About time for a new Cherokee

The_Other_One · 05-10-2003, 01:57 PM

OK, this may be the other problem showing up again, but it's much more serious this time, so I wanted to post it in another Thread so people could see it

I was on my way home today, and was going to go around a few cars on the highway. I got on it a bit and as I was merging back over into, I felt the jeep sputter a bit. I didn't think much about it untill I glanced into my rear view mirror and saw I was pooring out smoke! I quickly checked my gauges and saw my temp was around 230 and rising and my oil pressure was running a tad low(about 30 I guess) I could also tell my jeep was feeling quite weak. The smoke soon went away, but came back as soon as I had to stop and take off again. After that second time, I cut off my AC. By the time I got home, the temp had dropped back to about 210, but the pressure was about 20.

I checked the oil, and it had gone down some...I also noticed quite a bit of oil spots where I had let it sit for a while. My jeep normally drips, but nothing like I saw...

I'll change into some older clothes in a few minutes and try to find out what the problem is, but I'd appriciate some ideas too... Well, I've been thinking about getting a new jeep for a while, I guess it's about that time...

RedJeepXJ · 05-10-2003, 04:04 PM

may or may not be of any help, but my friend had an 87 nova(corolla) and it has similar problems, it would pour out white smoke whenever starting from an intersection and it would be enough to leave an intersection filled with smoke, and was accompanied by a significant loss of power and rapid oil loss, about 1qt for 3gallons of gas

I believe the dealer said the problem was something with the cylinder heads being worn or the seals or something of that nature, He never got it fixed so I can't really tell you if that's what it really was, we ended up wheeling it do death

The_Other_One · 05-10-2003, 05:14 PM

No, thats not the problem... That was my first idea(somehow oil was getting into the cylenders) but I now found out oil was dripping on the exaust from somewhere. There is some on the bottom of the filter, but for some reason, I don't think thats the problem. It is still too dry around that for oil to be all over the bottom of my jeep!

My dad and I went to autozone to be sure we had the correct oil filter, and everything matched up just fine. Either way, it is time to change the oil, so I don't see if it was the wrong tread that it would start leaking now...

Are there other places around the passanger side that could come loose and pour out oil?

XJ99 · 05-10-2003, 08:00 PM

You said temp was up to 230 and rising. Was it White smoke you saw? Or was it blue or maybe black smoke? general rule:
White smoke = water. Blue smoke = oil. Back smoke = too much fuel or not enough air. Have you checked your water level in the radiator? Let us know.... Thanks

Swamp Boy · 05-10-2003, 08:12 PM

I think you should check the oil pressure sending unit.. They are known to leak .. It will be next to the distributor. You will need a special socket to pull it out. Its called oil pressure sender socket..
About $4 and the sender is about 15 well worth a try.. For $20
it could be your oil leak and your oil pressure problem fixed all at once..
Good luck..

The_Other_One · 05-10-2003, 08:54 PM

The smoke was more white then anything, but going down the highway, I coudn't sit an stare at it... Either way, I KNOW it was oil cause I see where it's burned onto my exaust. I guess this could be a good thing is it's comming out of the engine rather then something allowing it to leak inside...

I'll check out that oil pressure sending unit, but it would have to leak ALOT. basically the whole underside around the passanger side is covered in oil. There where drips comming off as far back as the transfercase.

Now, the odd part is that it seems to be better now. I've taken a few short drives around here to see if oil would come out again, but it never has... Well, I may actually hold off any more work to it as my dad and I plan to take it to a good friend to have it checked out. Hehe, he should remember it as he was the one who cleaned the 74000 miles worth of oil out of my engine

rollinashortysahara · 05-10-2003, 09:07 PM

ok first check your coolant too if its white smoke you might just have a water leak coolant can be dirty and is def oily so maybe thats it cause it sounds like what mine did when the water pump let go, but the low oil is odd, the pressure going down isn't though cause of the whole viscosity break down.

but then again you may just have an oil leak. also check the oil filter o ring and check the block to see if there is one on it cause sometimes when chaninging oil filters the old o ring will stick and when you put the new one on ( comes with ne o ring ) it will cause a huge leak there.

XJ99 · 05-10-2003, 10:15 PM

Is there any sign of oil by the valve cover gasket? Just because you find evidence of a leak doesn't mean the leak is near the source. It could be running down and dropping oil from the lowest point. think of it like a roof.. look higher than the lowest point. re just trying to help, check all the fluids again.

The_Other_One · 05-10-2003, 10:30 PM

The oil did seem to be mixed in with water...or more the oil after it had set for a few minutes. I know I have a leak in my radiator somewhere, but it has never been too serious. More just everything in the resavore would drain out, but the radiator would stay full. I figured why fix it when the weather has been cool enough to keep it around 210...

And yes, there always has been a little oil around the valve cover...but that isn't the problem. It's not even wet enough to form drips. Anyway, that was replaced when I had that area cleaned, so it SHOULD be alright.

rollinashortysahara · 05-10-2003, 11:02 PM

ok with that you may have blown a head gasket

XJ99 · 05-11-2003, 05:11 AM

I agree. If you are overheating and there is water in the oil like milk, or oil in the water I would have to say head gasket. The only thing that has got me puzzled is the oil covering the bottom of the Jeep. Also if it is a blown head gasket a few short drives will probably be fine. You can probably go 20 mins. to 1/2 hour sometimes on a blown head gasket before she starts to overheat.
Sometimes longer if it's cold outside. Let us know

**LOCKED UP** · 05-11-2003, 09:32 AM

Oil blow by... oil passing the rings and getting into the combustion chamber.

Had it on my Bronco, white smoke on take offs & high rpms on the hwy or under heavy engine load (A/C on). Sucked up power too..... Dang 351s are famous for it....

The_Other_One · 05-11-2003, 10:27 AM

No no no! Trust me, it's not blow by. Blow by wouldn't soak the bottom of the jeep with oil. I can tell about where it was dripping from, and it's hitting the exaust. I'll try to get some pics of it, if I get the chance to get back under there today...

**LOCKED UP** · 05-11-2003, 10:34 AM

Guess I should have read this more carefully, I see now the smoke is from dripping and not coming out the tail pipe... my bad

Swamp Boy · 05-11-2003, 11:12 AM

Dont forget to check that oil pressure sender it will leak a hell of alot of oil.. It was running down my block, like a river..