I have seen a drop or two a few times over the last month on the ground and didnt think too much of it as my oil filter was loose two months ago and leaked a bit before I saw it and tightened it up. Since then the filter has had no leaking around it and I figured that the drops I saw was just residual oil heating up and running down. That was until we took a trip this weekend and I woke up to this in front of the truck the next morning(it was dark when we pulled in).



Leak leak is dripping down from the Torque Converter and so is right in the middle of the truck. The leaks are after backing into the driveway and in the second picture they are under the driver's side because I backed in pulled forward and backed in again...

I sprayed the excess fluid off the area with brake cleaner and from what I can tell it is coming down from up higher on the engine and traveling down to the TC and then dripping from there.

I need some help or at least some ideas of what to look at. Oh and its snowing today after being 60 the last 3 days, awesome....haha

 

i think that is the oil rail plug the oring can go bad and it will leak. i think orings.com has them. others will chime in soon.

 

so I have been doing some reading on fte this morning and I have seen a lot about the HPOP rear plug and o-ring failure. I climbed into the engine bay just a minute ago and there is what used to be a mouse nest in the valley so it is hard to say how much oil is sitting there. The HPOP seemed pretty clean both at the hose connections and the rear plug. there is quiet a bit of residue around where the spider connects to the block and the only place I can clearly see leaking is from the ground underneath the engine looking up along the driver's side up pipe. From there the leak travels down both sides of the (im not sure so i'll say tranny, right behind the oil pan) and drips from the TC.

Just before parking the truck the night before I found the leak on the driveway, after the 250 mi trip, we had to go up a very steep hill before getting to the destination's street. I am thinking there was a build up on the valley from a long period and it flooded down during the step hill ascent?

Matt, i read that the oil rail plug does sometimes leak but it is rare and also very hard to fix with the engine in the truck?

 

The best thing to do is to get some Simple Green, spray it all over the engine and lightly spray it off with a garden hose on low pressure. (Cover the alt and the PS cap before doing this). Once it's real clean and all the oil residue/oil puddles are gone, take it for a drive and look again for seeping or fresh oil. That would help pinpoint where it's leaking. It can be the HPOP area, or the turbo o-rings on the pedestal as well.

 

I think this is what I will end up doing, but there is soo much in there I think I am going to pull the IC tubes and spider so I can get the rest of the nest out of the valley and put in the plenum inserts and HPx in during cleaning then put it back together and see whats happening.

Like I said im not sure is the rear HPOP plug which is well documented on here. So besides that does anyone have recommendations on where to look with maybe a diagram? This will be the first time im really diving into the engine...

 

Matt, would the turbo orings on the pedestal be directly under the turbo where it bolts on? Should i just start replacing orings? i don't want to have to take everything back apart two or three times....

 

also, is there anything I need to replace to take the spider out and the re-install, like or rings or seals or anything like i would if i pull the turbo?

 

Well I just ordered front pads and rotors, plenum inserts and boots, and a HPx from Clay. I'm gonna pull the IC pipes and the spider clean everything and spray it down with simple green install the goodies and wait for the leak from there. might as well pull the VC and torque the rocker arm and hold down bolts and do the .50 mod while I'm there. I'm hoping I'll see something in the process of doing all this. Any things to look at or look for while doing this?

Also, are you guys just using simple green or are you buying it concentrated and spraying that on?

 

Are you 100% sure that that is Oil and not Diesel fuel? this weeked I over hauled my Fuel Bowl as the o-rings were leaking a the water drain valve and the fuel heater connvection. In taking the old rubber sleeves off of the fuel rail lines, I could see that they were breaking down. The drivers side fuel line goes under the bowl from the Pass. side and to the front on the valley side. The passenger fuel line goes from the pass. side of the bowl down the valley and ends up in the back of the Heads by the fire wall on the Pass. side. This is where you may have a fuel leak from the rubber sleeve inside the connection coming apart.

I bought the rebuild kit and the two rubber sleeves for the heads from Bob. Replacement O-rings for Ford Diesel Engines

Give him a call as I sure he has seen a lot of these leaks, Diesel or oil.

 

well the spots on the ground were black, but that could be attributed to all the soot and grime in the engine bay/valley. When i looked this morning, what i could see around the trans was a light brown color. I guess it will become more apparent when i clean everything up. do you have a diagram of where your leak was coming from and would it be visible without taking that area apart?

 

My leak (s) were coming from the fuel bowl, not the head fuel rail in the back by the fire wall. . In the back of the bowl is the water drain (left when standing in front of truck) and the electric connection for the fuel heater/water in bowl sensor (right when standing in the front of truck) leaked passed the o-rings. The water drain has a short rubber hose that let a small amount of fuel leak out the edge by the fuel bowl and down into the valley. the valley looked fairly oily, but it was fuel mixed with the junk of the engine. there is a drain hole at the back of the engine valley somewhere and it may be on the pass. side , not 100% sure. I would not take the spider off untill you look directly at the back of the fuel bowl to make sure that there is no leaks there. I just wanted to point out that the pass. fuel line comes into the head by the pass. Fire wall. When you are up on top oof the engine you can look through the turbo hoses in the 10:00-10:30 area and see it. Not easy to get to. Bob said the easiest way was to take the spider off. If you go that far in taking the Spider off anyway, i would suggest overhauling the fuelbowl and replacing the right and left rubber sleeve that goes into the fuel rail heads. 26.00$ for all of your o-rings and rubber sleeves from Bob.

Bob has step by step directions for the overhaul that my 16 year old can follow.
Two thumbs up.

 

are you referring to the fuel drain valve rebuild on his site?

 

The fuel bowl rebuilt kit, which includes the drain valve o=rings.

Welcome to guzzle's Powerstroke Fuel Bowl Rebuild Web Page

 

Yes, the concentrated gallon of Simple Green is the best - found it at Sam's Club. I load up a spray bottle, don't mix it with water and go to town. If you cannot get the concentrated type, the premix is still pretty good.

 

Speaking of Simple Green. I was at my local Lowe's store (Milwaukie Oregon) and they had the concentrate in gallon jugs for 9.99 ea. Dont know if it was a specific store special or what but I picked up 4 gallons. I use this stuff for everything.