Rear Main Seal Leak
 

Hello all,

I normally don't come to forums and ask for help, however I think I am officially stuck. I have a leak that is coming off the bell housing on the transmission. Like an armature I automatically assumed it was the rear main seal so I replaced it along with the oil pan gasket. Fast forward 2 weeks, I noticed that it is still leaking and the same (if not worse) frequency. So I replaced them BOTH again. I made sure that I did not damage the top part of the main seal when installing it. I made sure to use plenty of soap and oil (wasn't sure which one was best). I used anaerobic sealant on the rear main seal as instructed by other posts here. I made sure the lip of the gasket was facing toward the engine. I also made sure to seat the oil pan gasket correctly into the slot on the rear main bearing. I used plenty of RTV so that the gasket stayed in place while installing the oil pan. I used felpro from napa for both the oil pan gasket and the rear main seal. At that same time I also replaced the valve cover gasket because I read that can also be the cause. A couple days ago I noticed it is leaking in the same spot, at the same frequency. So I got some UV dye and put it in the oil and drove it for 20-25 minutes at varying speeds. I came back and check where it was coming from and there is no indication it is dripping down from somewhere above. It looks like it is originating at either the oil pan gasket or the rear main seal again. Was wondering if anyone had ideas as to why. I checked the CCV hoses on top of the valve cover to make sure there was no oil leaking out of them indicating a clog. There were no scratches on the crank shaft where the rear main seal is. The only other thing I can think of is maybe the crankshaft has some vibration and is messing up the seal on the rear main. Is that a possibility and is there anyway to check that? The bearings did not look too worn out at all but I'm debating replacing those next to see if that helps. Any input would be appreciated.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that I also installed a high volume oil pump from melling and had to bang out the oil pan a bit to fit that in there. I also have a CEL for an evap leak but I don't think that has anything to do with this. It has been there since I bought the car. Could be wrong though.

Welcome to the forum.

To the other forum members, who currently has the crystal ball so that identification of the OP's vehicle, engine and year may be identified?

Could that member please reply to this topic and identify the OP's information?

Sorry. It's a 2002 grand cherokee 4.0 engine