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[paulh]

Hello, new to forum and at a loss with problem on cherokee XJ 97 2.5td. Have just had rear main oil seal replaced twice, but now have a considerable leak on start up and constant drip of oil thats seeping out throught the bottom of gearbox cover.( def engine oil)

Have searched for days for a source of leak but no joy, garage say rear oil seal was done fine and they could not find new leak?

engine compartment shows no visible signs, even talcum powdered the whole engine to find a trace but no joy,

On starting engine, the oil pours out for a little time then starts to just drip constant? any advice or help would be a bonus at a loss here.

recent diagnostic showed up no errors, no warning lamps on, code 55 comes up on dash???

except.. amber light with square and X in square box wavy line through middle.

complet novice when it comes to vehicles. especially a Jeep. lol, runs really well apart from this nagging problem. Many Thanks

[Dave69]

the yellow box with an x and wavey lines means fill the washer bottle up or the sensor has packed up

[eastryjeep]

You said the garage that fitted the new rear main seal told you the job was done properly and they could not find the new leak, & I'm assuming the rear main was leaking in the first place which is why they are on the case now. Question - did they ever find and solve the old leak?
A few ideas spring to mind.
First.
They are lying!
Second
They didn't look for the new leak 'cos they know what it is and want more of your hard earned £££
Third
Leaking sump caused by bent/broken flange or most likely they didn't fit a new sump gasket.
Fourth
The crank is scored and is tearing the arse out of all the seals you put in there - regrind the crank
Fifth
Release or remove the oil filler cap and get someone to start the engine, (stand on the bumper if you can't find anyone trustworthy).
What you are looking for is crankcase pressurisation, ie pressure in the engine forcing the oil out. If you can't hold your hand over the filler hole without making farting noises at yourself you could have a blocked EGR valve or pipe. The EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) system will be a series of pipes etc which will lead to the air filter box or inlet manifold, with the idea of sucking any combustion gasses or hot oil fumes from the engine and burning them away as opposed to dumping them straight out to atmosphere. If you have got pressure, don't prat about trying to clean all those convoluted little pipes because all that crap will be burned in there so well you wont shift it in a month of Sundays, just find the blockage, rig a temporary pipe for the meanwhile and go buy a new one!

Hope you find your problem, and don't forget to clean the talc out of your engine bay, that stuff is really bloody abrasive, I can't believe babies thank us for putting it on their bums!

[Mike Pavelin]

Sorry to contradict, but the EGR system has nothing to do with crankcase pressure, it recycles exhaust gases to reduce emissions, you mean crankcase ventilation. Look for blocked damaged breather pipes. The rear main on a VM diesel is replaced by removing the gearbox, the sump isn't touched so shouldn't be the problem in this case. Are you sure that amber light isn't the coolant level light by the way? Not good if it is.

[eastryjeep]

Thanks Mike. woz only tryin to help, at least I've learnd sommat today too!
Tis true, its the PCV system to be mis-trusting.
Though if leak never went away it might still be the crank journal.
I get confuzed coz I keep thinkin ov me 6/258 - big an' thirsty it may be but I do love it.

[TobyH]

Stupid question, but it's definately engine oil?

[eastryjeep]

Post 1, Line 3, says so. But me, I'm not gonna taste it - but a good sniff might be a good idea  

[paulh]

if this pic does show up ok, this shows where oil is leaking to? but from where?

engine bay is free of any signs of leak, so assuming it maybe the rear oil seal repair has not been resolved?

[Bubba]

is there any possabillity that the cam is fitted backwards  [old pintos] i e through the bell housing side you realy need a pic of the rear of the  block to see if there is any thing like a plug that is maybe leaking


but the only sure way to do a rear main it to remove the crank and that normaly means engine out did that happen

[Mike Pavelin]

The VM is quite unusual in that the block is of a tunnel design, with the crank inserted through the back of the block rather than in through the bottom of the crankcase. The rear oil seal is in a plate which fits over the rear end of the block. It can only be replaced by removing the transmission and flywheel.

[Bubba]

so there we have it unless the engine or gear box came out it cant have been replaced  as it should

[Mike Pavelin]

There are other o rings where the flywheel fits to the crank and where the bellhousing adaptor plate fits to the block which could be bad as well.

[paulh]

chap at garage said he took gear box out, same chap done it twice coz it still leaked oil after first attempt and his boss wasnt happy that it wasnt resloved, now says the seal is ok, but in fact the leak is worse before it went to garage?? and they say they cant find the leak,,??

at a loss here should just count my losses and scrap the jeep

[Dave69]

what you might find is that it didn't leak when it left the garage. but after driving the car al the additional sealant that they used to seal the leak has now failed and hency the leak being worse thanit was