mitchvhoff

Hello! 2001 Jeep Cherokee, 154,xxx

It has been leaking from the rear of the pan, almost like rear main seal, up where the pan and trans meat. Oil drips down and collects where oil pan plug is, and fresh oil on the pan of the trans. Now noticing this, This would be 'Oil pan gasket?'





Here is what I think is the rear main?

mlepesant

Could be but not necessarily. Check first the back of the valve cover, oil filter adapter, distributor seal, oil sending unit. If all this checks dry then it could be the oil pan gasket or/and the rms. the one at the front could be the front crankshaft oil seal.

Programbo

Hello. It might not be tne rear main seal or oil pan gasket. Mine was leaking in the same spot and I was sure it was the rear main seal but after degreasing everything and looking more closely I found that my oil filter adapter o-ring was where the leak was. It was leaking out there and running along a little ledge along the side of the motor then working it's way down and finally coming our right at the spot yours is since that is the lowest point. Not saying that is where your leak really is but that is where mine ended up being.

mitchvhoff

I changed my valve cover few months back thinking that it was coming from that and leaking down, still noticed the oil and now noticing it more. After it's been running smells like burnt oil too. Funky smell!

mitchvhoff

Check, Alright, Alright, Not sure where the sending unit is?, Crankshaft oil seal, what would I be looking at labor wise?

I just changed the oil and never had any problem noticing it leaking oil from there.

mlepesant

Oil sending unit is on the passenger side of the block, ahead of the oil filter.

Crankshaft oil seal is something like $5. Need to remove the harmonic balancer with a special tool (on loan free at auto parts stores). Takes about 1hr, let's say 2 if you haven't done it before. So labor at a shop for this? Don't know $100/$150?

mlepesant

But you should clean it first and try to see where it is coming from.

mitchvhoff

Alright thanks I will do that today and see in few days. It's all over the place, bottom of the block is all ****ing oil.

Cherryokee

X2 on Programbo's advice.

Take the easy, simple and low buck route first. You'll most likely be glad you did. I had the same leak pattern on my '99 and over-reacted by replacing my rear main seal. It was a messy, costly, time-consuming and involved task - and the leak continued.

After cleaning the engine and bay (second time), I then paid more attention to the oil trails only to find that the oil filter adapter o-ring (see pictures) was the culprit. Less than one hour of labor and approximately $7 later the task was done and it's been leak free ever since (he said with fingers crossed).

JerrytheJeep

I had a ***** of a time trying to find my oil leak, 800 mile road trip completely soaked my undercarriage with the stuff.

Check to make sure your vcg bolts are tight and torqued down properly, mine came loose but some semi permanent locktite cleared that up. 20 minute fix.
Also so had to swap a distributor so I replaced that gasket while I was at it. 30 minute fix.
Oil filter adapter is like a 20 minute job that you can easily do yourself.
And because I was paranoid that it was the RMS I did that too.

You do NOT want to spend an entire weekend dropping the pan and struggling under your axle to get the arms out, and then spend 6 hours on your back scraping the old oil pan gasket off the bottom of your block. But hey, at least I've got a red oil pan, and some fabulous oil pressure.





Check everything else first...

cruiser54

　

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, 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 9-15-2012

The Rooster

Clean the engine bay and underneath you can always add oil dye... This helps if your leak is that sneaky.. You need to work from the top and work down... Is the best advice...

mitchvhoff

Alright I really appreciate the reply's and the few pictures. I am going to start Monday and I will feel you guys in.

mitchvhoff

Well my plan is to clean everything off, I did notice past few times changing oil that the plug seems to leak oil and the rubber washer is pretty bad. I am going to get a new plug for the pan, just looked up how to do the oil filter adapter just seems you need a torque bolt which the guy did not say what size, anyone know? From there see what happens?

I am handy, and have a heated garage with all tools, just no hoist, doing an oil pan gasket/rms Ive heard it is just messy and time consuming. To remove that pan what else do you need to do? It won't come all the way out will it?

XJ.89.Limited

I did my RMS and oil pan and my leak stopped for a few days. Then I put in a new drain plug, and it stopped for a few hours (both times getting less and less, it was pretty bad). The leak isn't as bad as it originally was, but it's back again. Next is the valve cover. The area by my RMS is no longer oily, just the bottom of the pan and drain plug area. I have a feeling the other seals in that area are leaking too, haha. I have a few springtime jobs to do.

RMS isn't hard, just very time consuming and a PITA with certain things. Put aside a weekend and grab a few buddies, I did mine on a Saturday. Took a few hours with the usual BS-ing between guys, but we got it done. Have the Chilton and Haynes manuals, Google, Youtube, and CF at your hands for any referance.

A tip for the drain plug: have a friend or family member or whoever under the jeep with you. Have them hold the new drain plug and stick it in the hole as soon as you remove the old one. It's a little tricky to do by yourself without loosing much oil. I did it using the buddy method and lost maybe a cup of oil, instead of a lot more doing it by myself.

Good luck! Also, listen to cruiser. He's bailed my butt out many times. haha.