last two mornings its dropped down to 20 degrees. (not very common). Both cold starts (yesterday and today) the truck has had a constant drip of fuel coming from somewhere that i cant see from looking down on the engine. once i drive it and it warms up or when i start it above freezing temps there is no sign of a leak? why would it only leak when its really cold out? and from where?

 

Where are you seeing the drips on the ground?

Everything shrinks when it gets cold.

 

Drips run down the tranny and on the exaust and the starter? I was on hill the other day and was on my axle

 

That is probably coming out of the valley pan drain.

Two places come to mind.

First place, wipe out the area under the IP neck, than put a clean cloth in there and start the engine.

There is a drain in the bottom of the IP neck that lets any fuel leaking out of the IP drain out before it makes it to the timing gears.

Teh front seals n the IP may be where it is coming from.

The other place would be the return line tees on each injector.

 

Ok id go try it but again it only leaks when really cold

 

I had this same problem the last two days (same cold spell in WA). It does appear to be coming from IP on mine, though I have not confirmed. It was not quite as bad this morning since it wasn't quite as cold. Any chance it just needs tightening, or do I need to replace seals (or pump)? Should I be worried about fire risk in the meantime?

 

over tightening fuel lines to try and combat fuel leaks,results in cross threaded fuel lines that need to be replaced along with seals lol.
best bet is to replace the seals and keep the torque factory.

 

If the fuel is coming out of the weep hole under the IP neck, time for a new IP.
The internal shaft seals are going.

 

check the line from the filter to the middle input line on the back side of the ip. it is 5/8" like all the other fuel nuts and sometimes just wiggles loose, i had a similar problem and it leaked down the valley pan onto the bell housing, big mess but simple fix.

 

Valley pan is clean as can be. No sign of diesel at all under ip. I'm thinking return lines at the back of the motor, ip is the original so still may not be bad idea to replace

 

I also have fuel leaking directly down the back of my 92 7.3. Dripping out the drain on the back of the engine. Definitely diesel. Where is the Injector Pump located? Would it leak down the passenger side of the engine and leak out the small drain on the back of the inspection plate? Thanks

 

My engine is also leaking when it is cold, and makes for hard starting. The valley pan is soaked with diesel, but I can't seem to tell where the leak is coming from. Once the enignes warms up, the dripping stops and the engine runs and starts OK. The return lines are not leaking, and have been replaced recently. Reading the various comments, it sort of points the finger to the IP. Are any of the IP seals replaceable or does it call for replacing the pump?

Thanks, your comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Norman C