rear main seal leak???

I have a 1988 Jeep cherokee. When the car gets nice and hot, it starts to drip oil onto the ground directly below the rear main seal. Thing is the tranny was replaced rescently.

When I drive short distances or just leave it sitting there, it does not drip at all. When it does drip after getting nice and hot, it will only drip for a little while after I turn it off.

Could this be the rear of the valve cover leaking when the motor gets hot and it jsut happens to fall to make it look like the rear main seal is leaking?

Side note: The jeep has not been used for a year. I was able to drive it close to 300 miles before it started to leak(this was during two trips to get it to my house).

Thanks for any help you can provide

I have the exact same situation, and have replaced the valve cover and oil filter gaskets, so the only thing I can think of is rear main. I just havent found the energy to get under it and get that oily lately... too busy with dealing with my death wobbles.... :banghead:

www.jeepin.com has a decent write up on replacing that seal.

This will be the most rewarding part of being a jeep owner. You also get to do the oil pan gasket since you cant do the main by itself. Had a post in here about 3 months ago on my adventure in doing the oil pan gasket. probably still in here somewhere... when the gasket gets dry, by sitting, and then you fire up the rig, the oil gets hot and thins out somewhat, and then your gasket will start to crack, thus the dripping you have now.

You'd better writeoff a weekend and/or your family to do this as it will take a couple of hours :laugh:
Good luck... oh yeah... get the one piece o.p. gasket for like a 92 and newer. Much better than the 4 piece you'd get with the older one.

Upon completion of the project you will have learned most of what you need to know. It's kinda like going to a foreign country. Sounds neat, but once you've been there you don't want to go back...

If your engine has alot of miles on it, excessive blow-by might be contributing to the problem. This can increase the pressure in the crankcase and tend to force oil out of marginal seals and gaskets.

Well, I have finally finished the PIA that we call the rear main seal. Biggest issue I had was getting that stinkin oil pan out of there. I had to take of the lower controls arms, unhook the shocks and the sway bar, and then I was able to jimmy that thing out of there. Thank the maker for the invention of the die grinder. Getting that old oil pan gasket off could have been the end of me had I not the beautiful little wire circle spinning at 4500 rpms. I RECOMMEND for anyone doing this in the future, Get a die grinder, you will not be sorry. And I can only emphasize the need for some good goggles, WOW, that was a lot of crud flying around.

And what does someone do once that is all off, You install a lift. So I went over to the local dersert rat and picked up a nice Pro Comp 3" lift. All i have left to do is the rear add a leaf and she will be sittin pretty.

Thank the maker that is done

red91inWA said:

oh yeah... get the one piece o.p. gasket for like a 92 and newer. Much better than the 4 piece you'd get with the older one.

Click to expand...

I have an '89 4L Laredo - will a newer one piece gasket fit my older motor?

It looks like it's time for me to get down and dirty too!

Johnny V said:

I have an '89 4L Laredo - will a newer one piece gasket fit my older motor?

Click to expand...

Yes.