SO. my 89 4.0L has 216k on it so i know things are bound to be beat up. the other day i pulled off the interstate and smelled oil.. BAD. so i throw open the door and look under to a puddle the size of a softball. in about 20 seconds. Got home to see that its coming from in between the dust cover and flywheel housing... sh&%. the rear main right?? doubt it. cause i changed that and the pan gasket. and it still leaks.. ive heard about the vacuum line at the rear of the valve cover could be clogged? ive heard the distributor seal could be bad? also the VCG? or the filter housing... BUT NONE OF THEM HAVE OIL RUNNING DOWN FROM THEM?? im stumped. Has ANYONE found out this problem. cause i know im not the only one. Ive noticed that it doesnt leak while im parked.. only when i drive it. SOMEONE HELP.

 

REAR MAIN SEAL. you sure.you got it in right. If its doin it that bad when Lu drive it sounds like it got caught and cut or squashed

 

Well it can't be damaged really... there was no way for it to be. The upper is concealed and the lower sits in the ditch in the bearing cap.. plus. The "old one" wasn't even that old. It also wasnt damaged or brittle in any way.

 

When you fished the.top through it went in smooth? Did you lube it?

 

Usefull cause I gotta replace mine too. Just for the record our Jeeps don't leak, they just mark their territory! Lol

 

Went in like a charm. Not too easy, but not too hard. I did lube the front lip toward the block.

Ha thanks outlaw. But Jesus. I just might have hazmat teams over to my house soon. Looks like BP came and had a party in my driveway.

 

Well if anyone knows the TRUE cause of this. and has fixed it. please let me know. i know im not the only one who has had this.

 

sounds to me like rear main alsodo the bearings with it, atlrast the rear one. the crank is moving just enough

 

But wouldn't it leak at idle too if it were bearings? Or at least I could feel the crank be lopsided at high rpm. And I don't..

 

...now I'm second guessing it even being oil... I've gone 3 days leaking oil after changing the rear seal... and my oil is full. Wtf? How common is the front tranny seal to go? Id have to rip the whole thing out huh? buts its odd if thats the case, because my tranny goes into gear just fine?? wouldnt i notice a difference?

 

If you have an automatic then the puddle would be red, and when burned would smell like sweets. If you have a manual it would smell like gear oil.. (cat pee)

 

It should have gear oil in it. But it doesn't smell like gear oil that's burning on the exhaust. That's why I figured it was oil.. but my oil level is still full..

 

You tranny fluid might be brown if it's getting old.

Could be the front pump seal if it's not the rear main.

 

Ive got 216k on the engine. who knows how old the gear oil is.

where is the pump located??

 

The pump is behind the torque converter. When the seal leaks, it comes out where you describe. It runs down inside the bell housing then out the bottom.

The fluid in my '92 Laredo, 196K miles, is light brownish. Not much cherry red left.

The tranny shifts out fine and crisp in any temperature. I'm afraid to mess with it.