Oil Change Woes

[BULLG4TOR]

Hey Guys,

I'm new to the forum and jeeps so this may not be the right way or place to post but here it goes.

I bought a 2001 Cherokee of craigslist (i know...) about 2 weeks ago and decided it was time for an oil change. Up to this point I had not experienced any major problems with the jeep. I was surprised to see the 4 liter takes 6 quarts but proceeded with the change. After draining presumably all of the oil and replacing the filter, I reattached the plug only to find it was stripped (probably my doing). Luckily the seal seemed tight and I figured I could pick up a new plug no problem.

Next step. After adding 5 quarts of oil I checked the dip stick and saw it was well above the safe line. I was in my driveway so I figured the slope might be affecting the reading. When attempting to pull it out into the road I noticed the jeep wasn't shifting into gear properly (something it had never done before). When shifting into reverse or drive, the jeep seemed to be stuck in neutral and only jumped into gear after giving it a fair amount of gas. At this point I'm hoping thats the result of too much oil in the engine.

After running it for a minute or 2, I rechecked the dip stick and saw it was still well above safe. This didn't make sense to me since I had only added 5 of 6 quarts so far. Maybe it was never fully drained out? I pulled the plug again and let some of the new oil out. Reading still high. I repeated the process continuously getting high readings until oil stopped draining out. Dip stick still reads high...

I'm out of ideas. Is there a problem with the dip stick? Did I pull a bolt that wasn't the plug? Is oil trapped in the engine somehow? Any help or advice would be appreciated. I haven't been able to find anything online related to this problem yet.

 

[TerryMason]

Any chance you drained the automatic transmission of it's fluid, and double filled the engine?
Check the transmission fluid level with it's dipstick, and see if it's empty. If it is, you'll need to take another vehicle to the store to pick up some fluid.

 

[JPNinPA]

Could you post pics of the dip stick location and of the plug you drained? Far enough away to see and have good focus.

 

[BULLG4TOR]

Thanks for the suggestion. I checked the transmission fluid level and it was totally dry. I gotta wait for the weather here to clear up but as soon as it does I'll get back underneath and make sure I pulled the right plug. I'll post as soon as I can with the results.

 

[TerryMason]

The correct way to check transmission fluid is to warm the jeep up, put it in park, and check the dipstick with the engine running. In this case, I wouldn't do that.

I would order a new transmission plug, since yours may be stripped. I would then drain and refill the transmission, and carefully replace the plug. Check your owners manual for the proper atf to use (Chrysler likes to be different).

Then drain the oil, keeping in mind that you likely have 12 quarts in there, so get a big pan.

Don't run the jeep until you get the fluids sorted out.

Post some photos like jpninpa mentioned and we can point out which plug is which.

 

[BULLG4TOR]

Thanks for all the help guys.

I was gonna post pictures but I got it all sorted out today. After a quick check I noticed the oil pan was further forward than I had originally anticipated. I drained the oil (there was a lot) and replaced the transmission plug. The jeep took 5 quarts of oil and it read in the safe zone even after running it for a short while. Surprisingly it only took a little over 3 quarts of transmission fluid before it was full (this was after running it and shifting through all the gears as I has been advised).

The issue with gear shifting has completely stopped and oil pressure looks good on the gauge. I guess the only set back was 5 wasted quarts of oil but on the bright side I don't have to change my transmission fluid for a while.

Thanks again for the suggestions. Next project is power steering.

 

[twinkiedooter]

You need to get down on your knees and pray a prayer of thanks to the Almighty Jeep God for not ruining a. your engine and b. your transmission. and needed a new car.

One time I ran my 94 XJ out of oil and ran it for 2 weeks as my idiot bf stripped the oil plug and I had a nice oil trail everywhere I went. My 97 XJ was just down one quart recently and started giving me hissy fits with the gears. I put a qt of Lucas transmission fix in and now I'm back in biz again. Would suggest that you add some Lucas transmission fix if you can fit it in as this will help with you seals that you obviously screwed around with during your fiasco.

My best advice to you is to find yourself a good honest mechanic and then GO WATCH him as he repairs your baby. I am 68 and I insist I watch while my baby is being repaired for anything...even oil changes. I have a good honest mechanic who works out of his home and has a lift and garage in his backyard. So far he's redone my entire front end, coil, water pump, CV joints, steering, full brake job, all the U joints, muffler, shocks, differential oil changes, etc. and only charges around $30 an hour or by the job (his choice) and I supply the parts. My 97 was in horrible shape and he got he back to acceptable.