icrashbikes

Hey guys. So far I've been lucky and haven't had a reason to ask for much help here but tonight I'm stumped and a little concerned.

I moved the jeep from one side of the driveway to the other in preparation for this snow storm Monday evening. Where it had been parked (for probably only a few hours) I noticed a substantial oil stain on the ground. A quick glance underneath showed oil drops at of the back of the oil pan skid. It was dark and freezing and I was tired so I put some catch pans under it and went to bed. I rolled it into the garage today to get a better idea of what was going on. I suspected the oil pan drain valve or gasket would be leaking but all of that was bone dry. What I did see was this:



The entire transmission is coated with oil. It starts right where the bellhousing meets the engine and stops where the trans connects to the transfer case. As if I had removed the transmission, dunked it in oil and put it back in. The oil goes up higher on the engine side, up and over the top of the trans as far as I can see. At the transfer case end it only goes about halfway up and it's pretty much the same on the left and right. I thought maybe the breather hose had disconnected it it had been spitting oil out for a while, but the breather attaches back at the transfer case and was connected properly. The inside of the bellhousing looks dry though the slit in the bottom. The engine oil reads full on the dipstick and I haven't noticed that low oil ticking so I don't think it's engine oil. The oil is dark and pretty light weight, not much of a smell to it. I'm assuming it's trans fluid. I haven't dripped a drop of oil that I've ever seen prior to this and suddenly oil everywhere. I just can't imagine how it got to where it is, like someone painted it on with a brush. Any ideas?

shabbernigdo

could it be leaking somewhere from the top and just running down? ive seen issues with porus metal on other application allow fluids to weep through but not on the jeeps.

icrashbikes

I'm assuming it has to be coming from the top and coating everything on the way down. I think I'm going to clean it, run it and watch what goes on.

jetwag03

Did you check the oil filter? I don't know what year JK you have but some I believe 2013's or 14's have an oil filter housing issue where if it's over tightened it cracks the plastic housing and starts an oil leak. I may be wrong on years but I think I have heard of this happening before.

icrashbikes

I stopped by the parts dept at the dealer today because I know the guys there and they are usually very helpful. They suspect the oil cooler, which the filter housing is built into. I'll be checking that part and the valve cover gaskets as soon as I can dig in there.

Ripa777

There's a thread on this title 2014 oil leak. Also YouTube video. https://youtu.be/SRnNehJcXVY

bkjeep

Check for a blown rear main seal and or oil pan gasket. Having mine repaired for the second time. Whole trans had a coating of oil but wasn't dripping in my driveway so unless you're under there looking you don't see it.

ronjenx

The oil from your oil pan gasket or rear main seal made it to the top of the bell housing, as in the OP's picture?

bkjeep

Good question. Now that it's in the shop I can't tell you for sure but it was all over the thing. Aside from mine being a manual the underside of the tranny looked just the same.

icrashbikes

Just to follow up here, it was the oil cooler/filter housing. It was like a swamp under there. Must have been leaking slowly for some time because I never noticed an appreciable amount of oil lost between oil changes and there was a fair amount in the valley and all over the trans. Cleaned it all up, replaced the cooler and no problems since. I got the spark plugs done while I was in there so not a bad deal overall.