Oil leak...94 XJ 4.0HO

Hey everyone. I know this question has probably been beating to death on this forum. I never seem to have time to sift through it all. So I have a quick question... On my 94 Cherokee, there is engine oil dripping from the bellhousing of the transmission. Right where the motor and the tranny come together, there is a plate between them. Its running down the engine side of the plate and dripping. Its not pouring...but dripping enough for me to be concerned. I cant really tell where its orginating from because its all kind of oily...but what are the most likely causes??? Rear main seal? Oil pan gasket? Oil pan needs to be tightened up a bit??? Give me some ideas. Im really hoping its not the rear main...because I dont think Ill keep it if it is. Thanks in advance.

Justin

that would be rear main or oil pan gasket... either way, oil pan has to come off...

kinda silly to get rid of it just for that...its basic maintainence on an xj.... every one out there leaks at the rear main eventually.

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I think I jumped the gun alittle on the whole getting rid of it thing. I didnt think before I typed I looked into replacing the rear main and it doesnt seem that hard. I was afraid the motor or transmission would have to come out. But since its a two piece shouldnt be too hard. Does anyone know if I have to take the whole pan out from under the jeep? or can I get away with just having it unbolted? I read that I need to take the oil pump out to get the pan out. So Im wondering if I should replace that at the same time or what. Any info is welcomed! Thanks

Justin

ghettocruiser said:

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I think I jumped the gun alittle on the whole getting rid of it thing. I didnt think before I typed I looked into replacing the rear main and it doesnt seem that hard. I was afraid the motor or transmission would have to come out. But since its a two piece shouldnt be too hard. Does anyone know if I have to take the whole pan out from under the jeep? or can I get away with just having it unbolted? I read that I need to take the oil pump out to get the pan out. So Im wondering if I should replace that at the same time or what. Any info is welcomed! Thanks

Justin

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1. yes. the oil pan has to come off.
2. no. the oil pump doesn't have to be changed out, unless your pressure is getting low, then its a good idea. Once you do this procedure you'll have been indoctrinated into the world of XJ's.
3. If you don't have a lift on the jeep it makes things a little more complicated, but can still be done.
4. if you take it to the dealer, not only will you get raped, but you'll probably be abused by youR fellow jeep buddies!

Its a right of passage thing man. It takes more time than $, unlike my wife which takes more $ than time !!

Plenty of posts to find look for oil pan removal and/or rear main seal

Good luck, beware the last bolt on the oil pan in the drivers side corner rear, and WEAR EYE PROTECTION !! ( Trust me on this )

When your done you will be FORCED to post your results like the rest of us that have been there before you.

before you go through the trouble of replacing the rear main, check to see if the oil filter adapter seals are leaking. when they do the oil runs down the right side of the pan and it drips at the rear like a rear main would. $15 worth of seals and 30 minutes can save a lot of unnecessaty work. however that doesnt mean the rear main isn't leaking too.

red91inWA said:

...... unlike my wife which takes more $ than time !!

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I have the same model !! What year was that ?

Ohh yeah....Do check that filter adapter.

Haha right of passage... Right after I posted I searched around and learned about the oil filter adapter, and how the valve cover can leak back there and make it look like the rear main too. So Ill be doing all of those first. Im planning on just buying a new valve cover and replacing all of the CCV stuff just for piece of mind. As for the dealership...no way. I dont take any of my vehicles to those thieves. I work at a parts store so that helps...just not with some of the harder to get stuff. We have a 97 ZJ in the family with the 4.0, but I just havent had to do any work to it, so Im still kind of new to the motor. Thanks for all the help tho. I dont have a lift on the jeep...yet...but I do have access to a lift...so gettin to some of the stuff is alittle easier. I will definetly post my success as well as some pics of my new toy once I get a few odds and ends done with her.

Justin

I had a similar looking leak on my 99 and assumed it was the rear main. When I took off the oil pan I saw that the edge of the pan had a dent in it I can only assume came from the upper control arm crashing in to it. The oil would run from about midway in the oil pan back to get into the bell housing and come out the bottom.

I would take a look around the entire edge of the oil pan and see if you see any damage... Taking off the pan is pretty easy, just keep track of which bolts go where, I think there are three or four different bolt types.

Update... I changed the valve cover gasket today. Get this...most of the bolts were less than finger tight!! While I was in there I replaced all of the CCV system that I could. I used some sealant along with the gasket to seal up the cover. I did however manage to break one of the bolts... That was my fault. I was doing alittle overtightening... But it seems to have sealed pretty good, and I believe it slowed the leak...but did not stop it. Unless what dripped out today was left over stuff on the flywheel or something. Im still going to do the oil filter adapter I think. And check the oil pan bolts since the valve cover was barely attached. Thanks for the help.

Justin

ghettocruiser said:

I did however manage to break one of the bolts... That was my fault. I was doing alittle overtightening...

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Valve cover bolts only get tightened to 12-13 ft-lbs.