i have oil leaking from the underside and im not sure if its just the oil pan gasket or a head gasket. Help?

 

Where is the oil leaking from? It is running differently, or is there just oil leaking?

Chuck

 

Look at PS pump high pressure hose. They leak when aged.

 

Check the Oil filter adapter - the O ring may be leaking - I had this problem, and the oil runs down and along the top lip of the oil pan - then drips at the back end -- looking like the oil pan seal is gone. There is a replacement seal kit for the O ring.

I also had some oil leaking from the back of the rocker panel cover. In this case I re-torked the bolts which were a bit loose due to the age of the motor -- 19 years

 

Feel free to actually climb under your rig to try and see where it is leaking...

 

Need more input. What I find easier to pin point leaks is to pic up some simple green or some sort of engine degreaser and spray it down then take it to the car wash and hit the underside of the engine and the top. While the engine is running!!!! Shutting it off then washing the engine will leave ya stranded on some Cherokees.

After that drive a lil bit and then let her sit. You will be a lil more accurate in finding where the oil leak is. Most common oil leak is a Rear Main Seal since the Cherokee using a two piece seal. It may sound hard but it is not that hard to replace.

Two culprits that look like a Rear main seal leak are the Oil filter adapter O-rings and a rear leak on the Valve cover gasket.

Well gotta jet will post more later if needed

 

Check your valve cover bolts and make sure they're tight.
I just replaced my valve cover gasket and found over half of them loose.
Also cured what I thought was a main seal leaking. Turned out to be oil running
down the back of the engine from valve cover .

 

I just recently purchased my heep and have done 2 out of 3 of these, the valve cover gaskets was the first then the rear main seal. Next will be the adapter o rings but as of replacing both of the others my leaks have stopped. i imagine the orings have never been replaced though and the adapter is really stuck good on mine. Definitely check the valve cover bolts too cause when i replaced mine the bolts were just a little more then hand tight. After replacing torque to like 8-10lbs and your good. Also it could be power sterring hoses as mine have quite a bit of fluid on them. Good luck and its not really leaking its just marking its territory.

 

i've been under it many times and it does seem to be coming around the sides. its weird tho because it doesnt leak at idle but if i rev it its like a faucet. i would really like to get this fixed before i change the oil because i dont want to just lose 5 quarts to the pavement. also, would you guys recomend removing the pan and cleaning it out and replacing the gasket anyway? its a 92 sport. this problem isnt hindering the motor because its got plenty of pull

 

How much oil would you guess you find on the ground after leaving it parked for the night in terms of size, like a quarter sized spot a cd sized spot or a dinner plate sized spot?

 

Also the valve cover gasket commonly fails at the back end of the block and will leak down the back of the block. Which in turn can lead you to the rear main seal which also leaks at the back of the block, if it where on the side i would say check the oil filter adapter to make sure its tight or replace its orings but you said its not from the side. also since you said its like a faucet i would venture to guess its a much larger leak then either of these may cause, oil pan gasket maybe not really sure at the moment but thats what i would check based on your input so far.

 

quarter sized after idling but after driving its about a cd

 

id guess that its probably either the rear main seal or the valve cover gasket, the rear main seal is possibly the oiliest thing you will ever do on a jeep but no to hard just be careful not to score the cam when changing the inner half of the seal. and the valve cover gasket is a cake walk. Both of which also dont cost alot the gasket is like 30$ or so depending on the gasket you get i went with a felpro non cork gasket and it went on very easy no leaks since, and the main seal just bought it at my local auto parts store of choice. start with the valve cover gasket first if you are hesitant about the main seal. cause i believe that was what actually fixed mine.

 

How much oil are you going through in a day/week? I had a similar problem where it was leaking at idle and streaming out when I was on the gas. I took a look and found out oil was streaming out of the oil pressure switch. I don't know how common that is but you might check it out.

 

From what i understand that is actually fairly common, myself ive never seen that exactly but i could believe it as when i changed the oil pressure switch on mine it did let off pressure and if left unchecked long enough im sure it could get much worse. i know that when they are going bad they start to leak and it is easilly checked by unplugging the electrical connector that plugs into it. but as he stated it didnt seem to be on the side of the engine i would still check the valve cover gasker/bolts then rear main seal but if this is something you may be worried about pop that connector off and see if you hear any pressure come out do it when the vehicle is off so you can hear the hiss of the pressure releasing.