so i get my 97 jeep cherokee the other day. from some other threads, you may remeber that it has a blown trans. no problem, guy blew the front seal, leaked all the fluid, won't pull til you give it some more than normal gas. so, i go to get it from the parking lot it's been in, start it up, run it for a while, then i smell oil burning. i get out, look under and between the trans and motor, where the trans fluid was pouring out, now there's oil (POURING OUT). what would be the cause of this?? is there a seal that would do this other than the trans, or could it be the trans and rear main or something. any help would be great. thanks.

 

The rear main seal is the only thing that comes to mind at that location. I have never seen one pour oil out though. It seeps out real slowly and kind of drips down the pan. Can you snap some pics of the pouring out of oil you described?

 

i will try. it only does it when it's running. and the it's a steady stream. when you turn it off, it gets slower until it stops about a little under a minute later.

 

Then a vid will work just fine for us to help figure out exactly where the pour is coming from.

 

how do i upload a video here? i can put it on myspace and post a link i guess, but not everyone has myspace. it's leaking where the trans bolts to the motor right between them. i'll try a video.

 

Im not immature enough to have a my space link so try the vid link to Photobucket.

 

Use Photobucket it is the easiest way.

 

Didn't I say that plain enough Stryker?

 

Not to sound idiotic (HA...a first)

Are you sure it's motor oil or trans fluid.
(Im not doubting that you may have already confirmed this)
From the other posts...The trans fluid could very well be as black and as nasty smelling as motor oil.

Is it leaking from UP high between the trans and oil pan? Or could it be leaking from the lower edge of bellhousing (from the inspection door) and coming out with enough force to make it look like its coming rfrom somewhere else.

Just trying to help.
NO...really. I am.

 

the rear main could pour out if it was gone enough. mine did! but it would not pour out tranny fluid. if it is the tranny you just need to do an over haul because it would be the seal around the input shaft or something in you torque converter (assuming that you have an auto!! would be helpful to put that in next time!!).

 

Could be that the trans was low enough on fluid to allow excessive heat buildup in the torque convertor to soften the rear main seal. But i doubt it.

It's more than likely trans fluid leaking out the input seal. Did you add fluid before you started it?

 

If it's engine oil it could be coming from:
1. Rear Main Seal
2. Oil Pan Gasket
3. Rear of the valve cover gasket
4. Cylinderhead gasket (doubtfull based on the description)
5. Oil galley plug in the back of the block, rare but it can happen

 

Check your PCV valve. If it's stuck the pressure has to release somewhere. The rear main could easily be the weakest link it can find to relieve pressure.

 

XJWheeler you have an abundance of suggestions and we haven't heard back from you today! What have you found since we have given you multiple things to check???

 

all this is great! i never thught there could be that many possibilities. unfortunately since the truck is sitting at a friends house and not mine, i didn't get over to it today until about 9:30pm and it was dark. i will try to get video tomorrow or the next day and post a link. by the way, the truck is an auto. sorry i didn't specify originally. thanks for all the wonderful help.