Ol' Faithful leaking oil

Sniper · Nov 28, 2016

As many of you know about 10 days ago I finished up some mods to our 2001 F-350 "Ol' Faithful" and, since then she has been leaking oil pretty bad from the right rear of the oil pan area. Well this morning I took her to the Super Duty Shop in Columbus to drop her off to be checked out. Needless to say I am a train wreck! I have never, ever had anyone else work on any motorized vehicle I have ever owned. If it turns out to be either the pan or, rear main I simply do not have the resources or, physical abilities to fix it.

I feel ill knowing someone else is messing with our truck and, not having her sitting in the drive way. Figured I would make a thread just to have a place to hang out while we await word, among our Heartland Owner friends. I probably won't sleep until she's back and, drive the Commander crazy! So please fell free to tell me "it will all be ok Sniper".

kkamshop · Nov 28, 2016

I understand completely I also do most of my own work on my vehicles. I always have to double check any work done outside of my shop. It will be fine just check their work when they finish for peace of mind.

avvidclif · Nov 28, 2016

I was the same way for years then I got old and fat. Besides I found a good mechanic I can trust, that was the hard part. It will be OK, except for your pocketbook......GRIN

Sniper · Nov 28, 2016

kkamshop said:
I understand completely I also do most of my own work on my vehicles. I always have to double check any work done outside of my shop. It will be fine just check their work when they finish for peace of mind.

Yes sir. I will be all over and, under that thing before a single dollar transfers hands. LOL

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avvidclif said:
I was the same way for years then I got old and fat. Besides I found a good mechanic I can trust, that was the hard part. It will be OK, except for your pocketbook......GRIN

You are right about the pocketbook but, finding a good mechanic is my biggest worry I guess. They'll get ya chasing ghost and, keep taking your money. I'm feeling ill my friend. LOL

MCTalley · Nov 28, 2016

From previously having owned a 7.3, is it possible that you have a leak up top? (HPOP hoses, perhaps)? When you get a leak up top, it drains to the rear of the valley cover (intake manifold on a gasser) then down the back of the block to drip off about where you are indicating.

It could be something as simple as new HPOP hoses or some other oil-carrying hose in that area. I replaced my own HPOP hoses back when I had a 7.3 and it wasn't too terrible of an ordeal.

Sniper · Nov 28, 2016

MCTalley said:
From previously having owned a 7.3, is it possible that you have a leak up top? (HPOP hoses, perhaps)? When you get a leak up top, it drains to the rear of the cover of the V of the engine (intake manifold on a gasser) then down the back of the block to drip off about where you are indicating.

It could be something as simple as new HPOP hoses (I replaced my own back when I had a 7.3, wasn't too terrible of an ordeal).

Yes sir. It don't appear to be coming from any of that. i just did the pedestal and, rebuilt the turbo 10 days ago and, cleaned & checked all that. they are going to dye test it. I'm sure it's the pan but, he said it could be the rear main. It would tickle me to death if he said it were coming from up top.

The waiting is killing me! LOL

justafordguy · Nov 28, 2016

I know exactly how you feel, NO ONE works on my truck but me and it would drive me crazy waiting/worrying.

Hopefully they will have the Old Girl fixed good as new very soon.

Sniper · Nov 28, 2016

justafordguy said:
I know exactly how you feel, NO ONE works on my truck but me and it would drive me crazy waiting/worrying.

Hopefully they will have the Old Girl fixed good as new very soon.

It is a helpless feeling for sure. Kinda like worrying what's going on with the kids and, waiting to hear from them. (not REALLY that bad but, still) LOL

Sniper · Nov 28, 2016

Well, I just got the call. It is the oil pan. In case you are unaware there is no oil pan gasket. It is a special expensive sealant that basically makes the pan part of the engine block which means the pan usually gets thrashed. So new pan too! I told them to do the rear main, and main cover seal while they were in there. $$OUCH!$$ Sure hope the grand kids are ok with small stockings with some candy in them this year. I can feel my heart flipping around in my chest! LOL

Oh, they do put a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty on the repair. So that's good I guess.

avvidclif · Nov 28, 2016

Sniper said:
Well, I just got the call. It is the oil pan. In case you are unaware there is no oil pan gasket. It is a special expensive sealant that basically makes the pan part of the engine block which means the pan usually gets thrashed. So new pan too! I told them to do the rear main, and main cover seal while they were in there. $$OUCH!$$ Sure hope the grand kids are ok with small stockings with some candy in them this year. I can feel my heart flipping around in my chest! LOL

Oh, they do put a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty on the repair. So that's good I guess.

That tells me they are confident in their work, that's good.

Sniper · Dec 1, 2016

Well Ol' Faithful's oil leak is repaired. I got her home last night and, she's sitting in the driveway! Finally got a good nights sleep (well good as it gets for me anyway

). The bill stung pretty bad but, seeing nary an oil spot under her this morning made it worth every penny. Now I can get back to tweaking all those mods I did 2 weeks ago.

