GeneralsIV

Recently I did a overhaul on the engine. I redid the head gasket, valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket, new oil pump, and a rear main seal. Followed all the steps for the rear main, kept it clean and all. Before this it did burn oil because of blowback meaning oil was finding it's way in the air intake. There was a small oil leak which we assumed it was the rear main since the car has 245,000 miles. The oil filter housing has also been done. It only seems to burn going uphill. I would estimate that it leaked a little less than the full amount of oil needed, so about 3 quarts which is not good. Any suggestions? This vehicle is my main daily so I need to get this fixed. I believe that it might just be the valve cover gasket.

dave1123

It's probably valve stem seals and the rear cylinder valves get submerged in oil when the engine raises in the front as you go uphill. Any oil still in the valve cover flows back to the rear and gets sucked into the engine thru the valve stems. Just a guess. Those seals are probably hard as rocks with the mileage on the engine, plus the valve guides are worn.

GeneralsIV

I don't think it could be that because we had all of them redone at the shop a few months ago. All were replaced with new ones.

awg

leaking and burning being separate issues, your total oil consumption is a worry, my XJ consumes about 1/2 quart per 5000 miles, and it does have a small rear leak

does yours leak oil onto the ground ?..blow smoke from the exhaust ?

how is your compression...add a teaspoon of oil and recheck..

in theory a leakdown test should reveal where oil could be consumed within the engine

GeneralsIV

Ok so before I redid the head gasket it was defiantly burning oil. I noticed oil was going back through the closed air system and burning out through the intake. Now it feels like it leaks meaning when I go uphill, the oil it hitting all the exhaust parts and burning off. I don't believe it's burning out the exhaust pipe which would be a sign of a bigger problem because the amount of white smoke that comes out the back is substantial. It also does leak on the ground in the size of about a 2 inch puddle. I haven't done any compression tests. Do you think this is a sign of blowback? Where the piston rings are worn and need to be redone? I don't understand how replacing a head gasket could lead to oil leaking in large amounts.

GeneralsIV

Wow I read that wrong so this could be it. Could replacing the valve steam seals really fix my problem? They are definitely still from the factory so maybe I should. I'm wondering if I could stick my go pro in the engine bay and test if this is where the oil is coming out of or going into the engine.

Sirsyc0

You never said what year it was. If by intake you mean air filter location, check your crank case ventilation. If this wasn’t happening before, it’s something you recently worked on. By what your saying it sounds like it’s physically leaking oil while going uphill and burning off exhaust components under the vehicle. If that’s the case, leaking that much oil, the oil pan gasket probably isn’t seated properly at the rear of the oil pan. The valve gasket nearest the firewall could also be pinched or not seated properly. The rear crank seal can really dump a ton of oil if not done correctly to. I’m a career mechanic and I’ve messed more things up than I’d like to admit. Mistakes happen. If the engine is consuming oil internally that’s a separate issue. For these guys to help you with an internal engine issue, they need more information. Burning means out of the tail pipe. Leaking and burning of the exhaust is a leak. Hope this helps.

GeneralsIV

The year of the car is a 1995 as listed in the title and I understand the difference between burning and leaking. It did both before I did all this work. I was just curious why it leaks really bad when I go uphill. I said it burned going uphill due to the amount of white smoke. So it’s clearly burning just not internally. Could a vacuum leak on the top of the valve cover be an issue?

dave1123

Just before I replaced my 4.0 in my WJ, it was sucking lots of oil into the manifold thru the CCV system. I put an oil catch-can (separator) in that vacuum line and was catching around a 1/2 cup of oil a week. That's about 4 oz. It only started burning oil after installing my Clearwater head, so I guess the rings couldn't take the added compression pressure created by valves that seal! The blowby never got the the point of backing up into the air filter before I changed the engine.

awg

my suggestion is to start with the most obvious, likely and easy things first

1st thing identify oil leak area...this means your engine must be cleaned..do not use a power washer..imagine if it just your valve cover gasket at the back!

It sounds like they need to be fixed asap, as it is getting on your exhaust, and on the ground, both roadworthy failure issues

White smoke coming out the exhaust pipe is suggestive of head gasket not sealing

any sign of milkiness on the oil cap?...bubbles in radiator coolant neck ?...do a compression check !

a manifold vacuum gauge is a very simple basic tool that can reveal many engine problems, including vacuum leaks, blown head gasket, general health of engine etc

then you will know if the oil is emerging from the rear oil seal...I had an old truck did this...oil would actually run out the rear main seal on a very steep slope...the old timers told me not to worry, that was was normal

not normal on an xj

GeneralsIV

Sorry I haven't replied recently but it was for a good reason. I order a dye for the oil and UV flash light. The leak is coming from the oil dipstick! I didn't realize it would leak from there. All other spots looked as if they were drained on so no major leaks that I notice. So I looked this up and it could be a clogged CCV valve causing large pressure buildup. Just wondering if I could get a confirmation on this? Thanks!

doublechaz

It could also be the dipstick o-ring is just done. There is a mounting bolt somewhere up the tube that you undo, then pull the tube out of the block. Clean it up, add new o-ring, push it back in and bolt. Unless something about this is difficult to reach on a Jeep, it's an easy job. I did this on the quarter million refresh of my Subaru among many other small items.

GeneralsIV

I believe that my problem is worn piston rings. I have excessive blow by. Ima try and put on an oil catcher between the cover and air filter box and see if that will help. If it doesn’t I might as well take the oil cap off or something because this high pressure is causing all my leaks. Did tons of research and it all leads to the same thing. Kinda pisses me off because I had put new seals everywhere. All done right just for a high pressure build up to squeeze all the oil out. Idk if the seals will be good after I fix the blowby problem.

doublechaz

Mine was alleged to have blow by. The CCV system was shot. I converted it to PCV and the problem was solved. FWIW.

GeneralsIV

Sorry for a really late reply. I found out what the problem is and how to stop the leak. When I replaced the rear main seal, I followed all the steps for a good seal. I did some research and found that the replacement seal from Autozone wasn't a good choice. Some people stated they had excessive leaking afterwards. So to fix this without putting a new one on, I put a bottle of AT205 resealer in the engine oil and within 10-30 minutes the rear main seal stopped leaking. No more burning oil going uphill.