Oil underbody, is it too much?

[hyde]

Do I have a leak in two places?

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And the other one is right at front differential:

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[sleeve]

I didn't get to look at all the pictures but the wet area on the trans is probably a seperate leak from the Front Diff area. The transmission area leak could be as simple as a change of the pan gasket.

 

[ShafferNY]

Are you noticing fluid loss? Or are you just concerned about the wet areas?

 

[Dave]

Looks like the pinion seal on the front diff. Pull the diff fill plug and stick your finger in there and see if you can feel fluid. You might need to add a little. Then check your ****** fluid and the bolts on the pan. It is possible a couple of bolts loosened up. Or maybe it is all from the diff?? Clean the area off and look at it again in the am and pm.

That's the best I can tell from the pics.

Dave

 

[hyde]

Are you noticing fluid loss? Or are you just concerned about the wet areas?

I don't know how to check the fluid in those areas.. So I guess I am just concerned about the wetness. I picked up the pinion seal to get it replaced. What is the proper fluid/oil to be top it off with? (Differential)

 

[67Customs]

You shouldn't have any.

 

[J-Thompson]

well we know from another post that it can not be the engine
cause the 3.7 will not leak oil until it hits 200K
it has a Dana front diff. they all get wet ,if it is not dripping or leaving spots on the driveway dont bother fixing it you could make it worse
if it is just the trans pan
get some OEM grey RTV and use that on the pan
drop the pan
clean the surfaces
install RTV on pan
reinstall pan on trans

 

[Powerslave]

Mine is a power steering line leak, and it is EVERYWHERE. I thought is was a Diff oil leak myself, but, it wasn't Gear oil. That is why the oils and trans fluid all smell differently, so you know what is leaking, simply by smelling it, yeah, it works...

 

[hyde]

How am I supposed to know what it smells like? At least tell me if one of them smells similar to engine oil (I got synthetic) so I can just take a whif of dipstick and get down there and smell the front diff and see what it smells like.

 

[ThunderbirdJunkie]

If your front pinion seal is actually slinging lube, like it looks like, that needs to be fixed muy pronto.

Unless you want to wait, and then have to replace the pinion bearing, and potentially the ring and pinion, but hey, we all have our druthers

 

[JeepJeepster]

Checking the oil in the front diff is very easy. You can see the fill plug in one of your pics. Its on the side of the front diff cover right on the front. It takes a regular 3/8in ratchet with no socket on it. You should be able to touch the oil if you put your pinky finger in the hole to the first joint and bend it down. If its below that add some 75w- 140 to it.

To check the trans, make sure the Jeep is level and after driving it, leave the engine running with the ****** in N. Have your wide keep her foot on the brake while also having the parking brake set nice and tight. If you trust her to not slap it in drive and hit the gas, pop the hood and then check the ****** oil via the dip stick. It will have marks on it that say HOT, etc. It should be right around HOT once you wipe the dip stick off then put it back into the hole, then check it. Just be careful about being around the Jeep while its in N. Try to stand to the side while checking the oil level.

Enjoy. Only use ATF+4 in the ******.

 

[ThunderbirdJunkie]

75w140? it's a pavement pounder and it's the front diff...there's no need for 140...75w90 is fine.

At any rate, to those who are saying don't bother fixing it, that doesn't make sense. If you don't fix it, and let's say that something else develops a leak. Are you going to be able to tell? Nope.

Might as well fix it ITBJHO. Refilling it won't do you any good if it's just gonna leak out...that is a BAAAAAAAAAD pinion seal.

 

[Dave]

75w140? it's a pavement pounder and it's the front diff...there's no need for 140...75w90 is fine.

At any rate, to those who are saying don't bother fixing it, that doesn't make sense. If you don't fix it, and let's say that something else develops a leak. Are you going to be able to tell? Nope.

Might as well fix it ITBJHO. Refilling it won't do you any good if it's just gonna leak out...that is a BAAAAAAAAAD pinion seal.

No one was suggesting to just keep filling it, but rather when a leak is discovered, the first thing to do is check the fluid. That way you don't take the chance of running it dry, and it will buy you some time until the weekend or whatever until you can fix it.

Dave

 

[Powerslave]

Diff oil has kind of a natural gas type of smell to it... It's pretty heafty... Normally, natural gas has no smell, they ADD they stuff to it to make it smell like that as well. Same with gasoline, they ADD the "perfumes" to them so you KNOW they are leaking.

Trans fluid, well, it's potent to, and once you smell it, that's all you seem to smell all day...

I took the time, a LONG time ago, to yeah, SAMPLE, so I know what's leaking...

Engine Oil? If it is leaking from a well ran engine, you will smell the gas IN the oil.

 

[sleeve]

Hyed,

We seem to have similar issues (about the same time) with our KJ's. First the radiator and now this...

My front pinion seal was just replaced yesterday.... [this thread made me look at my front diff] and I also swapped out the original transmission pan for a new one. [the original pan was starting to show serious rust and had some wetness in the same area]

 

[hyde]

JeepJeepster, ThunderbirdJunkie,
So, what grade oil are we set? I picked up the seal from the dealer already, will have the guy at the shop replace it for me, but I would rather bring the oil myself. I can either pick it up from the parts store or from the dealer.

Sleeve, how much did it cost you? Local shop will probably charge me around $75 or so, dealer will have $100 deductible off the powertrain warranty but I have to leave the jeep for the whole day, which I can't afford now. About the transmission pan, I don't see any rust on mine just yet, only oil. While the guy is replacing the seal, I can ask him to check it out.

Blake,
I got a few 2x4s, I will just chuck the jeep and put it in N, AND will have my wife sit on the wheel. Where exactly is the ****** dipstick? I still have a few quarts of ATF+4, I believe it is the same thing as what jeep uses as coolant?

 

[ThunderbirdJunkie]

80w90 is OE spec. 75w90 is acceptable. if you go 75w140, it won't HURT anything, but going to a heavier oil in the front won't do anything except hurt fuel economy. By a noticeable amount? Maybe, maybe not...depends on how erratic your driving habits are.

ThunderbirdJunkie works the shit out of his KJ and it's got 75w90 in both diffs...no reason to go to 75w140. It's not an F550 Super Duty.

And for coolant, the ATF4 is also used as power steering fluid...the coolant is an entirely different animal.

 

[hyde]

Ok, maybe I had ATF4 for steering fluid. I had to deal with so many fluids in such a short time, I forgot what went where. You are right, for coolant I bought what I called "calzone" whatever the heck that was. Oh yeah, prestone I think.. 75w90 it is, http://www.autobarn.net/oil26101.html

For the other one, I still need to know where that dipstick for ****** is, though.

 

[ThunderbirdJunkie]

far back of the firewall. the one that isn't engine oil

 

[sleeve]

Hyed,

I paid like $22.00 for the seal and for 1 hours worth of labor.
Drain and refill of the fluid in the diff (75w-140)

and the total came to $138.xx