Few new problems

Ok so one problem I have had the whole time I owned the xj. It has a leaking steering box at the pitman arm. Well if it sits for a few days it will barley leak but if I run it not even a half a mile and part it, it will leak like crazy. If I dont move it after I park it and come back the next day the puddle under it is about 8in round. I haven't had to add any power steering fluid or anything but leaks like crazy. I have been getting a lot more play in my wheel even just moving it around my yard. Seems the more I move it the more play I get. My other problem is I drove it to my buddys last night 20 mile round trip and I have to climb hills both ways since its the mountains lol but I noticed when I was going to his house right before the trans would shift I would get a squealing noise and sounds like my belt but I have put a new belt on it and all the pulleys are good and there is no slack in the belt and the belt isn't over tighten so not to sure about that. It didn't do it on the way home but when it was doing it every time it would shift just right before it would squeal. My xj is also very loud because the exhaust and my sound system and could hear it perfect over the 2. Haven't lost any power or anything so not sure if I should be worried about it or not haha. On the tow truck I drive it had a squeal then we were replacing a few parts which was 4k later haha. I am down to the steering box and this squealing and its also not a power steering squeal or at least it doesn't sound like one.

First of all, play in the pitman shaft is pretty common, but if it's leaking you're really in need of a steering box. You'll never have tight steering if there's play there, because it will always move the shaft sideways before it starts to rotate. Let's hope your parts vehicle has a good one too. All XJ boxes are interchangeable as to fit, though earlier ones may have more boost than later ones. Probably no difference in your case, and light steering is better than slop anyway. Since you're going to have to unbolt the box to put the new steering shaft in, you might as well replace it, and that will give you the opportunity to check the frame for cracking and the aluminum mounting plate for corrosion.

You can fix the bearing and seal, but it's probably best to get another gear altogether, especially if you have a source for another coming.

As for the squeal, if you have not gotten and used a belt tensioner, such as the Krikit II that NAPA stores sell (you may need to persuade a NAPA counter person that such a thing actually exists, but it does!) then you cannot be sure of your belt tension. A preliminary test that can help is to find the longest span of belt you can, and twist it. It should be just able to go 90 degrees. If it's possible to go further, it's likely loose. XJ belts are hard to adjust by eye because they must be a lot tighter than you probably think. A new belt will also stretch a little and need retightening a few hundred miles after installing.

Well the parts jeep I will be picking up in a few hours but I had a few people wanting to buy the whole thing so they could make it a toy so I might just change the lower steering shaft if the one off my friends is good then Ill get that one running again then sell it then go buy a new/used steering box spindles/ Hubs and 2 tires. Wanted to have a spare engine and trans but if I can make an easy 1500 off it thats better to me lol. Plus hers has been in a wreck about 5 years ago so not to sure about some of the parts.

Gnarlyrider27 said:

Well the parts jeep I will be picking up in a few hours but I had a few people wanting to buy the whole thing so they could make it a toy so I might just change the lower steering shaft if the one off my friends is good then Ill get that one running again then sell it then go buy a new/used steering box spindles/ Hubs and 2 tires. Wanted to have a spare engine and trans but if I can make an easy 1500 off it thats better to me lol. Plus hers has been in a wreck about 5 years ago so not to sure about some of the parts.

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If you can sell the other one whole, I'd do it and use the money for good used or new parts for the one you keep. I'd include the steering shaft in this, looking for one from a junkyard. Rebuilt steering boxes are not too punishing in price, and you can shop around for hubs and do fairly well, and in the end you'll have parts you can be reasonably sure of.

Ya looks like on the 90 it needs a fuel pump. Turn the key on and can't hear the pump and on my 92 I can hear it come on plus no fuel is getting to the rail. It cranks over just no gas lol. Also it's missing the head lights grill and all that. They were doing something to it and took all that off. But checked the play on her jeep and her's has a lot more play then mine in the steering box and the lower shaft looks way different so I'll just wait. I got use to driving it with the play it has so who knows haha. Have noticed every now and then the smell of burning oil but haven't really lost any. But I only smell it going up hill.

Matthew Currie said:

As for the squeal, if you have not gotten and used a belt tensioner, such as the Krikit II that NAPA stores sell (you may need to persuade a NAPA counter person that such a thing actually exists, but it does!).

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those things are pieces of crap, dont use one, if you read around you'll see that they are off on measurements more than they are right. you'll see a lot of post showing water pumps and such going to crap from the belt being tensioned way more than they are suppose to because of the krikit and the bearing give out. ask me how i know lol

I never had problems with mine, but it requires careful use and the reading is not intuitive. I'd have been glad to find something better but there's not much out there. Very few belts these days lack a built in tensioner.

I had not seen bad reviews on this site, but maybe I missed them. I lost mine anyway.

