Hello everyone,
I have an 06 F350 5.4L V8. I recently (well someone else) noticed oil on the driveway! I noticed the other day that my oil was running around 1 qt low so I added some, it ended up being too much so I went under to drain some. When I was below I noticed:
- An oil leak. There's a pan behind the drain screw that appears to be seperate from it (may be the oil pan) and the screws on it are leaking oil to things below it. Which appears to be part of the transmission (the bell housing?) Not sure if the oil is leaking above the rear oil pan screws but... hopefully not.
It appears as though the oil pan screws are leaking oil, tightened them up the other night with no help. They were tightened with decent pressure so I guess they were loose but don't know if I should try tightening them more? ? ? till they stop moving?
Anyone got any thoughts or experiences such as this?

Just bought the truck 3,500 miles ago with 48000 on it now.

Hoping it isn't a leaking head gasket....Not even sure where to look for this problem, maybe a leaking gasket?

 

sounds to me like you are describing a leak at the rear oil seal of the motor. Any pics?

BTW, you don't want to over torque the oil pan bolts.

 

Rear main, not head gasket.

 

getting some up right now

 

Here's the best pic I took when I went out tonight

Oil pan is on the top portion of picture
Bellhousing on bottom (?)

Notice 2 bolts on oil pan have oil drip that drips down onto bellhousing(?) creating on drip there as well




clicking on picture enlarges

 

Looked at it again and noticed that it doesn't appear as though above the seal has oil, seems like around the bolts are leaking

If you think it is a rear main oil seal
does it just need another gasket seal?
Anyone ever done that?

I did tighten the oil pan rear bolts should I loosen them back, they weren't dead tight to begin with but I did end up making them tight enough that it took a little effort with a 3/8 wrench to turn it , so still not dead tight

 

I would not touch the oil pan bolts again. Just leave it. Most likely the oil is dripping inside the bell housing and then as it becomes too much it seaps out.

This should be covered under warranty. I'd let Ford fix it.

 

The bell housing is below the oil pan (prob halfway) and the oil drips down from the oil pan bolts onto the bell housing not vice versa.

Unfortunetly the truck has 48,000 on it and I bought it used so i'd guess its not covered.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

 

Yep-rear main seal.
Changed mine with 58-60K on my truck.
Was a defective seal, or was damaged on initial installation. Trans has to come out to do it.not easy, but not impossible.
JL

 

I cant recall EVER seeing a 6.0 or 7.3 that didnt need a rear main seal.... Mine has needed one for over 100,000 miles now...

 

What kinda price did u have to pay?

mine only drips a qt per oil change so not too bad

 

I don't pay anybody to do anything to my vehicles if I can do it myself. The seal was almost $25, but I got the Fel-Pro teflon seal that's far superior to the OEM rubber piece.
I've got around 20K miles on it sicne the change, and no leaks.
JL

 

Did ya just unbolt the oil pan and replace the gasket? Or was it more complicated?
I do normal maintanence on my vehicle and if it was just replacing the seal I could def get under there and give it a go, teflon one sounds nice.

 

It's not the oil pan. It's the rear main seal on the crankshaft.
Pull the transmission out.
Pull the flywheel/flexplate.
Pull the rear seal plate.
Remove old main seal.
Replace with new main seal.
Put everything back.
It's a good day's labor by yourself, and is a good time to service the trans since you'll need to drain the pan on the trans to keep from making a helluva mess with trans fluid.

More info on the job in this thread:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...placement.html
JL

 

Are you sure its your rear main ? I have never seen a 7.3 that had a bad rear main seal. Its actually a great design. Many have oil leaks in the valley of the engine. There is a "V" shape on the rear right side of the valley designed to drain whatever fluids gets in the valley. It will leak down the rear of the engine and It will look just like a rear main seal.
Clean out the valley with simple green or such, and put some miles on her and look back in there, you may find the leak.
I may be wrong, but its a very common misconception.
sorry for the