Oil Leak Normal?

[Kimber6331]

Hola amigos. i have a question. well a few. I haven't brought it up because i assumed it was normal for an xj with over 200,000 miles. besides, the dealer I bought it from told me it is quite normal. but I noticed when I first bought my xj that there was an oil leak. didnt seem like much. but now it is a concern of mine because i noticed that the oil that is leaking is getting over everything under the hood. :bang: even when i leave it parked over night i come out and there are a decent amount of drop spots under my car; enough to look like a small puddle. let's just say my driveway's got some tats. anyway, is this normal? does anyone else have this problem? and how do I methodically go about finding an oil leak on an xj? Ive poked around underneath enough but theres oil residue everywhere so its hard to find the point. any help is appreciated. thanks!

[Weldmen]

Well I can think of a few spots to look at off the bat. 1 is the oil pan, 2 would be the valve cover gasket i just did mine and my leak is gone. 3 the rear main seal, this will only leak as the jeep is running. 4 would be the oil filter neck or assembly that is on the side of the block. you will need to wash the motor down to pin point the leak. Your parts store will carry some sort of engine degreaser. Just soak it down and let it sit a while. Make sure the engine is not hot, other wise the degreaser will dry up on ya. Then just hose it down with water. If you have a distributor take care not to get it to wet. It might cause it not to start, and you will have to dry it out. Well I hope this helps you.
Good luck

[Kimber6331]

I know its not oil pan cuz its getting up on the block and near the sprak plugs/ intake manifold. but definitely helps. thanks guy.

[4x4Dalton]

I have the same issue Kimber. As far as I can tell its the Oil Filter Adapter that is causing the leak. You can get the rubber o-ring kit to repair it at Auto Parts stores plus you will need a Star 60 bit for ratchet to take adapter off. There is a thread on here cant remember right off where but it explains what to do. Hope this helps ya find the leak.

[XJ4IV]

hey do you have any other than normal OE things on your valve cover?
I put a breather on my PVC and I screwed it up cause I was thinking it was a suction but it was a positive airflow which ended up spraying oil out of the dipstick tube...

[bigjim350]

Sounds like a valve cover gasket leaking to me.

[hookedonxjs]

Two places that "normaly" leak are rear main seal and the oil filter adapter on block both are a cake walk if you got some basic mechanical skills. Buy a chilton or hayes manuel so you retorque the rear main bearing cap and make sure you use a BRASS drift punch to remove rear main seal and while your at it change the pan gaqsket too at 200K it about time you change them all. The oil filter adapter was a pain I had to remove the bolt on that side's motor mount and I ruined a wrench that I used for leverage on the star bit on the end of a breaker bar it was very stubborn! You will have a leak free XJ and the old lady will have nothin to gripe about. Party on!

[hookedonxjs]

hey do you have any other than normal OE things on your valve cover?
I put a breather on my PVC and I screwed it up cause I was thinking it was a suction but it was a positive airflow which ended up spraying oil out of the dipstick tube...

When installing use either noncuring silicone "the lube for brake pads" or silicone spray and they will pop right in and help them seal as well.

[PolarXJ]

Sounds like a valve cover gasket leaking to me.

x 2

[xj4life2]

Most of the normals have been brought up , pass. side rear corner of the valve cover is probably it , try to just tighten down the cover they do back off after a while. As for the dealer saying its normal.... They are trained to say that at the factory, they also have been told to refer to it as external lubrication. And yes people actually fall for it.

[steph74]

you may have better chance to find your leak if you wash your engine first.... I know some people recommend care when doing that so that you won;t unplug stuff or wet electrical...

then from there, you can wait a bit and check everywhere it has been mentioned above...
in my favorite order:
-Back of the valve cover, because of the difficulty to torque properly
-Oil filter
-rear main
-Do you also have oil in your air filter
.....

[Kimber6331]

All of this is very helpful fellas thank you. . I don't have anything other than OE on valve. and as far as oil in air filter ill have to check, last time I was in there didn't see anything. im gonna check the valve cover gasket this evening..

[hookedonxjs]

you may have better chance to find your leak if you wash your engine first.... I know some people recommend care when doing that so that you won;t unplug stuff or wet electrical...

then from there, you can wait a bit and check everywhere it has been mentioned above...
in my favorite order:
-Back of the valve cover, because of the difficulty to torque properly
-Oil filter
-rear main
-Do you also have oil in your air filter
.....
Classic Steph. That is what the first post should have been gunk or purple power the motor so you can see the frikkin leak first! But seriously it is probably time for all afforementioned areas to be addressed. The dealer was right though at 228K it would be normal for an XJ to leak.