[Cue-Ball]

I have an oil leak and I think it is the rear main seal. i have a few questions.
1. Is this something I should attempt at home or is it worth the money to let someone else deal with it?
2. Any recommendations on quality gaskets?
3. Is there anything else I should change while I have the oil pan off, i.e. oil pump, ect.
4. Is there anywhere other than the rear main seal, oil pan gasket, valve cover gasket that it might be leaking from?

All opinions are needed. Thanks.

 

[blisters]

Clean it all up to like showroom, then pinpoint the leak. Changing the rear seal is a lot of work. The later years use a single-piece seal, so the tcase and trans and flexplate all have to come off, and that's a s@it -load of work on your back in your garage, but it CAN be done. :lol:

 

[Swamp Boy]

What year did they switch to 1 piece.. I changed mine and it was 2 piece..
Took me longer to drop the muffler than it did to do the rest of the job..

 

[sraczka]

Clean it up like another Jeeper suggested. Then run it a little. even drive it a few miles. come home and check it. It can be one of a few things:

it could be the rear main seal; in your case, the rear main seal is two pieces, and isn't a horrible fix. But replacing it could take time to ensure that its done right. Replacing this seal is recommended because the original seal endures heat and oil over long periods of time. it may or may not be shot. When you replace it on the six cylinder 4.0L, like you have, you have to also replace the oil pan gasket. It can be time consumming.

Also check the oil filter adapter housing. It is an "arm" that comes off the 6cyl and connects the oil filter with the engine block. It is connected with one large bolt through the middle. On the bolt are O-rings, that can go bad. or the bolt in the middle may just be loose. Tighten that up a bit and see what happens. The o-rings can be purchased at the jeep dealership for 3 bucks. The bolt in the middle requires a 9/16 hex key/allen wrench.

The valve cover is another trouble spot on the straight six, usually older ones though. The six cylinder in the 1993-1998 JGCs are not too bad. But check around the back of the valve cover.

Also, try to snug the oil pan bolts a bit, they may just be loose.

Clean it up and check the rear end of the engine, and the side where the oil filter adapter housing is. Either way, either fix isn't too involved...these engines are prone to leakage, but they can also be stopped. goodluck.

 

[Cue-Ball]

Well I replaced the rear main seal this weekend and just took the Jeep out for a drive. When I got back I looked under to see if there was any leaking and what did I see....oil!!!

So either 1. I did a poor job at sealing the pan (possible) 2. It was some residule oil left over that did not get cleaned up well enugh or 3. it is leaking form somewhere else all together.

I have a few other small dealer items to pick up on Monday so I will pick up a valve cover gasket and replace that maybe it is leaking from there.

I have checked the oil filter mounting and that does not seem to be leaking at all.

The oil seems to be between the engine and the tranny, of course it could be leaking from else where and dripping to that spot so I willreplace the valve cover jst to be sure, don't know if it has ever been changed anyway so it can't hurt.

Any other places it could be leaking???

 

[sraczka]

make sure it isn't the oil filter adapter housing. When mine was leaking I couldn't tell it was coming from there at first. It leaks out in small, but steady increments and drips down off the oil filter on to the starter and then on the engine/tranny seal area. Or, maybe you didn't seal it as well as you thought...check again. Tighten the bolt in adapter housing anyways...just snug it. Maybe the rear main seal didn't seat correctly?!

Forget the valve cover gasket, not needed. How old is your Jeep?! just snug the bolts a bit, maybe they're just loose. Try snugging before buying.

 

[Cue-Ball]

THe Jeep is a 96 with 135,900 miles. I will snug up the valve cover first, and the oil filter housing although there is no oil on the starter.

And yes it is quite possible that something did not seal right when I put the pan back in, it was tough and I had to remove it once because the gasket poped out near the rear seal, so I actually had to do that part twice, so more than likely it is operator error and I will have to do the whole damn thing again.

Maybe it would have been worth the $330 to have it looked at and done? If it were the rear main that is. If I have to drop it again should I replace the pan gasket again??

 

[Jeepinparrothead]

Not to hijack the thread but thought it would be better than re-posting I am also interested in the 5.2 seal how difficult and time consuming.

thanks guys

 

[thetexan500]

What would be involved in replacing the rear seal in the 5.2l and how much do they cost to buy? Thanks