Oil leak - changing name to Exxon Valdez

[argve]

Well I have had an oil leak for a little bit now and thought that it originally was the timing pin - so bought a new one along with an o-ring for it - no go man - no go - still leaks like a tanker that struck an iceberg... so hose area down with brake cleaner and go poking around with mirror and flashlight looked like maybe the injection pump seal was leaking - let's face it it looks like some serious work even though folks say you yank a pump and have it back in place in around 2 hours... figure heck labor can't be that much to just have it done....

WRONG!!!!

Well I fire the truck over to Cummins Mid States Inc here in Fort Wayne to have them check it out... Figure in my mind worst case I'm out 600 clams I give them cell phone and hand phone over to mother in law tell her if it's over 600 tell them they need to talk to me... Well when Sherri got home from work yesterday afternoon she wakes me up to hand me the phone... First thing that runs through my mind is HOLY SNICKLES it can't be over 600 - BS $600 bucks would be a bargin... They proceed to inform me they found the leak


guess what...

$900...

It's the timing gear case/cover... seems it's "warped" they made off like it's a common problem - me I'm thinking KDP but previous owner said he fixed it - I never verified because he seems like a trusting soul... So I specifically ask if the case is broken they say no it's just warped...

So I told them to just park it out front and I'll have to put in a couple of weekends then have it fixed...

The upside is they checked out everything else on the engine and she got a clean bill of health other than the "Minor oil leak" yep he listed it as a minor oil leak - I would hate to see what he calls a major oil leak because she leaks oil like it's going out of style

The other upside was they put it on a dyno and he did not list the numbers but made a comment that she got a lot of power

I think when I have the gear case replaced I'll just have him run it on the dyno again and give me the print out... I'm sort of curious what she turns offically I know what the previous owner said but I want the black and white paper because well I'm a proof is in the pudding kind of guy...

 

[batfish]

The vacuum pump seal is a common leak source I would look at.

 

[Freight_Train]

hee hee hee,Don't you just drive anything or do you only try to blow them up!!!!!$900 for a timing cover!YOUCH!man,it only cost me $500 for an entire parts truck with a good 6.9L,about another $400 in misc parts(gaskets,injectors,return lines,head rebuild),and looking at around a grand to pull 2 entire engines and install one good one to fix your last Chernobyle.You keep reminding me why I drive an IDI!!!!

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[argve]

Well I can buy an entire engine for around 3500 clams max but that's a little extreme just to fix an oil leak - plus I'm not going to turn wrenches on it so then I would have labor as well. Me I'm done pulling wrenches on my trucks, I do it everyday and day out at work and just get tired of pulling them. So a big chunk of that 900 was labor - heck cost me close to 200 just to have it checked out and all they did was run her on a dyno to see the oil leak, steam clean the engine then install some dye in the oil and have another run on the dyno. But labor is not cheap and especially not at the Cummins dealer in town.

 

[geonc]

Oil leak - changing name to Exxon Valdez

Travis....That name has already been registered to my Ol' Gal- '90 IDI and must stay within the brotherhood------not to be used in blasphamy towards a GHOAT :draw
{altho for a small fee :Sly }

 

[argve]

Here is the funny thing... since taking it in to the dealer to get it looked at then about falling over at the price - the outside temps have risen and the oil leak is almost totally gone - I mean she might drip once every 5 days

So I guess I got plenty of time to fix it now because it won't be cold here for a while... at least until Oct or Nov time frame.... I remember having an oil leak last winter but it was not much about like it is now and I just skipped it because it wasn't enough to bother with... I guess I'll just not worry about it for the time being and take care of it later...

 

[CGriffith]

I'd go after it with some brake cleaner and a tube of Ultra RTV were it me. But I'm just a back woods hilljack

Doesn't make sense that it leaks less when warmer? All my leaks get worse as the weather warms up and everything runs hotter causing thinner oil. Anyone else think this could be fixed alot cheaper? Could take off the timing case and take a couple thousands off it without causeing any problems.

 

[argve]

But the real problem with pulling the case and machining it down is I would have to do the actual wrenching... which I pull wrenches at work everyday (Industrial Maint) and I really don't want to open up the tool box at home (too much like work) so in order to avoid having to actually get up off my lazy butt I will ship it off to a service center to have the work performed and they will, just like I do at work take the easier route which is just throw a new one in it's place... What can I say - I've been domesticated