[Tr4ckD4ys]

I’m not mechanically versed as much as others here so I thought it best to reach out to the community, before I bring it in to the dealer.

I have taken some pictures from under my JLUR, mainly because I wanted to check for dirt. However, when I did look I realized a very small oil dripping below the vehicle after 24hrs of standing (it must amount to less than 3-5 drops, since oil spreads).

Can you help me figure out what the marked areas in those pictures are? All of those areas don’t feel dry to the time in and have a slight oil film on them. With exception to the last picture which seems to be the source of the dripping from the marked bolt. Is this the transmission leaking? Drive shafts?

Any guidance to help me best steer the dealer service department in the right direction would be helpful!

 

[Bzinsky]

That’s the sorta of thing nobody can help with on forums. One needs to check it out in person. At first glance looks like your transmission pan gasket is bad, or that bolt wasn’t torqued. It could easily be coming from above that and just dripping down.

Highly unlikely there are multiple leaks.

You could ruin your transmission if you lose a lot of fluid. Not sure if we have trans dipsticks but def want to keep an eye on it.

You could tell what type of fluid by the color, transmission fluid is red and being brand new it should be still be clean and red.

 

[PrivateRelay]

Agree it might be a bad gasket, would also advise seeing dealer or other mechanic to confirm. If the gasket’s bad, drips could end up coming out of any of the edges/corners depending on the incline or tilt of the vehicle when parked.

 

[Tr4ckD4ys]

Thanks for all the replies so far in here. I’ve got a dealer apt booked for 12/29… car had been standing since 12/21 and tomorrow morning I’ll have a look at the underbody, equipped with some kitchen papers to see if I can determine some fluid color from the little residue I find!

 

[DrEvo]

Mine is similar. Brought it in 12/22. They thought it was the transmission cooler line coupler that was not torqued. It was still leaking and about 1-3 drops on my clean driveway but the crossmember,oil pan and the transmission housing were a little wet. Brought it back and there is now a star case open. I hope it is something that can be resolved quickly.

 

[Tr4ckD4ys]

Mine is similar. Brought it in 12/22. They thought it was the transmission cooler line coupler that was not torqued. It was still leaking and about 1-3 drops on my clean driveway but the crossmember,oil pan and the transmission housing were a little wet. Brought it back and there is now a star case open. I hope it is something that can be resolved quickly.

Oh wow keep me posted on your case outcomes! I’d love to avoid the Schnitzel-hunt for issues but I’ll get started here on my end too with the dealer!

 

[Tr4ckD4ys]

Color of the oily liquid I found on the transmission pan bolts as marked in picture below. I found that same residue on several of the bolts.

i checked a little further and went under the car to see where exactly the oil is coming from. It’s not a lot and it also maybe drips 1 drop per 24hrs at most, but it’s coming from these two parts on the transmission that are sealed together, see below. In other words, it’s not directly from the transmission pan bolts themselves, rather flowing down from that area where the transmission casing seems to be bolted together.

 

[Bzinsky]

Beats me, I’ve never seen transmission oil that color, it’s universally red as far as I know. It looks like engine oil.

That is the oil pan to the transmission.

 

[Tr4ckD4ys]

Beats me, I’ve never seen transmission oil that color, it’s universally red as far as I know. It looks like engine oil.

That is the oil pan to the transmission.

Maybe transfer case, gear oil or else? I doubt it’s engine oil, there is no visible trace beyond the bolts and that mating area of the transmission.
Also it was somewhere that not all transmission oil is red…

 

[DrEvo]

Here's where they suspected at first where the source was and tightened the connection. Hopefully this will be your case as apparently I'm getting a new transmission because they found a hairline crack. I believe our Rubis are twins. Build date September and in Sting-Gray. We love the 4xe so much that we would like to see if they can still iron out the wrinkles in a timely manner.

 

[Tr4ckD4ys]

Well well well… dropped it at the dealer today morning but they’re asking 3 days to just diagnose it (they’re busy… with stuff… cars… and customers… and things…). Will keep this updated here when I hear back from them. I tend to trust this dealer service department since they’re a very high volume service center seeing tons of 4xe’s and other Wranglers - always a good thing in my mind. They also don’t have terrible ratings on Google/Dealerratings/Yelp.

 

[Bzinsky]

Here's where they suspected at first where the source was and tightened the connection. Hopefully this will be your case as apparently I'm getting a new transmission because they found a hairline crack. I believe our Rubis are twins. Build date September and in Sting-Gray. We love the 4xe so much that we would like to see if they can still iron out the wrinkles in a timely manner. View attachment 8592

Well that is not red oil.

That solves the mystery

 

[Tr4ckD4ys]

Dealer called me today morning saying it is transmission fluid, which, considering it is yellow and not red, broke my trust quite a bit. I think the guy just looked at the transmission pan and saw some oil residue and called it shots. Unless some transmission fluid is yellow which I highly doubt at this point after some research.
So disappointing.

 

[Bzinsky]

Dealer called me today morning saying it is transmission fluid, which, considering it is yellow and not red, broke my trust quite a bit. I think the guy just looked at the transmission pan and saw some oil residue and called it shots. Unless some transmission fluid is yellow which I highly doubt at this point after some research.
So disappointing.

I think it is yellow

You both have leaks in the transmission and both fluids are yellow. DrEvo said his was a confirmed trans leak due to a hairline crack, and his was leaking yellow fluid.

First I’ve ever heard of non-red trans fluid.

 

[Tr4ckD4ys]

I think it is yellow

You both have leaks in the transmission and both fluids are yellow

You’re saying transmission fluid is yellow? It seems to be red in most cases?

 

[Bzinsky]

You’re saying transmission fluid is yellow? It seems to be red in most cases?

After DrEvo’s post, that seems to be the case. Yes it is definitely abnormal to not be red.

 

[DrEvo]

Yes from what I've learned the transmission fluid is yellowish and a thinner viscosity than the engine oil. Did he tell you where the source was? They should put a dye to be able to tell where it's coming from.

 

[DrEvo]

After DrEvo’s post, that seems to be the case. Yes it is definitely abnormal to not be red.

I believe from what I've been reading t-case oil is red. The parts guy showed me the mopar transmission fluid while i'm not sure if it was greenish or yellowish, it definitely wasn't red. They pulled a bottle out the first time I brought the jeep for the leak to the dealer so they can check and fill the transmission fluid level.

 

[Tr4ckD4ys]

In that case, my transmission is leaking - am awaiting diagnosis as to what and where it’s leaking.

 

[Bzinsky]

In that case, my transmission is leaking - am awaiting diagnosis as to what and where it’s leaking.

Sorry! Should have been more clear when i wrote this

Well that is not red oil.

That solves the mystery