3.0 oil leak, source thoughts?

[UTDieselRubi]

Throwing this out incase someone has an idea or similar leak. I just noticed this development but cant see the source, likely without a lot of disassembly. Any ideas? Oil level is still good, leak is light, no drops on the pavement under the truck. 38500 miles. Pics arent great but it looks like its coming from an area behind the pulleys.

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[Synctheship]

Timing cover leak?

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...-cover-leak-tracker-fixes.91037/#post-1587384

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/3-0-oil-leak.65862/#post-1305656

From what I remember reading, it's hassle to repair, might require taking apart the whole front end. If you are still under warranty I'd take it in.

 

[1945gpw]

If you haven’t spilled any from the filter when changing your oil, it looks like a timing cover leak to me as well. Could always spray it down with some degreaser clean it up real good and keep an eye on it.

 

[UTDieselRubi]

Hmm, ok. Based on what you guys are saying and those posts, it may well be the timing cover. Guess its a dealer trip. I'm out of basic, but it should be power train. Fingers crossed they can get it done before the 27th, I have a two week trip coming up...

 

[DylanM]

Hmm, ok. Based on what you guys are saying and those posts, it may well be the timing cover. Guess its a dealer trip. I'm out of basic, but it should be power train. Fingers crossed they can get it done before the 27th, I have a two week trip coming up...

From what I can see in your pictures you don't have a bad enough leak to cause sufficient concern to possibly jeapardise having your truck for your planned trip. Personally, I'd heed to advice to spray it down really well to clean off the buildup first, pay close attention to see if or where the leak reappears, then wait until after your trip to take it in in the event the leak comes back. The absolute last thing I would want to do is rely on a dealership to get something done in a timely manner.

 

[Hootbro]

From what I can see in your pictures you don't have a bad enough leak to cause sufficient concern to possibly jeapardise having your truck for your planned trip.

This brings up a good point. You can take it in for warranty consideration but many times they only consider it a actionable warranty repair if droplets form. Staining does not usually qualify.

 

[UTDieselRubi]

So I washed it yesterday morning, by 5 the time I got to work, oil was already pooling on the bottom of bolts. This leak developed in the last 1500mi so I called the dealer near me that usually works with me. They had me bring it in this morning to at least ID parts. They got it in and confirmed your guesses, timing leak, one part on back order. I'm picking it back up today, guess I'll likely go on the trip with the leak since it isn't major. I expect they won't have the parts in before.

 

[1945gpw]

Would be nice if the mechanic doing the work would take a few pictures of the disassembly for us. I'm very interested in what the mating surfaces look like when they pull it apart before cleaning specifically how the RTV looks.
Wondering if these are leaking from a poor application of RTV or if there's a problem with the machined surface.

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