newbie question...

[mikepotts]

hi guys, i recently acquired a 92 F250 with 7.3 IDI (N/A) and E4OD. i noticed the dipstick was gone from the dipstick handle. so i ordered a new one, in an effort to make sure the missing portion wasnt in the tube, i removed the tube, then put it back. ever since then there is an oil leak on the pass side of the motor, below the valve covers and above the starter... yeah right about where the tube enters the block. my question, is there some kind of seal i meesed up when removing/reinstalling it? from the looks of it, i dont want to remove the starter, but im thinking its the best way to pinpoint the leak. thanks guys.

 

[79jasper]

Think there's a oring down there.
If nothing else, use some black RTV.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mikepotts]

thanks for the reply, thats what i thought. i was dreading pulling the starter, but i think i may do that this weekend so i can get a good look and make sure it get it sealed up.

 

[mikepotts]

ive been reading threads discussing the dipstick oring and a fitting with a large oring in the side of the oil pan... please tell me thats a powerstroke only thing and i wont have to deal with the nitemares ive read about.

 

[icanfixall]

Welcome to the forum.. The psd oil pans have a much different set up on the pan compared to ours. you will have nothing but problems with trying to force an o ring back into the tube to block fitting. Our 7.3 engines have a fitting in the block that the dip stick tube fits into. The end of the tube has a small area where the o ring is supposed to fit. but it usually rolls out and you wont get a seal. So best idea is the RTV. You will need to clean the fitting very well inside. then make sure the tube is clean. The the really hard part is getting some RTV in the fitting on the block. Its best to have RTV on the tube and the fitting. then slide the tube into the fitting and wipe the RTV all the way around the fitting to turbe meeting area. Your not trying to clean it off but to make sure its covered the block side of the fitting to tube so there is not leks. Let it dry overnight if possible and your good to go. I use the permatex ultra copper plus because it high heat resistant and oil resistant too. Its never leaked on any of my engine rebuilds in the past 25 years.

 

[Zaggnutt]

Preparing to do this project to. It's sad when there is so much oil around the engine compartment that you fix one oil leak and you still have oil in the same area... I have had an ongoing problem with oil leaking into my starter and flywheel housing that I thought was a leaky valve cover gasket. Welp, new gasket, dry valve cover, same problem

I was just taking pics of mine so I could try to get an idea of what everything looked like in there... You will need to remove the starter to get in there and clean all the oil off the dipstick tube and mounting block well. Mine seems to be completely separated so I will be removing the dipstick, unbolting the tube from the valve cover, and removing it completely to clean it if possible. Brake Clean from your local Dollar General is your friend here. If you haven't had your starter out before it's really not that bad. Hardest part for me was getting it back in, but that was all of 5 minutes of wiggling and shifting. The rest is the 3 bolts and removal and reattachment of wires. No biggie.

Something I've found to be very helpful in the age of cell phones is to jam you phone into tight spots and snap a couple pics. It helps you see issues it would take dis-assembly to figure out. Here's my mess...

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Not sure how much reading you've done on this, but I found several threads here at OB about the use of RTV instead of replacing the orings and there seems to be a lot of success with that as posted by "icanfixall"

 

[mikepotts]

excellent! thanks for the welcome and the good info. it makes me a little more relaxed aboutaboiut doing this repair.

 

[riotwarrior]

*****,

sorry but I can't help but laugh, this is a nightmare and unless you get that area surgically clean, no sealant nothing short of a touch from God himself will stop oil leaking.

O ring as required, surgically clean, and then surgically clean, then surgically clean it once more, then a wee bit of RTV and maybe you'll be lucky however how will you assure surgically clean inside where dipstick tube goes?

Soak a cotton swab/s in brake clean and repeatadly wipe it out untill you get 3+ swabs coming out spotless...then maybe it may ...may stop leaking!

JM2CW

Al

 

[icanfixall]

That last pic is a great pic showing the tube groove for the o ring. By the way that tube is not installed deep enough to seal no matter what amount of RTv is used. That o ring groove must fit into that fitting in the block.

