Oil in Ashtray

I have not been able to find this problem online.

i found dried used motor oil all over the coins when cleaning out the front ashtray - center console behind the gear lever- of my 1999 sport 4.0. There is a gap at the top front of the ashtray, so it makes sense it is coming in from there.

I do not know where to begin...

Are you thinking that motor oil is somehow getting from the engine to the interior of your Jeep? I can't for the life of me imagine how that would be possible.

Are you sure it is oil, and not dried out soda or something similar? That area is right next to the cupholders, and when I used to detail cars I cleaned out all kinds of gunk from ashtrays that was the result of spills

Dried out Soda, Coffee or other liquid is my guess. Just clean it up and check again.

Yea I’m with these guys. It’s got to be soda or something. Or could be some oil you got in there the last time you did an oil change brought in from your fingers.

If you’ve got oil coming from your engine compartment, through the transmission tunnel, then up through the small gap at the ash tray and into the ash tray... then you have some major problems.

Po was spitting his chew into the ashtray.....

I agree with you guys - especially cruiser54 - and hope I am jumping the gun on this. I don't find any other complaints of this and I don't notice any other issues But I never have anything other than water in there. It smells and feels like oil. (I would have tasted it if not for the coins) I can't tell whether the tiny gap from the ashtray actually passes through to under the gear lever area but it seems to