Jv75353 · Dec 2, 2016

Glad to hear you got Ol' Faithful back! Trust all the work was done as well as you would have done it.

avvidclif · Dec 2, 2016

Compare what it cost to repair vs 7 years of $800+ payments. Feel better?

IronJ · Dec 2, 2016

Its a 7.3...good investment!!..

No one touches my truck except ford for warranty junk,my detail guy, and now the guy who dyno tuned her now...

Unfortunantly i used to have more time than pennies so labor was no biggie....but lately the opposite is true so i gotta sub contract...haha..

Glad she is back on the beat...with the other mods you have done she should be a good ol tow goat for a while to come...!!

sent from space via an invisible beam from a flying metal dish

Sniper · Dec 4, 2016

Jv75353 said:
Glad to hear you got Ol' Faithful back! Trust all the work was done as well as you would have done it.

Thanks. They did a really good job. I'm very relieved and pleased. They even "clocked" all the clamps just like I had them. Everything "dress - right - dress" under the hood. Plus the repair has a 2 year unlimited miles warranty. Now I feel like I have a place to take her to for heavy repair work that I am unable to handle. (like pulling a diesel engine lol).

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avvidclif said:
Compare what it cost to repair vs 7 years of $800+ payments. Feel better?

Much better! LOL

travelin2 · Dec 4, 2016

Sniper said:
Thanks. They did a really good job. Now I feel like I have a place to take her to for heavy repair work that I am unable to handle. (like pulling a diesel engine lol).

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Much better! LOL

There are still independent shops out there that have trained quality staffs able to perform the "big" jobs!!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Sniper · Dec 4, 2016

IronJ said:
Its a 7.3...good investment!!..

No one touches my truck except ford for warranty junk,my detail guy, and now the guy who dyno tuned her now...

Unfortunantly i used to have more time than pennies so labor was no biggie....but lately the opposite is true so i gotta sub contract...haha..

Glad she is back on the beat...with the other mods you have done she should be a good ol tow goat for a while to come...!!

sent from space via an invisible beam from a flying metal dish

We are pretty excited to tow with her and, see how those mods really turned out.

BBslider001 · Dec 17, 2016

What mods have you done Sniper? Also, regarding the 7.3 and friendly knowledge, Ford Truck Enthusiast is a great forum to be a part of. Very knowledgeable and friendly guys over there. My handle is the same over there as here.

Sniper · Dec 17, 2016

BBslider001 said:
What mods have you done Sniper? Also, regarding the 7.3 and friendly knowledge, Ford Truck Enthusiast is a great forum to be a part of. Very knowledgeable and friendly guys over there. My handle is the same over there as here.

Here is the promised up-date: I've included a before tear down pic.

Before:

During (with the new stainless up-pipes installed):

During (with the new EBVP pedestal mount, rebuilt turbo, mechanical waste gate, hi-pressure oil crossover and, split intake installed):

After (with everything installed):

It's a whole different truck! Turbo spool is instant and, continuous. I haven't tweaked the waste gate yet but it hits 22 psi and stays there. (most the old setup got was 18 psi and, it took forever to get there then, would drop once pop off occured. This stays at 22 psi. Anything above 24 psi will trip a check engine light and, start "de-fueling" the motor. I will get it set at 24 psi.)

Throttle response is a lot quicker and smoother. The engine is much quieter at idle.

Now the bad part. You know for every action there is an opposite reaction and on a 16 y/o old diesel I guess once you fix one oil leak, it WILL start leaking someplace else. So yea, I got an oil leak. It would seem to be coming from the passenger side high pressure oil rail end plug. If I knew they had seals on them I would have replaced those too while I was in there. What a pain. Oh well, live and, learn I guess. The one bad thing S & B airbox is the battery tray and, mount. The tray is plastic, and the battery is plastic so the battery slides around. Ill glue a rubber mat on there to fix that. Also, the battery hold down set up itself is pretty shoddy. As good as the rest of it is I would have thought they could have done better. Other than that very pleased with the out come. Can't wait to get that other leak fixed and, tow with this ol" gal!

PS: here is a pic of the turbo I rebuilt. I'm pretty proud of it.

(you can see the mechanical waste gate better in the pic)

it's got full auto meter gauges, 4" magna-flow exhaust, RiffRaff regulated return with 65 psi spring, RiffRaff Hi-flow fuel banjo's and external dieselsite coolant & trans filers.

Jim.Allison · Dec 17, 2016

I know how you feel, I do ALL my work. The older I get the harder it becomes but I refuse to pay inflated prices and chump charges for substandard work. Fortunately today's trucks are high off the ground and I can get under them without a lot of jacks and jack stands. My wife call it "Truck yoga" and it will stretch you out. If it helps, 800mg of Motrin works miracles on old bones and muscles.

Ol' Faithful leaking oil

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