Oil leak - Valley Pan?

[renjaminfrankln]

I dropped my truck off at a local diesel shop a few weeks ago to get an oil leak fixed. The turbo drain was leaking. They agreed this was the issue and pulled the turbo off to replace the grommet/gaskets.

I got a call from them today and the truck is back together, however it is still leaking oil from the same area. The mechanic said he thought it was the valley pan itself leaking. He said they put some oil absorbent on the drain and it did not appear to be coming from there. According to the shop owner it will "leave a spot about the size of a softball after sitting a few hours". This is actually better than it was before, so I am going to pick the truck up and drive it for a while (projects are piling up). The shop said the next step would be to pull the turbo back off, pull the intake and replace the valley pan gaskets.

Question: Is this a common area for an oil leak on these. I haven't seen anything about it. Also what needs to come off to pull the valley pan? I assume IP, injection lines, maybe turbo

Thanks

 

[onetonjohn]

The intake has to come off too. I'm not sure with turbo, but on mine, I think the CDR is attached to the back of valley pan.

 

[79jasper]

Imo, a valley pan wont leak like that. I would look for a fuel leak on the engine. Also double check their work.
Next would be oil cooler.

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[renjaminfrankln]

Imo, a valley pan wont leak like that. I would look for a fuel leak on the engine. Also double check their work.
Next would be oil cooler.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Definitely not fuel.. i will have to double check their work.

7.3 IDI with 1st gen Banks turbo fwiw

 

[Thewespaul]

Does it leak after driving or just from idling?
If it’s just idling, it’s not boost related so check the pedestal to turbo connection for any leaks, they may be getting oil leaking down from there to the valley pan. It’s possible for the valley pan to leak like this, but not overly common. Ip, lines and intake manifold have to come out to replace it.

If it only happens after driving, it’s probably a boost leak at the cdr blockoff or one of the turbo connections.

Check the turbo oil feed line for any leaks, and be sure it’s not the back of the valve covers leaking and dripping down the heads.

 

[typ4]

Those banks drain tubes can crack and be very hard to see.

 

[renjaminfrankln]

Those banks drain tubes can crack and be very hard to see.

I did check the tube myself and it looked okay. Previously I pulled it off

Leaks worse after driving. Idling in the driveway... drop................drop................drop coming down mostly off the starter.

After driving and pull in driveway. drop, drop, drop, drop.

I have not had a chance to really look at it myself yet. No leaks on line from block to turbo. No leaks from back of the valve covers. I guess the only other place it could be leaking is the rear main seal but that would not drip down off the starter. My muffler and right leaf spring have a nice oil coating.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

There's also a gasket between the bottom of the turbo and the drain tube. This could be leaking. If you pull the turbo off, check to make sure that they put an extra hloe in the baffle in the valley pan beneath the oil drain. This was occasionally an issue with the original style valley pans. The newer ones are built differently and aren't supposed to do this. I feel that it's a good idea to put the hole in there even on the newer style ones. It seems like a good preventative maintenance idea to me.

 

[renjaminfrankln]

There's also a gasket between the bottom of the turbo and the drain tube. This could be leaking. If you pull the turbo off, check to make sure that they put an extra hloe in the baffle in the valley pan beneath the oil drain. This was occasionally an issue with the original style valley pans. The newer ones are built differently and aren't supposed to do this. I feel that it's a good idea to put the hole in there even on the newer style ones. It seems like a good preventative maintenance idea to me.

I put a hole in there previously. I pulled the drain tube, punched a hole, and replaced that gasket between turbo and tube. The grommet I bought did not fit. I put the truck back together because I needed to use it. It was still leaking and I did not have much time to deal with it so I took it to this shop. They wanted to pull the turbo so they could get a better look at what was going on. They replaced the grommet and its still leaking. While the turbo was out, I sent it to @typ4 for a rebuild/ larger compressor wheel.

I'm going to get a good look at it today and break out the mirrors and flashlights. If I have to replace the valley pan i'll probably do the work. I've pulled the IP 3 times now so i'm pretty good at it.

 

[renjaminfrankln]

I grabbed some leftover automotive carpet and did a swan dive into the back of my IDI.

Just a little bit of oil in the valley pan behind the turbo drain. I soaked it up and idled it in the driveway for 5 minutes. The oil did not reappear, and it was not leaking a drop onto the driveway when idling. I could not see very well behind the valley pan as I realized I left my mirror in another state (working on a boat).

I did discover that the last two intake manifold bolts on the passenger side (cylinder 7) are loose. They are both about 1mm off the washers, frozen in place. Very odd. I cant back them out or tighten them. The washers are loose to the touch, so there is no clamping force applied. I didnt put too much pressure on them, did not want to break them. I am soaking them now and will try to tighten them up later.

 

[Thewespaul]

Don’t do that, add washers instead. Those two bolts are longer than the rest because the engine hook goes there, just opposite of the one by the fuel filter bracket. Can you see if the cdr hole in the back of the intake is leaking under boost?

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Those two bolts are longer than the rest because the engine hook goes there,

Are you sure about that? I thought they were all the same length. I do know that the Factory Turbo engines use special shorter bolts there. They were shouldered bolts that didn't need a washer. I have a pair in the location on my intake just waiting for the day...

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Don’t do that, add washers instead.

You're definitely right on this one here!

 

[IDIBRONCO]

I soaked it up and idled it in the driveway for 5 minutes. The oil did not reappear, and it was not leaking a drop onto the driveway when idling.

If it is leaking around the grommet, for some odd reason, it probably won't leak at an idle. From what I've seen, it won't leak until you're at higher RPMs with more oil flowing through the turbo due to the higher oil pressure.

 

[renjaminfrankln]

Don’t do that, add washers instead. Those two bolts are longer than the rest because the engine hook goes there, just opposite of the one by the fuel filter bracket. Can you see if the cdr hole in the back of the intake is leaking under boost?

That makes sense. I have seen the engine hook there in pictures on other trucks but did not put two and two together! I will back those out and add washers. Hopefully I have room to get them out with the turbo in place.

I'll check on the CDR hole. Problem is I don't see how it would be responsible for a leak of this magnitude. It could leak some of the oily blow by, but this is a major leak.