98 Jeep Cherokee 2.5TD

just bought a 98 Jeep Cherokee 2.5TD & it seems to have an Oil leek at the frount of the engine, you can see the oil gathering on the steering rod & bottom of the rad, I have brought it back to the dealer, & he has told me that this is totally normal, that it is coming from the Turbo, this sounds wrong to me, anybody offer any advise on this. Also if you look under the passenger door & look at the bottom of the gearbox (I think its the gearbox) I can clearly see a seal sticking out & fluid has gathered around this area, the dealer has also told me that it must have been over filled & that’s why I see the fluid, & that the gearbox doesn’t have any seals. The Jeep drives fine apart from a metallic rubbing nose coming from the front left & a Thump, Thump nose that speeds up as you speed up, almost sounds like a rock strapped to one of the back wheels coming from the back middle of the jeep.
Please any help on these would be great as my warranty is running out.
Thanks

hmmm in general jeeps don't leak... they self lubricate

OK, on a more serious note I'd pursue this issue with the dealer as no leak is normal. Do you seem to be loosing significant amounts of oil? Also I'm not sure about the TD engines, but the gasoline ones here suffer from oil blowby which is ussually cured by changing out some vacuum lines and cleaning out the valvecover.....

In regards to the rubbing noise does it change in pitch/loudeness when you speed up/slow down? when you turn?

And the thump.... does it happen when you're not moving? Try jumping up and down on the rear of the XJ as you're parked to see what happens. I had a weird thunk noise that turned out to be a bad shock. You might be experiencing a similiar thing (also check the upper and lower shock bushings for tighteness/movement/noise).

Kejtar
P.S. So how's the weather in the Ireland?

Thanks for the reply Kejtar, your dead right about persuading the dealer that the leak is abnormal, but to tell you the truth I don’t know all that much about jeep's (I know more about bike engines) & you know they come up with all the reasons why, but I know it's not right.
As fare as the rubbing noise, it just makes the noise when you go about 30 or over & only hear it if the windows are closed & the radio & fan are off, it only happens when you have your foot on the accelerator (or "gas" for you lads) & you can clearly hear it stop when you take your foot off, when you cost. At first I thought it might have been bearings but you don’t hear it on corners & I jacked the jeep up & gave the wheel a good push back and forth but it didn't budge.
The thump nose sounds more serious than the other & happens when your moving at any speed, the thumps go at the speed your traveling, like your driving over cats eyes or thick white road marking lines, & can clearly be heard with windows down & radio a blast, it defiantly sounds like it’s coming from the back axel or in-between the back wheels, this noise is also intermittent, it was happening all last week & on & off before, but I haven't heard it for the last 3 days.
I will check the shock's didn't think of that, had a similar noise on a bike of mine, turned out that it was a wasted washer on one of the shocks, I hope its something as simply, any way thanks for your help man, any further help very much appreciated. Hope I haven’t wrecked the aul head too much.

The weather here is great at the moment, heading up north this wee- end to go surfing, if the jeep makes it, fingers crossed.

VTman

hmmm not sure what else it could be on the front noise.... loose belt?

In the rear don't forget to also look at your ujoints....

Kejtar

Will do, thanks again, You know I bought this jeep from the most reputable & well know Jeep dealer in the country, if it F***'s up on me there will be a boycott.

VTman

Unfortunately, we will not be of much assistance in this situation because the turbo diesel was not available in the USA. It was sold only in the "export" markets.

I do agree with the statement that no leak is normal. Actually, all seals are designed to "weep" a very small amount of oil in order to (as RichP expressed it) self-lubricate. However, that should be a virtually imperceptible weep. If it is leaking enough to drip off and collect on the steering linkage, it is excessive and should be repaired.