Hi, New member here. Traded a 2006 MSRT for a 2007 GCSRT. The Magnum exceded my expectations, the Jeep is off to a rough start. After many weeks and nearly 1000mi of trouble free driving, I noticed an orange sized oil stain underneath the car just inboard of the right front wheel (live in AZ so oranges are common). The guys at Arizona Speed and Marine who installed a Cat back and CAI, traced the leak to the front differential overflow valve. The hose comes up along the right side of the engine and is attached to the right side wheel well. The thought is that either the differential was overfilled at the factory or the oil got hot and expanded. Anyone else had this happen? Thanks, Ed
Its a bad overflow vent, have your dealer check the fluid level and replace the vent....mine did the same at, oh 10,000 miles and now at 24,000 have not had a problem since
This is a different leak, the tranny leak is quite common, but the front diff vent leaking is also quite common
Thanks Scott, we need a good sticky thread of TSB or common repairs so when we have an issue there is a list and possible solution
It definitely was a heavy gear fluid as it left a dark spot on my driveway. Thinking it was oil at first, I was panicing as new Mobil One s/b nice a clear. I went through the tranny seal problem with my ex-MSRT too. You'd think a 7 year old tranny design would have had the fix at the factory a long time ago. Thanks guys.
Yeah the 08's have the correct tranny O-Ring that we all had to replace so at least the 08 owners dont have to worry about that leak
I have noticed oil under the Jeep on the passenger side, when opened the hood there is oil on the wiring harness on the passenger side. Is this the differential vent leaking?
It's not necessarily a "bad vent" unless it keeps on leaking. The reason the vent is there in the first place (i.e. instead of being hermetically sealed) is to equalize the pressure inside the differential housing. In the process of pressure equalization it is not unusual to burp out a small quantity of gear lube. Again if it keeps on doing it then get it checked out, but if it is only a one time deal there's no need to worry.
A 1/2 quart of gear lube is no small amount, also vents are placed much higher than the actual tank they are venting so they do not spill any oil out. If oil of any kind is spitting out of a breather, you usually have a problem. They are made to vent air not oil, gear lube, etc....
I went back and re-read the thread and see no mention of 1/2 quart - where did you get that from? The OP said something about an orange-sized stain - I take that to be a circle about a couple of inches in dia and given that it's gear lube we're talking about, maybe an eighth thick. That's a lot less than 1/2 a quart.
I took mine back to the dealer again due to leaking of the front differential and guess what, it's not a bad vent. They called the engineers and they told the dealer that this happened on older Cherokees too on the rear axle. As it turns out, there is a service bulletin out on this fix. Not for the SRT-8's however. The fix is to install a catch can in the vent line. It's a hermetically sealed unit like a fuel filter, but it catches the oil that's trying to vent then drains back into the axle when it cools off.
I got the 1/2 quart from my garage floor, and all the oil randomly stuck under my hood... He said an orange sized stain, now lets take into consideration the oil still stuck on his truck and the oil laying on the roads he just traveled on...it may not be a 1/2 quart, but its gonna add up
