RMS and Head Gasket Oil Leak?

[StevieRT]

Hey guys, a few questions for you. I have a 98 Classic 4.0/AW4 4x4 with 138,000 miles. I get a few drips of oil every night about the size of a quarter-1/2 dollar on my driveway. I have been for over a year. I look underneath the Jeep and the entire right side of the block, from the where the head meets the block and down is covered in oil. Also the oil pan/trans, starter motor, etc. I replaced the VC gasket, the OFA o-rings, distributor gasket, even the grommets on top of the valve cover for the emissions stuff. I even replaced the o-rings again for fear I might have done it wrong because it did not stop the leak. The only things left are the head gasket and RMS. I went to do the RMS and after I removed the inspection cover, I was kind of shocked to see the flyweel and inside bellhousing bone dry. So I put it back together and came on here.

I searched, and very few people seem to have the head gasket oil seeping problem, or at least they dont post much on here about it, but has anyone ever successfully figured out a simple way to stop it without tearing the whole engine apart? I really dont want to do a head gasket because the Jeep runs flawlessly and doesn't have any other problems.

Also wouldn't an RMS cause the flywheel and inner bellhousing to be covered in oil. If its dry the rear main should be ok right? I just read that when these things go, they seem to get oil everywhere including the right side of the block so thats why I thought that could have been my culprit. Anybody else have these problems? Thanks in advance! -Steve

 

[joe_peters]

Quick and dirty (pun intended) mix up some 50/50 water and SimpleGreen, use a garden sprayer to cover the engine and other areas being careful to NOT soak the TPS/IAC/distributor in the process.

GENTLY hose off the engine, following the earlier mentioned precautions about soaking components.

OBSERVE the engine DAILY with a bright spotlight until you can determine the REAL source of the oil leak.

Also, did you know that there is a seal for the distributor?

 

[kastein]

Hey guys, a few questions for you. I have a 98 Classic 4.0/AW4 4x4 with 138,000 miles. I get a few drips of oil every night about the size of a quarter-1/2 dollar on my driveway. I have been for over a year. I look underneath the Jeep and the entire right side of the block, from the where the head meets the block and down is covered in oil. Also the oil pan/trans, starter motor, etc. I replaced the VC gasket, the OFA o-rings, distributor gasket, even the grommets on top of the valve cover for the emissions stuff. I even replaced the o-rings again for fear I might have done it wrong because it did not stop the leak. The only things left are the head gasket and RMS. I went to do the RMS and after I removed the inspection cover, I was kind of shocked to see the flyweel and inside bellhousing bone dry. So I put it back together and came on here.

Yup, he did

I agree, clean the engine block off and observe over time. You can't see much when you're looking at oil deposits layered on top of other oil deposits.

 

[StevieRT]

Thanks guys. I did that already with some engine degreaser stuff. The head gasket is definitely seeping oil. I was wondering if anyone has successfully fixed this problem without tearing the motor apart? Also, should the flywheel and inner bellhousing be covered if the RMS is bad or is it possible to still be dry with a bad RMS? Thanks!

 

[joe_peters]

You should see some oil residue slung around if it was the RMS.

If it is the head gasket on the the right/passenger's side of the engine I wouldn't get too excited about it, its just an oil return w/o pressure there. You could consider cleaning the surface and spraying some high-temp clear along there, might help a little.

 

[joe_peters]

Yup, he did

I agree, clean the engine block off and observe over time. You can't see much when you're looking at oil deposits layered on top of other oil deposits.

Missed another one! :wave: (mumble, mumble, think of excuse?)

 

[kastein]

it happens... I actually was gonna say the same thing about the oil filter adapter, but was sitting there scratching my head going "I could swear he mentioned it in here somewhere" and then noticed it.

As an aside, my Exxon Valdez grade oil leak (a quart every 150 miles or so) has been much reduced since I discovered that the hose from the front grommet on the valve cover to the air box was mostly disconnected, fixed that, and replaced the air filter (again) with one that wasn't 75% saturated with oil. I haven't checked it in a week or so now, but clouds of smoke don't come billowing out from under the front when I come to a stop at a traffic light anymore.

 

[StevieRT]

Well I removed the a/c compressor, the bracket, dist. cap, etc. Basically anything in the way of the right side of the cylinder head/block. I then covered up the dist. with a sandwhich bag, (which is a perfect fit by the way) and degreased and cleaned the entire right side. Then put some high temp rtv gasket maker along the entire right side of the block/head. Put it all back together and Drove it for a day and noticed it was still leaking a bit from right above the dist. Interesting because the cylinder head actually hangs over the block in this area...Anyways, cleaned up the area and put another thick 'coat' of rtv on that area. It's been a week now and it still looks to be dry.

I have to tell you, it did scare me how fast it started leaking again intially before my 'second coat' of rtv. This is definitely not the right way to fix this, but it did at least stop the leak for now. It is just extremely difficult for me to think about tearing apart the entire top end of a perfectly running engine because of a very slight oil leak. Once this motor gets a little more tired, I will definitly fix this right. I would like to thank you guys and the guys in other random posts about this topic for helping me out!

 

[RyanKnol]

I hate to bring up a super old thread, but how long did the rtv hold up? is it still working?