Rear main oil seal leak

BBFRWAX

MEMBER
1996 JEEP CHEROKEE
4 CYL
4WD
MANUAL
174,000 MILES

Because of the mileage on my 96 XJ, like a dummy I started putting full synthetic oil in it. I've heard that doing that would cause the seals to leak.(AFTER THE FACT). Now, What would it do to my engine to drain out all the synthetic oil, and went back to a good oil like Castrol High Mileage along with some barsleak to try and stop the rear main oil seal leak

5 Replies

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,814 POSTS

When seals leaks, there is no way of stopping the leak without replacing the seal.

Oil seals wears and hardens over time an no matter what oil you use, they would start leaking wdue to fatigue and wear.

Drain and refill the oil with a filter change is all you need to do.

SPONSORED LINKS

Was this

answer

helpful?

Yes

No

Saturday, December 25th, 2010 AT 3:19 AM

BBFRWAX

MEMBER
5 POSTS

Does this mean I can go back to conventional oil after running full synthetic without hurting the engine?

Was this

answer

helpful?

Yes

No

Saturday, December 25th, 2010 AT 11:48 AM

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,814 POSTS

Yes, there is no problem with that.

The most important thing about usage of oil is that they are within specifications as recommended and follow the oil change interval regularly.

Was this

answer

helpful?

Yes

No

Saturday, December 25th, 2010 AT 12:01 PM

BBFRWAX

MEMBER
5 POSTS

TO KHLow2008,
Thanks for your help, Now it wont cost me as much to change my oil, I'll just check more often until I get the leak fixed.
Thanks again, Happy Holidays !

Bobby Belk

Was this

answer

helpful?

Yes

No

Saturday, December 25th, 2010 AT 12:42 PM

KHLOW2008