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98 xj, does anyone know what's going on here

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Old 02-17-2021 | 01:03 AM
  #1  
Riley Box's Avatar
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Default 98 xj, does anyone know what's going on here

194xxx kilometres, have recognised the usual leaks oil leaks but can't seem to pin point what's going on here. Seems to be water/ coolant, it couldn't be the ac condenser there's too much liquid, seems to be coming from the rear main also, you can see it all behind the pan in the photo



Last edited by Riley Box; 02-17-2021 at 01:05 AM.
Old 02-17-2021 | 11:09 AM
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PatHenry's Avatar
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Well, maybe YOU can see it, but I cannot - I'm red/green color deficient however, so that may be why.

Is it coolant? You should be able to tell coolant by the greenish tinted color and the antifreeze smell.

IF it's coolant, it's probably either the heater hoses leaking down from the firewall, or coolant running down the transmission cooling lines from a leaky radiator.

A remote possibility is a leaky freeze plug on your engine block.

The fluids in play are:
Engine oil - obviously - thick when cool
Water - A/C evaporator - very thin
Transmission fluid - Reddish color - thinner than oil
Coolant - Green color, sickly sweet sort of smell - thinner than an oil, not as thin as pure water.

The Auto transmission and transfer case both use Transmission fluid. The engine has oil and coolant in separate passages.

Figure out EXACTLY what fluid you're dealing with and then you can start looking for where it's coming from.
Old 02-17-2021 | 06:22 PM
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I can see the droplets on the crossmember and a line all along the transmission mount, but cant tell what color the droplets are. Looks too thin and watery to be transmission or oil. Maybe the freeze plug in the rear of the head, heater hoses or the heater core tubes are leaking? You mentioned the rear main so start at the top and work your way down. Grab a flashlight and shine it down behind the engine and look for anything wet.
Old 02-26-2021 | 09:38 AM
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it may help to use a blacklight or something UV if you have access... if a radiator leak, the antifreeze will glow.
if you see anything around seam of radiator where plastic meets aluminum would be time to replace radiator.
if you find a crack in the plastic area, also time to replace the radiator.
Go aluminum on replacement radiator if possible, they hold up longer than the plastics.


SKU 221504 for $185 https://www.radiatorexpress.com/product/221504

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