Jeep grand cherokee. ABS light and Oil leaking from engine

[Candymancan]

I have a 98 Jeep grand cherokee my mom gave it to me and ive been doing repairs on it myself learning the car ect. I replaced the transmission output sensor and the transmission no longer takes forever to shift. It shifts at low rpm and shifts up and down without me really even noticing it anymore.

Replaced the spark plugs, distributor cap and rotar and now the car is excellerating much much better as the old plugs were dirty and the distributor rotar was pretty much worn. Engine stays at a normal IDLE rpm now and doesnt go up and down anymore.

I also fixed the leaking transmission pan the fluid was changed no to long ago and i suspect the crappy mechanic she took it too never changed the filter just the fluid thats why most of the bolts on the pan were lose.. One was so lose i can unscrew it with my fingers. So i need to buy a filter and new seals and replace them myself.

The last few projects i have on the Jeep tho are confusing me. My mom reported that the ABS light when she got the Jeep in 2000 was always randomly comming on then off. Then like 4 years ago it just stayed off, now when the autozone guy reset my computer the ABS light comes on and off randomly again. The breaks feal fine and if it was doing this for basicly 10 years then i dont think the Anti lock break system is bad maybe its a lose wire or a sensor. The autozone guy said his computer cant read ABS error's. The Jeep mechanc i brought it too and paid $20 didnt have the right computer on hand either so he ripped me off.

How do i fix it ? Should i buy an ABS sensor and replace it on each wheel until the problem goes away ? What i mean by that is buy 1 sensor. Replace 1 on a wheel and if it comes back on take the good sensor and put it on another wheel and keep doing that until it stops comming on. Or is there another way to check this ??

Another thing is i have oil leaking from the engine, the entire bottom of the car is splatterd with black grimy oil. It doesnt has drip spots where the car is parked so i dunno it might be leaking when its driving. I follow the oil leak upward and its comming from the very back of the engine on top near the number 6 spark plug. Its comming from the left top corner of the engine "left as the you face the engine with the hood open".. Oil pressure is a little below the middle line on the dashboard and the oil dipstick is reading oil is on the OK mark.


Another problem is the engine when idle and in park makes a little ticking noise like something is lose or something. I went under and its not comming from the transmission its comming from the engine somewhere when i positioned myself under the engine. I couldnt track it down.


Also the belt when the car turns on and for like a few minutes afterwords always makes squeel noise if the A/C is on. My mom had it replaced a few years ago and it did the same thing then too. She brought it back twice but they never fixed it. What should i do ?

 

[CT99XJ]

Belt: check the tensioner pulley, tighten if necessary.

Transmission: If it was an AW4, for future reference don't change the filter. Goes for a lot of other trannies used in Jeeps as well.

Engine tick: If it's a 4.0, get used to it, their valvetrain sounds like a Freightliner. Pour a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil into it and see what happens.

Engine leak: Rear main seal. It's a Jeep, they all do it. Could be the head, but I doubt it.

ABS: One sensor might work if they're all identical. My old XJ had ABS and frankly the system was more trouble than it was worth. I pulled it out, and suddenly stopped sliding down rock inclines. ABS is nothing but trouble on the trail.

 

[Candymancan]

I dont drive the Jeep on offroading trails. I use it to carry tools and stuff as a work truck lol

Your sure about the Transmission filter not needing replaced ? Its not an AWD its a 4x4 and it hasnt been replaced in 12 years. Oh i forgot to mention when i replaced the transmission output sensor i noticed it had a decent pile of metal shaving on the tip where it went into the transmission. The transmission doesnt slip or have trouble shifting at all since i replaced the sensor so im just going to ignore that its probably just normal wear. However i thought id mention it

Here is a picture where the oil is leaking from. It seems to be leaking from the Valve cover right by the bolt. Im going to try and see if it needs tightned or not. However if thats not the case do i need to get a new valve cover ? Or maybe the seal.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

The engine ticking is something new, it never did it before. I've been aroudn the car for 12 years i just never drove it until recently when i got my liscense so yes i dont need to get used to the noise the engine puts off. I am actually very familer with the noises it makes and if something new happens i can easily tell if its not normal.. The ticking is more like a rattle or something. Guess ill try to find it and see where its comming from

 

[SpencersHIDs.com]

Don't buy parts. Take it in and have it diagnosed. Dealership is probably your best bet for abs issues.

 

[CT99XJ]

I am dead serious about the filter.

 

[SUPERD]

He said AW4 not AWD, you can change the filter, just don't flush it, that is certain death for most high mileage trannys that were not properly serviced, as for the shavings, you should get ready for a rebuild in your future, some metal powder & clutch fibers are normal but shavings are BAD!
If your ticking showed up out of nowhere I'd check the tensioner & idler pulleys and the fan clutch, this could also be the source of your squealing belt.
Did you change the oil recently, switching viscocities can make valvetrain noise worse.

As for the abs, try unplugging the control module under the hood & clean the connections with electrical cleaner, dirt can work it's way in there and cause intermitent shorts. I'd just leave it unplugged if it keeps giving you problems, throwing parts at it won't do anything but empty your wallet & pi$$ you off.

 

[Candymancan]

He said AW4 not AWD, you can change the filter, just don't flush it, that is certain death for most high mileage trannys that were not properly serviced, as for the shavings, you should get ready for a rebuild in your future, some metal powder & clutch fibers are normal but shavings are BAD!
If your ticking showed up out of nowhere I'd check the tensioner & idler pulleys and the fan clutch, this could also be the source of your squealing belt.
Did you change the oil recently, switching viscocities can make valvetrain noise worse.

As for the abs, try unplugging the control module under the hood & clean the connections with electrical cleaner, dirt can work it's way in there and cause intermitent shorts. I'd just leave it unplugged if it keeps giving you problems, throwing parts at it won't do anything but empty your wallet & pi$$ you off.

Yea my mom was stupid and had the transmission flushed twice in the Jeeps lifetime. Once like 6 years ago when the Jeep wasnt shifting anymore. It did fix the problem but the problem i know now was just that it needed a fluid change. The 2nd time it was flushed was probably a year ago.. Again this was long before i started to learn the car and replace things myself otherwise i would have told her not too..

There werent exactly "shavings" like shavings you would see from metal being milled. It was more like a oil soaked powder. Its was really fine like sandpaper dust.

The breaks on the car front and back are worn and we are replacing them today and flipping and grinding the rotars so the ABS might be that, I'll clean the sensor as you mentioned tho.

As for the engine ticking i brought it to advanced auto parts. The manager there is a friend who works on his own Jeep and others. The noise he said wasnt the Bearing or Rods, its the Lifters. He suggest the lifters be cleaned with a oil additive called seafoam. He said to put it in the old oil and run the engine for 100 miles and then do an oil change.

I decided not to use the additive as i read ppl said not too use them in oil even tho i know seafoam is good just not sure about the oil. I drained the old oil yesturday and replaced the oil filter with a Purolator Plus One filter and Valvoline Max life Synthetic blend.

Also no the oil has never been changed as far as Viscosity. Its always had 10w30 and thats what i used in the new oil change. However this is the first time the engine has had a synthetic oil put in even tho its a blend. The noise is still there tho. I'll just give a while and see what happens