Severe oil leak

[jdmack856]

I have a 1990 F350 with a 7.3IDI and a Banks turbo. I have a massive amount of oil pouring out of the engine. It appears to be coming from somewhere in the passenger rear area of the engine. I believe it is coming from where the turbo drains back to the engine. My question is: Is there a gasket or O-ring that seals the drain tube? It appeared to just be a metal drain tube that dropped into the hole with nothing around it.

The oil is pouring off the starter. It leaks some when sitting there idling....an pours after you drive it a bit.

Any help, thoughts, ideas would be greatly appreciated. I think I will use some dye and check it with a uv light to see if I can see for sure where all the oil is coming from.

Thanks

Dave

 

[TWeatherford]

There is a grommet that is supposed to be around your turbo drain tube. When I needed one (3 years ago) I called banks and they hooked me up with one for like $10. I'd buy two if I were you and thats what you need. They may quit stocking them at any time. If you do have to take the turbo off, many recommend punching some holes in the pan just beneath the turbo drain to allow the oil to drain easier and lessen the chance of a leak.

 

[jdmack856]

Can the grommet be found locally? I have had less than positive results when trying to get any help through Banks.

 

[snaponprofile]

I had the same problem at one one time. Call banks Power http://www.bankspower.com/ and order 2 drain tube grommets. When you get them in the mail, pull the turbo and punch some holes in the pan just beneath. (I used a long screwdriver for this and punched about 5-8 holes)

Once you get that done, use brake parts cleaner to thoroughly clean the area where the drain tube grommet will go. Once clean and dry, fill the drain tube grommet sides with RTV and slide the grommet in place(If you live in a cold area, soak the grommet in hot water to soften it up before trying to slip it in place). Once the grommet is in, use more RTV to make sure you seal the grommet to the pan good. Now comes the hard part.....clean the tip of the drain tube and put a bead of RTV around the bottom of it, then slide it in the grommet about half a inch. Then proceed to mount the turbo and hook up the drain tube to the turbo. Once you get everything bolted up, be sure to take some more RTV and seal around the drain tube/grommet area.

These steps can be very frustrating, but keep in mind.....you only want to do a job this frustrating once and doing it right is the only way the oil leak will stop, so take your time and do it right!! If not, you will get to do one of the most annoying jobs all over again(ask me how I know).

Use Copper or black RTV for this job, NOT blue.

 

[TWeatherford]

When I called banks during a lunchbreak from the hayfield the guy I talked to was very helpful. He commented that they don't have many people calling about those turbos and it took him a few minutes to find what I needed but he found it and I had it two days later without paying extra shipping. I did not punch holes or do the rtv thing and I have a nice oil leak now.