Have a 96 Cherokee Country, 156k miles. Just starting to leak at rear seal.

Do stop leak products have a good track record? This leak is not real bad - about a quarter size spot of oil on the driveway and thought I might try the stop leak and some 20W oil at next oil change.

 

No they dont work. I have been dealing with a leak for a long time. I have tried them all and none work. I have changed the valve cover gasket and the oil filter adapter and now I am looking at changing the rear main. I am loosing my mind over it.

 

if you catch it soon enought yes there is one but if you noticed it not by getting lucky and seeing while underneathe and its already on your drive way its to late. But amz oil makes a product. you would have to serch it tho i dont remeber what they call it.

 

These products generally do NOT work.

 

fix the leak and stop looking for a quick fix.spend the time and money to do it right.take pride in doing the repair the right way and stop looking for a can of engine renew.

 

No need to make someone feel down because they're looking for a quick fix; some people simply don't have the time, funds, or experience to get it done.

To the OP, yes and no. With a minor leak, I have had varying results. I myself hardly ever have the time with college and work to get the rear main done, so I looked into the seal fixers. My best luck was with Bar Leaks Rear Main Seal conditioner. I used a bottle of it and the drip stopped, oil pressure stayed the same, and the engine ran as fine as before I had put it in. However, don't cram your crankcase full of Fix-er-up in a can. Before you do anything, check behind the engine and see if oil is present. The valve cover gasket is notorious for leaking on the 4.0, and will drip down and look like a rear main leak.

 

Thanks 91 Jeep Man - just the type help ones looks for in a forum. Lectures not needed, just sound advice.

 

if its your rear main u can change the seal 2 ways, pull the engin to fix it, alot more work, or pull the trany to fix the seal. so what does it matter if a 5 dollar can of engin goop does or does not fix it. if it does SWEET of it dont curse at your jeep then change the seal.

 

LOL my valve cover is leaking like a stuck hog... at the far back as a matter of fact.

 

That's the good thing about our XJ's... the transmission nor engine need be removed to change the rear main. The RMS in our 4.0's are a 2 piece design. All that needs taken off is the oil pan, and then the rear most bearing cap. It's just a very dirty and time consuming job or so I've been told.

 

a bottle of any liquid wont fix a mechanical problem.... and if it solves one thing- it will cause a problem somewhere else.

You need to fix the rear main seal. No other solution

 

I Disagree. Like I said, the stuff I used stopped the drip, and had no ill-effects on my engine. As long as nothing cheap is used, then it can work.

 

You actually do not have to pull off the engine or trans in the newer model cherokees', it is a two piece seal, to have it done at a shop is about 2-300$. I used Lucas Engine Oil stop leak and it really slowed down my oil loss. Also when I used it my oil pressure gauge went from acting wacky to working normally, so I would guess the sending unit was probably leaking. Most people will say stop leak products are bad news, and other people have success with them. I would check the valve cover gasket and oil pressure sending unit first to see if those are leaking, if the fix is simple then just do it the right way. And keep in mind that if you do fix those things it can still take a couple weeks for the oil to stop dripping because of what has already accumulated.

 

I also have used the Lucas stop leak and it works pretty good on very minor leaks. It's only like ten dollars and worth the shot if u don't have time to fix it right away

 

you can do it the right way and not be lazy and pull your engine and put a new gasket set and seal set in it its not hard and you will learn alot more about your vehicles... remember when you do it the right way it works when you do it the lazy way it will just get worse