Rapscallion

I just bought my XJ a few weeks ago and it has a small oil leak. Well I finally had some time to slip underneath and saw that this plate thing that attached to the transmission is missing bolts and separating from the tranny.

Can anyone tell me what I'm looking at here?

ZJMAX

That's the dust shield for the torque converter.

Max

Snakejumper

This is your torque converter cover. You can replace these bolts but this isn't causing an oil leak.

Lowrange2

As long as the other bolts are tight then everything is ok. Just replace those missing bolts and carry on. That isn't the root of your problem.

Fix the oil leak, though.

Check the valve cover and oil filter adapter before you do the rear main seal.

Rapscallion

Thank guys.

So will this cause me any issues if I don't fix it right away? There seems to be oil coming from directly above this dust shield because the oil is dripping from this point below the engine/tranny.

Also, where could I find the replacement bolts for this dust shield.

Thanks guys, sorry for the newb questions.

cruiser54

No need to apologize. Use the following to diagnose your oil leak.




I'd be looking up ABOVE first, and VERIFYING the source of the oil leak YOURSELF.

Everybody, who doesn't own or have to pay for or perform your vehicle repairs, loves to poke their noggin UNDER the Jeep and come out bearing the false bad news that your RMS is leaking.

Many mechanics, friends, people on Jeep forums who can’t see your Jeep from where they’re at, and good old Uncle Bob seem to enjoy telling you it’s the rear main seal. Has a catastrophic ring to it, doesn’t it?

A simple leak at the back of the valve cover or other source could produce the same symptoms. You don’t need to be a mechanic to figure this out. If you have good eyesight and a dim flashlight, you’re good to go on your own. Don't jump on the RMS/oil pan gasket bandwagon right off the bat.

Almost any oil leak on your 4.0 is gonna drip from the RMS area for two simple reasons.

First off, the engine sits nose-up and any oil will run back to the RMS area. Secondly, the RMS area is also the lowest point on the engine. Simple physics and the old plumber's adage apply here. "$hit flows downhill".

Valve cover gasket, oil pressure sending unit, oil filter adapter seals and distributor gasket, in that order, have to be eliminated as possibilities first.

Revised 02-26-2013

Rapscallion

Thanks for your help.

I've looked from the top and there doesn't seem to be any leaking from the Valve cover (but I also haven't looked at the very back with a flashlight yet). The Oil filter adapter is greasy from the top view, but I can't see any 'fresh' oil coming from the top of the adapter. I'll look at the bottom of the oil filter to see if there is oil built up or dripping. The oil pan seal also looks fine from the front, but again I haven't looked towards the back with a flashlight. I'll get on that.


Thanks again for your help. I will report back later, possibly with pictures of my findings for more help from this awesome community.