Northwoods Snowman

OK, so a little background first. I've had an oil leak since I got my XJ a month ago or so. I first replaced the rocker cover gasket and that didn't fix it, though it helped. Today I finally got around to trying to change the rear main seal (108K miles on engine). After much hassle because I don't have a lift, I was finally able to get the oil pan off the engine after shearing off my trac bar lower bolt.

Anyway, I didn't notice any milky color in the oil when I drained it, but as soon as I got the oil pan off, I could see where water has gotten in and was running down into the oil pan on the front, and then running back toward the drain plug. It wasn't actual water, just the milky film. Looking at the block, there was a nice film under the oil pan gasket in the front under the crank (between the block and gasket), and the film was also present on the block lip below the timing chain. I didn't see any milky residue on any part of the crank or rods (thank God) but it seems to be getting in on the front side of the engine.

Any ideas what this could be coming from? It looks like the water pump is just an external bolt on (right?) so I don't really think that's leaking internally to the engine. I'll have to check the coolant level and make sure that's not low, but I haven't had any problem maintaining operating temp like I've typically seen of a blown head gasket.

I haven't gotten to check the oil more closely though I didn't notice anything abnormal when it was draining, just a nice thick brown like normal oil. It's still in the oil pan and I'll look at it when I go to pour it into my oil container and see if anything has settled in the bottom of the pan. I had to quit for the day because I was getting too wet from the water dripping off the jeep from melting snow. Don't want to get sick, you know.

I don't wheel it yet so it hasn't been submerged. I'm supposed to be driving this 400 miles to my parents for Christmas but I want to know where this water came from before I take it anywhere.

Northwoods Snowman

I decided to run out to the garage on my sweat pants and pour the oil out of the oil pan. Didn't have enough water in it to make it look murky but there were some water droplets in the bottom of the pan. Now, I should also point out that I can't say 100% that those were in the oil when it was in the engine, as the XJ has been dripping off in the garage all afternoon and the oil pan may have gotten some of the drips in it. The coolant level was just a little above the low mark in the bottle, but in the garage it looks like it's full from the outside of the bottle. I popped the top and saw that it was a little above low. I haven't popped the top before so it's possible that it was that low before when I bought it. I just can't say 100% for certain.

Does anyone have any ideas on what this might be besides a head gasket? I have a warranty on it that covers the head gaskets if that's the problem, but I'd like to rule out other possibilities if I can (or find the real cause).