Still fighting oil leaks...

[TLBREWER]

If you do, I call dibs on your IC setup

I'm closer.

Tom

 

[Agnem]

This may sound dumb, but at the price of web cams these days, it wouldn't be out of the question to mount a web cam where it can watch your valley pan as you drive. Just get a passenger to watch it on a laptop, and light the area with a spare headlight bulb.

 

[reklund]

Thats not a bad idea Mel...There's an old one at work I can swipe, and setup for next-to-nothing. I may look into that...

I may need to keep the IC- the Cummins might go in my old Ford.....

 

[reklund]

FOUND IT!

I ended up using a bore scope we have here at the dealership, and stuck it down around the turbo drain/pedastal where it meets the valley pan. Turns out the grommet that it seals against has split, and the leak is crankcase vapor seeping past the seal, carrying vaporized oil with it. The oil condenses on the valley pan, then runs out the drain, over the starter, and down the bellhousing.

Looks like I'll be removing the Turbo next weekend (if replacement seals arrive in time) to re-seal everything.

Ryan

 

[SKimballC]

Good job. I'm sure you're glad to have found it. You gonna replace all the seals? Not a bad idea, though I can think of funner weekend projects than pulling the turbo. I made up a bunch of new bad words when I pulled the early ATS turbo off my old truck.
Of course it helps that you're a REAL mechanic.

 

[TLBREWER]

FOUND IT!

I ended up using a bore scope we have here at the dealership, and stuck it down around the turbo drain/pedastal where it meets the valley pan. Turns out the grommet that it seals against has split, and the leak is crankcase vapor seeping past the seal, carrying vaporized oil with it. The oil condenses on the valley pan, then runs out the drain, over the starter, and down the bellhousing.

Looks like I'll be removing the Turbo next weekend (if replacement seals arrive in time) to re-seal everything.

Ryan

Ryan

Excellent! I thought about suggesting a borescope, but didn't know you'd have access to one. We used them on aircraft engines for these exact types of problems. Guess we'll push out getting together for another week or two. Unless you want to bring it out to my house. When is your next Monday/Tuesday off?

Is the seal where pedastal meets the same as the original CDR to valley pan seal? If it is, I may have one leftover from when I did the heads on Carla's truck. Come to think of it, I've got a leak re-appearing on Stormi's truck in the same area as yours. Wonder if I have the same problem...

Tom

 

[reklund]

Good job. I'm sure you're glad to have found it. You gonna replace all the seals? Not a bad idea, though I can think of funner weekend projects than pulling the turbo. I made up a bunch of new bad words when I pulled the early ATS turbo off my old truck.
Of course it helps that you're a REAL mechanic.

I don't know about being a "real" mechanic, but I do get paid to spin wrenches. The big reason I'm so frustrated with this is that I just put the turbo on the truck a little over a year ago, and used all new seals then...EXCEPT that damn pedastal seal, as I didn't have one on hand. I knew better at the time, but went ahead with the install.

I'm going to take the opprotunity to tear everything down and do a few upgrades. I'm planning on getting a turbo-cal IP and Injector set from DPS, as well as new return lines and caps. I'll fix up the leaks and maybe send the turbo out for a little tweaking....

Ryan

 

[reklund]

Ryan

Excellent! I thought about suggesting a borescope, but didn't know you'd have access to one. We used them on aircraft engines for these exact types of problems. Guess we'll push out getting together for another week or two. Unless you want to bring it out to my house. When is your next Monday/Tuesday off?

Is the seal where pedastal meets the same as the original CDR to valley pan seal? If it is, I may have one leftover from when I did the heads on Carla's truck. Come to think of it, I've got a leak re-appearing on Stormi's truck in the same area as yours. Wonder if I have the same problem...

Tom

Thanks for the offer, but I'll probably do the work at the shop on a day or two off... I'm not off on Mondays until mid-February, and hopefully it'll be fixed by then, depending on IP/Injector availability... Check that damn seal on Stormi's truck before it dumps all over the underside of the truck. My poor truck is covered tip-to-tail in black nasty diesel oil.

We've got a fancy new alignment rack at the shop that's big enough for fullsize trucks. Let me know if you need a little help getting Stormi's truck lined up...

Ryan

 

[reklund]

So I've begun to plan my repair, and will definitely take this opprotunity to upgrade.

Ken from DPS called me at like 8:00 yesterday morning (Saturday!) and woke my ass up...I told him I'd call him back, and will try on Monday. The current plan is for a new IP, Injectors, and Return line kit while I've got the turbo off.

I'm also going to re-engineer my IC piping a little, and reinstall my CDR- I hate the smoke from under the truck at stoplights. I'll just deal with a little oil vapor in the IC and piping, as it's less of a pain in the ass than constantly dealing with the "Hey dude! Your truck's on fire!" comments...

I was looking through my FSM today, and noticed that they specifically state NOT to pressurize the crankcase to diagnose oil leaks (a procedure that is reccomended on the gas engines) because it could cause a failure of the valley pan end seals. This got me thinking that I may have damaged those with my damn catchcan fiasco. Would it be a good idea to replace that valley pan and reseal it while I've got that whole top end off? Specifically, if it was leaking, would it drain out the drain tube and down over the starter like I'm experiencing? I'm like 98% sure that my turbo drain is what is leaking, but the idea here is to fix this issue so I can just drive the damn truck for another 100K miles and not have to fix anything...

I called central-motive power here in Albuquerque to get a quote for timing my truck after I install the new IP and injectors, and all the dude said was that they just "line up the marks and it's fine". I asked him specifically if they could dynamically time the truck, and he said it wasn't worth the effort on "those old slow trucks". The dealership won't touch the truck, or loan me the old Rotunda tools to do it myself, so I'm a little stuck finding someone I trust to actually do the job. Any chance anyone near New Mexico has the equipment and is willing to lend it out? I figure I'll just have to do it myself if I want it done right.

 

[reklund]

Anything else I should do to the truck while I'm in there?

 

[SKimballC]

Since you're in there, now would be the best time to do the the valley pan. Even if it takes a little adjusting, I bet you can get the timing close enough for now, especially after the way Central-Motive insulted your truck like that.

 

[icanfixall]

Well geez... If you pull off the valley pan you "could" check all the roller lifters for free movement. Your so close to everything why not check everything you can. If you do it just keep everything seperated so it goes back in the same locations.

 

[reklund]

Thats the sort of stuff I want to know. Hopefully, with my relatively low mileage I won't find any surprises...

Ryan

 

[reklund]

I set out today to find replacement valley pan grommet for my turbo drain on my truck. Ford is no help, as it's not a factory part. I called ATS, and the guys there don't have any left, and don't offer parts for the old non-wastegated turbos anymore. He also couldn't confirm that the part was the same on the wastegated turbos, as they had different part numbers listed.

SO: I need a damn grommet. Anybody have one loose that they could send me some measurements on? I'm pretty sure I can source one through McMaster-Carr or MSC, but need the proper dimensions.

Also, I tried several times today to get hold of Ken at DPS, to no success. Guess I should have been awake when he called early Saturday morning...

Ryan

 

[The Warden]

Actually, if my memory serves me correctly, the Ford factory CDR grommet will fit on the ATS oil drain...and, certainly, it'll fit into the valley pan. I got a CDR grommet with my replacement valley pan, and popped it in, and everything's been working properly for me...