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Oil leak? Anyone else's pentastar look like this?

36K views 24 replies 17 participants last post by  DKRD12 
#1 ·
I noticed this grime on the front of the engine when changing the oil this weekend. Looks to me like oil is weeping from somewhere onto the front of the motor, but I can't find from where. My rack & pinion is also leaking on the passenger side around the rubber boot. I first thought the oil from the boot was blowing up onto the front of the motor while driving, but if you look at the pictures it appears to be confined to a certain area on the block and there is no grime on the parts mounted out in front of the block...? Dealership said R&P is $1300 to replace and I should wait because the leak is very small. They also said that the grime on the front of the motor is normal road and belt grime. Anyone else have this problem?

May 2011 build / 46,000 miles / Also had the drivers side head replaced.
 

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#3 ·
I've got waaaay more miles on my 3.6 and I can honestly say that it's as clean as a whistle. That leak on yours doesn't look all that recent. How long ago (miles) was the head replaced? Did you visually inspect after the head swap was completed?
 
#4 ·
It doesn't look like a leak from above, since it gets nastier further down. It looks like oil is being slung from your crankshaft seal.

Or it could be from the steering rack, and picked up by the crank pulley somehow.

The best way to diagnose a leak is to clean the area and then monitor it periodically.
 
#5 ·
The crankshaft seal would be my guess also. I removed the engine bay bottom cover to get a better look up in there. There's no dripping oil and the crank seal area is covered in grime like the rest of the motor. The dealership says the powertrain warranty will only cover this leak (from where ever ) when there is an actual oil drip....weeping oil is not covered.
I plan on degreasing the motor this weekend and I'll keep an eye on it from there.
 
#6 ·
I have a similiar leak in the same area but not as much. I took it in today and they said its leaking but not sure where. They need 2 more days to find out. My 2011 JGC only has 13,000 miles and tey said it would be covered under warranty. I will let you know what they find out.
 
#7 ·
My 2011 Grand Cherokee is doing the same thing (30k miles now; first noticed after purchase at 24k miles). The dealer acknowledged that it's not normal, cleaned the engine and added a dye to the oil to find the leak. After 3k miles there was no leak. Another 2.5k miles and its coming back. I'll have it back in for an oil change in a couple hundred miles and intend to bring this up again. Any suggestions as to where to steer them would be appreciated. I'll post my results after I see the dealer again.
 
#11 ·
I have the same condition as sullivan4109 pic shows- I dont have warranty- so what would everyone suggest? get my own dye kit/light?. I see nothing obviously leaking, if it is the front crank seal hows it getting from main crank pulley up to the alternator?
wait for it to get worse? its dropping oil onto belly pan/steering sector area too-just enough to get it greasy/dirty- thanks
 
#13 ·
Back in October I took my Grand Cherokee back in for service. The dealership replaced the whole timing cover with the explanation that they had replaced the seals a couple of times with no positive results. They felt the cover itself may have been porous and allowing the oil to leak. Problem seems to be solved at this point; all covered under warranty. Good luck, guys.
 

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#20 ·
I just got my jeep back from the dealer.

Problem they reported: found timing cover leaking oil and coolant.

Fix: gasket,timing chain or belt case/cover replace.

Only thing is the dealer didn't clean the oil off the front of motor and alternator. What is the best way to clean this?
 
#23 ·
Gunk Details

used this stuff on my WJ to clean the 4.0L valve cover leak they're known for.
Cool thanks for the tip! I do have a power washer but I don't know how the jeep would like it. I did some searching on Google and people say you can and others says you can't. Also the oil is on the alternator as well and I don't believe water would be to go in there. lol I wish the dealer just cleaned up the mess
 
#24 ·
My alternator failed, the timing case was leaking oil onto the alternator. Dealer charged me for new alternator, but did all of the timing case work under warranty. Any recourse with Chrysler to pay for my alternator failing as dealer stated oil was leaking onto alternator?
 
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