I'm new to the site and I recently got my grandfathers 1974 ford f250 high boy that he purchased in 1974. It's a pretty nice truck for the year, but its been sitting for a while and i'm trying to fix a bunch of little stuff on it from sitting for so long. Anyways I know im leaking oil from the rear main, but im also leaking oil on my headers. its smoking a lot and i really need to fix it. any suggestions? thanks, corey

 

replace the head gasket, also you will want to flush your coolant and make sure that no water is in the oil dont drive or run it till you identify that for sure

 

Can you see where the oil is coming from? It's more likely that the oil is coming from a valve cover gasket than a head gasket, but not impossible either.

 

good point, I just assumed this was obvious

 

I had that same leaking problem before on a header from the passenger side valve cover. That oil stinks when in comes in contact with a hot header.

OJ

 

most likely valve cover gaskets.. i just replaced mine not to long ago and noticed that it leaks a little bit.. so now iam gunna do a think layer of silicone on it! lol

 

thanks guys. ya i replaced the valve cover gaskets not too long ago and i didnt leak before i did that so maybe i did it wrong. I just pulled the covers and put the new gaskets on and without silicone. maybe there is something i need to keep in mind when i do it?

 

clean the gasket surface and then torq them 25lbs or so you shouldn't need RTV etc

 

ok, ya i just did them a little tighter then hand tight. thanks for the info. i really appreciate it guys. its hard to go from fuel injected trucks to a truck with a carburetor thats older than anything ive ever owned.

 

Rear of the intake manifold can provide some pretty good oil leaks as well.......check for pooled up oil in that area. Valve covers are the usual culprits, a lot more times than a rear main seal.