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Help me identify this oil leak

jeeperguy21

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Syracuse, UT
From the picture, you can see that it is coming down from the engine block and collecting on the bottom of the oil pan. It appears to be engine oil, but find it surprising because it has a new fel-pro oil pan gasket, RMS, oil adapter o-rings, valve cover gasket, the whole 9 yards.

DSCN0085.jpg


I thought it might be a transmission cooling line leak, but that was repaired last week as you can see by the new clamps on the line. No fluid is coming out of there anymore. I sprayed down the underside of the oil pan last week after fixing the tranny line, and this is what has appeared in a week's time after very light driving.

So what do you think? Getting through the oil pan gasket or should I check something else?
 
Look along the side of the block/head mating, on the passenger's side of the engine. Sometimes the oil return weeps out in that area from the headgasket--NOT A FATAL PROBLEM. Some just seem to do that.

Other place for a slow leak is the distributor--there is a round gasket between the distributor housing and the block mounting face, and they will weep there too.

Good luck.
 
Is there anything that can be done to "patch" the leak from the outside?
 
X2 on the distributor leak, that's the only really common one I see that you didn't mention in "the whole 9 yards".

Also hit that oil pan with some brakleen and then some rustoleum before it rusts! I have a hairline crack rusted through that exact spot, all the way across the front of the sump, due to the stock rubber engine bay mudflap sitting against it and holding sand, salt, and water up to it for the 13 years before I bought the jeep and ripped the stupid thing off. It leaks oil if I park on less than a ~10 degree incline, nose up.
 
I might as well just replace the distributor gasket. Does fel-pro sell one?
 
yep, fel-pro 70051. It's listed as a distributor mounting gasket.

Careful with the distributor, might have to re-index it after, and clean around the area before removing it so you don't drop gunk into the hole... iirc it leads right to the oil pump.
 
Any good write-ups on doing this job? I want to do it right and only once.
 
It's very simple but the distributor cannot move from its original location. Pull off the cap mark the position of the rotor. Unplug the sensor cable. Remove the bolt and hold down on the block and pull it out. Remove the old gasket clean the surfaces and install new gasket. If it doesn't go back in exactly how it came out the engine will not start or run very poorly.

I had a leak in the same place replaced the gasket it was good for about 6 months now the leak it back. I'm thinking about making my own gasket this time.
 
1. Remove dist. cap.
2. Mark position of rotor in relation to dist. housing and where it is pointing to on the block.
3. Remove bolt holding dist. to block.
4. Remove dist. from block.
5. Replace seal.
6. Reverse 4 through 1, making sure that the rotor lines up with the mark on the dist. housing and the block.

Start engine, big grin on face, go have a beer--but not while driving!
 
Sounds simple enough. Thanks for all your input.
 
Ok, good luck.

Post up how it goes.
 
Look along the side of the block/head mating, on the passenger's side of the engine. Sometimes the oil return weeps out in that area from the headgasket--NOT A FATAL PROBLEM. Some just seem to do that.

Mine does. It's too much work to replace the head gasket for a minor leak.
 
Today I replaced the distributor mounting gasket. Very easy except it took forever to get the rotor lined up to where it was before I removed it. After putting it all back together, I started it up and it ran just as it did before. Only time will tell if that was the culprit o the leak. Thanks for all your help.
 
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