Drastic Oil Level Drop

JeepGirl247

New member
After a 30 mile round trip, I checked the oil level in my XJ and was surprised that the oil level had dropped from "FULL" to almost "ADD" when I checked it the day after the trip! It has leaked oil for a long time now, but it has never had such a drastic drop after such a short trip!

I've had concerns about a blown head gasket being a possible cause of a recent lack of power, but now I'm beginning to wonder if the oil leaks are the cause...

Any thoughts on this?
Thanks.
 

I would suggest a compression test and check the spark plugs for oil saturation, check the PCV system as well. If all that checks out within specs., start repairing the oil leaks starting from the highest thats most forward area of the engine thats a suspected area where the oil leak is possibbly coming from. IMO, if it was mine, i would just pull the entire engine out and rebuild it and not worry about it for a long time.
 
I would suggest a compression test and check the spark plugs for oil saturation, check the PCV system as well. If all that checks out within specs., start repairing the oil leaks starting from the highest thats most forward area of the engine thats a suspected area where the oil leak is possibbly coming from. IMO, if it was mine, i would just pull the entire engine out and rebuild it and not worry about it for a long time.

Thanks...

Do you think it is okay to keep running it until it absolutely needs a rebuilt engine or is it best to just replace the engine before it goes because of it affecting other parts of the vehicle?

Also, when you say "rebuild", are you referring to rebuilding this original engine that's in it...? The whole engine replacement thing is rather new to me and I don't know what the best route would be if it were to come to that...meaning, a rebuild of the original vs. a used junkyard motor vs. a brand new one...?
 
I meant rebuild the same engine that you currently have but then again, that depends on your financial standpoint and your resources that will enable you to facilitate the rebuilding process yourself. Weigh in the pro's and con's. Do you have the facility and tools to be able to rebuild it yourself and knowledge to measure and scrutinize the engine components and say , it's within specs.? or would it be more practical to just buy a remanufactured engine from a known good source and replace the current engine you have and also have a warranty on the engine. From the prior discussions we have had in regards with the engine oil leak, i gathered that it's at the point of that the seals and gaskets are no longer able to contain the engine oil within the crankcase, this in itself is enough for me to say that there is an urgency to repair or replace the suspected components and or rebuild the current engine by doing a complete engine re-seal however, if it's a high mileage engine, i would rather just go ahead and replace the bearings , headgasket, seals, freezeplugs, piston rings and what ever else i see that's seen better days from the factory specs. This will more likely give you a peace of mind since the headgasket has been in question in the past. There's nothing wrong with a junkyard engine except when it goes wrong and dies with a very minimal limited warrranty from the salvage yard you purchase the engine from if any. In consideration, the junkyard has no clue as to how the prior owner has maintained the engine they sold you. Some salvage yards would perform compression test , pressure test and even run the engine in it's original donor vehicle before they are removed to be sold. IMO, overall i would look for a new or remanufactured engine from a reputable company that has a good warranty , no more headaches and a peace of mind that IF something goes wrong with that engine and it's due to a defective component during manufacturing, the green papers is going to be coming out of their pockets.
 
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