i got a really bad oil leak on my xj and i already did the valve cover gasket the oil pan gasket with a new oil pan cuz the last one looked a little warped and it still leaks i need help

 

Did you replace the rear main seal when you replaced the oil pan?

Any clue as to where it's coming from?

 

it can be your rear main seal or your oil filter

 

i didn't do the rear main seal while i did it, even though it was right next to me simply because i didn't know how.. but i suppose i wasted a perfectly good gasket and 3 hours worth of work for nothing, after i drive the oil is all over the crossmember and the tranny pan

 

Rear main

 

damn well there goes my brand new pan gasket anywho is it a hard thing to relace?

 

Where did your get your gasket?

The OE gasket is reusable I think.

 

the gasket is a fel pro it's steel covered in blue rubber, im sure it would come off if i was careful enough but i don't like the idea too much but i'll make that judgement call when i get there,

when you guys say oil filter do you mean the adapter for the oil filter unit or like the actual oil filter might be defective?? sorry this might be a dumb question,

 

Whoa.... Read this before proceeding. It's not necessarily the rear main.

I'd be looking up above first, and VERIFYING the source of the oil leak yourself. Many mechanics and friends love to tell 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 could produce the same symptoms. Don't jump on the RMS/oil pan gasket bandwagon just yet.

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 oil will run back to that 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 5-19-2012

 

If it is the rear main it's not to bad it's a two piece I believe and you just have to pull the tranny away from the motor and slide them right in. I have a leak from the rear and front! I am just going to pull the motor and replace all the seals and hoses. But got to get a cherry picker and a different car while it's pulled cause it won't be a weekend project for me! Haha!

 

No need to separate the engine and trans to do a RMS on a 4.0.

There is ALWAYS a need to determine if that's where the leak is before tearing into it.

 

Ya I know. But don't you have to separate the engine from the transmission in order to get the new seal in? If that is where the leak is.

 

While this is accurate he already said he's replaced the valve cover gasket. Check the other stuff first but with it being a "Bad Leak" I'm still going to guess the RMS.

 

Not on the 4.0 since it is a 2 piece rear main seal

 

So how do you install it if they are still bolted together?