 

[MOWOG]

I removed the RF wheel and pulled back the inner splash guard to get at the dipstick tube... Easier than dropping the starter IMO.

 

[Zaggnutt]

That last pic is a great pic showing the tube groove for the o ring. By the way that tube is not installed deep enough to seal no matter what amount of RTv is used. That o ring groove must fit into that fitting in the block.

Yeah, I took a pic before messing with it. I removed the tube and sanded it some and painted it. It was starting to pit pretty good.

 

[mikepotts]

I removed the RF wheel and pulled back the inner splash guard to get at the dipstick tube... Easier than dropping the starter IMO.

HMMM! thats worth a try first, thanks for the suggestion.

 

[mikepotts]

after i did all i could on my mustang today, i turned my attention to the truck and this oil leak. jacked up the pass side and remembered my four way wont work on the trucks lugs. so i turned the wheels all the way to the left, and suprisingly i was able to squeeze in behind the tire, removed the splash guard and immediately saw that my tube was sitting on top of the inlet, not even pushed in! i removed the tube and went to the parts store, found an oring and looked good, got home put it on the tube, dipped it in some new oil (for the oil change) and commenced to shoving! worked on getting it in for like 10 min. took a break to help the father in law, went back thinking to myself "this thing is fixin to get the RTV!" and it snapped in! changed the oil, drove it for a while... NO LEAK! thanks guys! next project: fuel return hose kit and glow plug/relay kit.

 

[Zaggnutt]

after i did all i could on my mustang today, i turned my attention to the truck and this oil leak. jacked up the pass side and remembered my four way wont work on the trucks lugs. so i turned the wheels all the way to the left, and suprisingly i was able to squeeze in behind the tire, removed the splash guard and immediately saw that my tube was sitting on top of the inlet, not even pushed in! i removed the tube and went to the parts store, found an oring and looked good, got home put it on the tube, dipped it in some new oil (for the oil change) and commenced to shoving! worked on getting it in for like 10 min. took a break to help the father in law, went back thinking to myself "this thing is fixin to get the RTV!" and it snapped in! changed the oil, drove it for a while... NO LEAK! thanks guys! next project: fuel return hose kit and glow plug/relay kit.

Awesome! I worked on mine yesterday too. Haven't had a chance to drive it yet to test. Great work. I can tell you that your next two projects are easy, and they are also two of the most thoroughly documented projects on this site. Do all your searching first and gather your knowledge and then tackle it. No problem.

We like to support our own here, so "agnem" aka Mel owns Conestoga Diesel in PA and "type4" on the West coast sell the return line kits. Glow plugs can be found at a good price on ebay (look for free shipping and $10 or less per plug). Glow plug solenoid and controller have been debated. I replaced the gp relay only, not the controller, but in retrospect the whole unit from NAPA was only a little more. It's worth it to just replace all of it in one shot for insurance. IMO it is best to get the more expensive NAPA "gp solenoid" as opposed to a cheaper universal solenoid.

Do your research and decide what works best for you.

 

[mikepotts]

Awesome! I worked on mine yesterday too. Haven't had a chance to drive it yet to test. Great work. I can tell you that your next two projects are easy, and they are also two of the most thoroughly documented projects on this site. Do all your searching first and gather your knowledge and then tackle it. No problem.

We like to support our own here, so "agnem" aka Mel owns Conestoga Diesel in PA and "type4" on the West coast sell the return line kits. Glow plugs can be found at a good price on ebay (look for free shipping and $10 or less per plug). Glow plug solenoid and controller have been debated. I replaced the gp relay only, not the controller, but in retrospect the whole unit from NAPA was only a little more. It's worth it to just replace all of it in one shot for insurance. IMO it is best to get the more expensive NAPA "gp solenoid" as opposed to a cheaper universal solenoid.

Do your research and decide what works best for you.

dang it! i like to support forum guys as well, but i already ordered my stuff on ebay from Accuratediesel, i hope their stuff is okay, they seemed to have good feedback. i will support the forum guys in the future though.