getting to bottom of the problems (well some of them!) now...........
The car wouldnt turn over other morning - upon investigation the alternator was completely seized solid, so that was the whining noise! Dealers wanted £500!!! for a replacement so I took it out, not easy, and got it totally refurbed with new bearings clutch pulley etc for £120 - back on and sounds like it should now. If only I'd ignored the many varieties of bull I'd been given like "alternator is oil/water fed" "viscous heater is lubricated by power steering fluid" etc and sussed it out for myself. Put a new serpentine belt on while at it as sticky alternator pulley had made it smell and feel a bit brittle - £30 from dealer
With regard to the gearbox oil leaking, while doing the above I degreased all under car to see where was leaking from and it appears to be the "multiswitch connector?" to the gearbox behind a tin heatshield. Im told this is a very common problem and an easy fix with an £8 part from the dealer
Question I have is how to remove it to replace seal? there is a white knurled plastic ring with a tab on it like one half of a wing nut so guessing its something to do with that, looks like an o-ring beneath it - maybe it will become more apparent when I pick up the part to fix it from dealers
Other question is do I have to drain the box to replace this or is it possible to do while full with a little oil loss? any idea of capacity of gearbox and the oil type required?
Only thing still confusing me is the gearbox level is still showing full when dipped at the correct temp (had it checked at 2 places now) which is really surprising at the leak is what I consider a lot. only explanation I can think of is that they REALLY overfilled it
any advice with the multiswitch greatly appreciated
At least the other thing was just an alternator and not something internally in engine which I feared! Maybe if Jeep fitted the vehicle with a plastic dirt shield on the bottom of engine, like other manufacturers do, the components would last a little longer!
Pete (partially breathing a sigh of relief!)
