Jsny1010

Well.. A Couple of questions of anyone that is more savvy than I am at all of this..

First, I have an 89 cherokee, 4.0 4x4 limited.

There are 3 problems that I am trying to figure out,

First.. The main one is that its smoking because there is oil dripping on the exaust pipe, i am almost positive this is coming from the front seal? does it have one? lol the bottom of the transmission looks like it has oil on it, and the pipe does, im losing about a quart a day.. please help! cant drive it like that..

Second, the running lights / dash are out, is that the ignition switch? or a wiring issue?

Third, anyone ever replaced an ignition for one of these? is it hard?

Thanks guys, id love to get her back on the road!

Jsny1010

I think its coming from the transmission, im replacing the valve cover gasket too but it barley leaks oil, im pretty sure its from the transmission.. and its dripping right at the curve in the exaust pipe before the cat

BlueXJ

What color is the dripping fluid. Red is tranny and brown is engine oil. You said it was taking a quart a day but did not say engine oil or tranny fluid. If it is engine oil then it is easily repairable but the front tranny seal is a little more complicated from a repair standpoint. Tranny needs to come out and the front seal is behind the converter and it is kinda fragile, and has a pump right behind it IIRC.

Jsny1010

Hey Blue, thanks for the info, im not real familiar with automatic transmissions, it almost looks like the most of the oil is near the bell housing does that make sense? i didnt have a chance to check the back of the tranny but I know its tranny fluid.. hah a cop already stopped me and told me about it so I am not going to press my luck! any ideas on a quick fix for that one?

CodeXJ

Like Blue said, brown is engine, red is tranny. I had brown oil dripping off my tranny when the valve cover gasket went bad at the back of the motor. It allowed oil to run down the back of the engine, over the bell housing, and down the side of the tranny.

Jsny1010

Sorry for the probably dumb responce lol but does tranny fluid smoke as much as oil? its at home and i havent had alot of time to look at it alot, I think you are right... how hard is the pan gasket to replace? it leaks more when its driving than when its sitting, since i parked it last night it has barely dripped! but it was very dark the oil has not been changed in a while. Im brand new to Jeeps but wow they are sooo awesome, thanks for a great forum!

CodeXJ

That sounds a LOT like what mine did. If it's the valve cover gasket, it won't leak much at all when the engine is off, since all the oil runs to the bottom of the motor. What you end up with is whatever is on the engine/tranny dripping off, leaving a few dark spots here and there. The hardest part about changing the valve cover gasket is getting to the back bolt at the top of the engine, and getting the mating surfaces clean. It took me a couple of hours to do, but most of that was in cleaning the mating surfaces and trying to get a wrench on that back bolt.

I've never had tranny fluid get on the exhaust, but I'd assume it'd smoke just as much.

Jsny1010

Oh awesome, so do I have to drain the oil first? before i try to change the pan gasket.. im gunna go grab the haynes guide and see, was yours smoking alot?

Any idea on the lights, someone tried to steal it and poped the ignition and i think the guy must have screwed up the other lights.. the running and dash / over head lights do not work. is there a harness or anything maybe a diagram somewhere that would have info for the wiring?

CodeXJ

Depends.

If you are changing the oil pan gasket, yes.

If you are changing the valve cover gasket, no. The valve cover gasket is the topmost metal bit of the engine. Pop your hood, see the long metal bit at the top of the engine with two hoses sticking out of it? Thats the valve cover.

I think getting a repair manual is a good idea, I picked one up from Autozone as well. It's pretty handy.

Mine was smoking a little, but not horribly. Mostly I had a "Hot Oil" smell and oil drops on the ground, it really wasn't leaking that bad though.

BlueXJ

Oil of any kind engine or tranny will cause a lot of smoke when it hits hot exhaust. So your first task is to get whatever you can see clean. That will allow you to better visualize the source of the leak.

CodeXJ

Hey Blue, can you recommend a degreaser? My engine is coated in gunk on the passenger side from the gasket.

Jsny1010

very cool your guys are very knowledgeable!

To Update, its tranny fluid that is dripping and i think it may be from the pump? thats what i have found is up there, when i follow the tranny all the way up pass the support bar i see where it stops and it goes vertical? thats where its dripping but i cant see if its there or higher.. oh why did they have to place the exhaust under that ONE section lol

==And the running lights were a fuse! easy fix!

===Also, I am going to replace the valve cover gasket because it well needs it.. and its not that hard, will replace the o rings also see if i get better health in the oil life.

Jsny1010

oh guys, hey any idea what might stop the pipe from smoking for a lil bit? i cleaned it but it dripps while i drive and i dunno if its illegal but i dont want any tickets now.

BlueXJ

I use the stuff made by GUNK Engine Brite I think it is called. Works good if you follow the instructions on the can.