back in all my jeeps after shutdown but you gotta run out to hear it it it only does it for a few seconds, the clicking is the new part maybe after the hose was put on its getting more pressure it isn't used to or its just heat dissipating making it sound as if its under the valve cover.

 

[cruiser54]

I've always heard the oil running back down. But let's not lose sight of the fact that quality oil filters MUST BE USED on these engines due to the placement/mounting of the oil filters. If quality oil filters are not used, you will have engine damaging dry starts.

 

[kastein]

On my M54A2 I like to pull the fuel cutoff lever and crank it till I see oil pressure start to build (good practice as it allows you to detect hydrolock from leaky injectors or water in the intake before it does serious damage), then turn fuel on and run it. Installing a fuel pump cutoff switch (or simply not fixing the 97+ check valve issue for some people!) could be useful for building oil pressure before the engine is run.

 

[cruiser54]

On my M54A2 I like to pull the fuel cutoff lever and crank it till I see oil pressure start to build (good practice as it allows you to detect hydrolock from leaky injectors or water in the intake before it does serious damage), then turn fuel on and run it. Installing a fuel pump cutoff switch (or simply not fixing the 97+ check valve issue for some people!) could be useful for building oil pressure before the engine is run.

LDS 465 in it? I had an M543A1 wrecker crane with the LDS 465 Multi-fuel engine in it. Was prone to putting fuel into the oil until I figured out what caused it.

 

[Nova Wake]

Ok all leaks are gone, I put a new rear ccv hose on, changed the oil and oil filter.
And here is how it goes, when I first start it oil pressure on dash in at zero for maybe a
Half a second but goes up to about 60 after, while driving awhile it stays at about 60
most of the time but if I take my foot off it goes down to around 40. And if I'm driving for about an hour it drops to around 20 on the dash gage at idle and around 40-50 if I have my foot on the gas. It wont ever go below 20, just seems low is this normal? I used 10w 30. I'm being paranoid now.

 

[MoFo]

That all sounds normal to me.