Well there is 2 Napa's here and I will not shop at them. Both places are owned by the same guy and all the guys there dont know what there doing and they rip everyone off. The very first time I had to do my oil pan gasket I went thru Napa and they wanted to charge me 90 bucks for the gasket. Went to O' Reilly's and got it for like 30 bucks and so far went thru 3 gaskets and drove the jeep to town which is 3 miles and back and parked it and looks like my gasket blew on the rear. Lost about 2q of oil and all on the ground. Or my rear main is leaking. All I know is I am kinda tired of pulling the oil pan off. I almost want to take it to a shop and not deal with it.

It's one thing after another, isn't it? As for the rear seal, you can sometimes tell what's happening here if you remove the dust shield over the flywheel. Look inside, and if it's the main seal, you will usually see the streaks of oil on the front surface of the flywheel, as well as oil inside the bell housing. If it's nice and dry inside, your problem is probably elsewhere.

Remember that when the seals on the oil filter adapter blow or when the rear of the valve cover gasket leaks, the oil will tend to end up in the same place, so it's important to try to see where it comes from as well as where it goes.

If it's the oil pan gasket, it will usually leak out the first quart or two, and then stop. If it's leaking under pressure from a seal, it will just keep going until the oil runs out.

If you have any access to a pressure washer or the like, it can help a lot to clean the back end of the engine well, so that you can see where fresh oil is coming out. After a while that thing gets so covered in it that you can't see what's really happening.

Rear seals are not terribly hard to do. Fel-Pro (I think it's them anyway) makes a special double lipped seal that supposedly works better on older crankshafts. You can also find a single piece oil pan gasket that may be easier to get right than the three piece, which can be frustrating.

Ya this jeep just doesnt want me to drive it haha. Like I said its the 4th time I will have to drop the pain. I just put a brand new real main seal in it like a month ago. And I been getting the 1 piece oil pan gaskets but when I am driving only up hill I smell the oil burning but if I park level the oil is coming from the back of the oil pan and its coming out of the bell housing. There's oil all over underneath of the jeep from the steering box and what ever is leaking but the valve cover gasket is brand new and not leaking and the oil filter adapter seal is new. But my buddy had this same problem on his 63 chevy truck. We did 8 oil pan gaskets well the engine was still in then he got tired of dealing with it so pulled the engine did it and he been driving it since and not one drop of oil so thats what he is wanting me to do is pull the engine. I kinda agree because I think I could be moving the gasket when I am trying to get the pan back up on the block.

I suspect you may be right, especially if the leakage is worst up hills.

I still would not go so far as to pull the engine, but it might help to make guides for installing the pan and gasket. Depending on how much room you have to work, there are two ways you can do it.

First, just get a few bolts of the correct thread that are about three times as long as the ones needed. Now begin installing the pan, but as you get close to the point of engagement, install those bolts evenly around the perimeter. When they engage the block, the pan and gasket will still be a couple of inches low, and you should be able to check that the holes are still where they belong and the gasket properly placed. Now push the pan up using those long bolts as guides, install the other bolts, and then replace the long ones.

Alternatively, if there's enough lift on your vehicle to allow you to slide the pan in well below its final resting place, get a few of the same long bolts, cut the heads off, and thread them into the block loosely before you start. Now use these pins as guides when installing pan and gasket. It should be possible to get things lined up this way.

Remember that the back couple of bolts are bigger around than the others, and make sure you use the right ones and tighten them correctly so they don't leak.

Also, make sure the pan itself is not distorted. It can be hard to get one off at times, and easy to get a wavy surface on the flange. Check with a straightedge to make sure there are no high or low spots too great for the squish of a new gasket to seal.


I did a three piece gasket on my old 87 and had similar problems, but before I got it fixed I got another Jeep and gave the 87 to my daughter with the caveat that it needed a better pan job. She just carried a case of cheap oil and added it as needed. She found that if she ran it about 2 quarts low, it behaved pretty well. Then for no apparent reason, it stopped leaking almost entirely. Apparently after a couple of hundred thousand miles there was enough loose gunk inside to clog the leak! She drove it up to 230K or so, and then sold it, to a rural mail man who needed a good winter vehicle! Some Jeeps are hard to kill.

Well the problem I am having with the pan gasket is the loop that seals against the rear main cap pushes into the pan and leaks that way. I have tried everything to help hold it into place but still moves. I have the plastic pieces that come with the chevy single gaskets to help guide the pan into place. Plus I like to keep my engine nice and clean and the kid never took care of it or cleaned it so having the engine out will give me a chance to clean it and paint it lol. Plus I think my ring gear might be messed up because the last few times I started it sounds like the starter gets hung up on the fly wheel so it will help. Just need to sell the 90 xj I have lol.