greynolds17

so just got done doing my rear main seal with the shop manager at my school, get it all put back together and start it up, no leak, i go and park it outside to clean my bay and when i come back out it has leaked maybe a couple of shot glasses worth of oil, both of us figure that the pan gasket wasn't sealed correctly because its not dripping from the top of the flex plate cover. It only leaks when the engine is off but it leaks way too much to keep driving it like this, almost a quart a week, i don't have time to pull the pan again so i'm really fond of taking it to a shop and having them do it just incase I mess it up again. any thoughts on what might be leaking?

Cherokoolguy

Are you sure it was the rear main seal that was leaking in the first place? I did the same thing because I thought I had a bad rms but once i got it put back together, it still leaked. Many people will restate this (And one guy in particular may chime in with his trademark speech), all oil leaks from the 4.0 end at the bellhousing making it look like a rms leak. Your oil filler cap could be loose and it will leak to that spot. Just my .02

greynolds17

I know my valve cover is leaking but this leak is so much more than it was before, if it was somthing else leaking I'm not sure how this would point to it, and I had the parts so thought I might as well do it so I know its good it's pretty obvious somthing was done wrong when reinstalling the pan, and I do know the rear main was one of the leaks, it came out in 3 peices instead of 2 lol

Cherokoolguy

That RMS definitely needed replacing then lol. Did you use any RTV in your replacement job? I would also look at your oil filter adapter o rings. Those can develop an attitude after a bit. Id also check your gasket again to make sure its seated right. What brand of oil pan gasket did you use?

greynolds17

I used felpro, and only used rtv on the ends of the rms and I cleaned the whole bottom of the jeep and didn't see any dripping from the filter, I am going to check tomorrow when the snow melts a bit to make sure

Cherokoolguy

Good man! The felpro gaskets come with the stubs so you can get a good fitment and that helps ALOT. Id give that valve cover gasket attention while you still have your hands dirty so you have the assurance that its out of the equation.

greynolds17

those studs are a pain to remove, I stripped them out and took forever getting them out, and the holes still didn't line up, also I'm doing the valve cover next weekend

Cherokoolguy

That could be part of your issue. Been there done that, those studs are not fun to work with. Clean up the bottom with a paper towel one evening and check it again in the morning to see whats oily and whats not. That in combination with your valve cover gasket could be the culprit of your leak.

greynolds17

well it's pretty easy to see what's leaking and what's not now because so much leaks that you can just look at the oil dripping down, and the valve cover gasket probably contributes maybe 1% of the total leak right now

jordan96xj

Frustrating. Sometimes with gaskets you don't get good clues as to what went wrong until you remove them, then try to learn for the next time.

Have you seen this thread?
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/oil...ictures-23863/

Any possibility that the problem could be similar?

You seem like you have a good head on your shoulders, and your original post was pretty clear. Based on the info you provide (the leak increasing after the job), the valve cover gasket and oil filter adapter o-rings have nothing to do with the problem. They might have been leaking before. But the increase will be in the oil pan gasket or RMS. But it seems you already understand that.

greynolds17

that does make sense that it could be the problem, I heard there is a groove that the gasket fits in and that might be the problem that it is not in there, either way I'll find out, at least it only leaks when the engine is off so I can drive it a bit, also there is a metal peice that fits in between the gasket and pan and that might have been put it wrong so it won't seal. Too bad I can't see the gasket if it squished out or feel it if it squished in

Cherokoolguy

Just read that thread, that right there is a Greek tragedy. He does have a fair point though. Check how the gasket seated on the pan, that was by far the hardest part when I did mine.

Oswalla

Is this the piece on the rear of pan by rms ? If this is the same metal strap looking piece your talking about, that goes on Outside of the pan ? The technical name is oil pan support.

Carry on if this is not what your talking about .

greynolds17

Bugout4x4

Now at this point you will have to take a good look at whether tightening down all the bolts warped the pan or not. When you tightened it down on the strap it may have now stretched and warped the pan out of plane. In which case it might not now tighten up correctly and tight against the rear seal like it should. If so this will have to be "adjusted" so that it seats with more pressure against the seal. There is going to be a trick to this.

You will be OK if it seats against the seal and there is still a gap along both sides of the pan where all the bolts go down the sides. As long as it is trying to press the rear pan seal before it seats flush on the block.