I would consider taking the truck to a good Ford dealership and let them know what is up. Having a professional mechanic diagnose and document the problem should help you re-coupe the other mechanics charges. If you diy it would probably be harder to get your money back. If the front cover got damaged you are probably looking at about 3k for pulling the engine and replacing the cover.

 

what cover is this? Because we replaced a cover already when the new lpop was installed but that was far from 3k.

 

You crack me up..Good luck.......Pull the beans out of your ears.....

 

Haha my bad I got ya now.

 

The front cover that Grant is talking about is the large cast aluminum piece that covers the front of the engine, what we call the timing chain cover on gas engines (the 7.3 has gear drive vs a chain drive but you get the idea...). The water pump bolts to the front cover as well as the outer LPOP gear. The inner LPOP gear slides over the crank snout. There is another housing just for the LPOP gear set. This outer housing is what your mechanic replaced the first time. Question is why, because the LPOP gear set cover is re-usable.....so at this point we can only assume he damaged it while attempting to remove it originally.

For reasons unknown to me, the OEM replacement LPOP gear set is uni-directional so it has to be oriented one way. The original gear set or the Melling units aren't that way. I would imagine if the replacement inner gear was installed backwards, then the gear would be smashed between the harmonic balancer and front cover. The mechanic would likely hear a strange noise once he attempted to start the engine or perhaps the engine started and there was some unexplained grinding noise. Either it went away once the cover was clearanced or he might have got back in there, flipped the gear around and gave you back your truck.

Of course all this is just speculation at this point. Even if you pull the LPOP, the gear may be oriented correctly but that doesn't mean it wasn't messed up on the first try. You would have to inspect the front cover (unbolt the outer LPOP and see if there is any evidence of damage to the cover. Replacing the front cover is a big task that requires pulling the engine. Reason is the oil pickup tube is bolted to the back of the cover with two bolts and also to the #4 main bearing cap, so the engine has to come out to change the front cover. Probably one of the few items that was designed poorly on this engine. If I ever found myself in this situation (where a LPOP damaged the front cover, I would look at options for fitting a thrust washer or something that would help keep oil pressure within spec. Not sure if that is even possible though....I really don't know enough about what is down there. I will attach some pages from the technical training manual that helps explain this more clearly.

Honestly, I am on the fence about the LPOP being backwards. The word "damper" is clearly visible on the gear and any mechanic should notice it. There probably is some insert or paper in the package that draws notice to this as well. Just seems like an important thing to overlook, especially for someone who makes a living repairing vehicles.

I'm stuck on the HPOP reservoir draining issue. Even a bad LPOP won't allow the reservoir to drain, not that I am aware of anyway...
The shiny metal bits 'could' be brass and if so then we are looking at the HPOP instead. I really like Neal's idea about the rag and solvent to isolate the metal particles from the waste oil. If the bits are magnetic then we should take a closer look at the HPOP and make sure it's installed correctly. If the bits are brass then replace the HPOP. If they look like aluminum then maybe the LPOP has damaged the cover.

A used oil analysis is REALLY good money spent right about now. Most major cities have oil sample labs. They are commonly located where major aircraft are serviced such as airports etc. There might be one in your area who will rush it through for a small fee.

 

Hey guys I just got to the truck to start working on it. I pulled the dipstick to get metal shavings and the level was way over full again. So I checked the hpop oil level and NONE in the reservoir.

 

I think you guys are on to it with the LPOP install being faulty! I would get it to a ford dealer and Get a diagnosis on paper and have your attorney deliver it to that shop and wait for the check for the reman engine!

 

I just remembered that Jody (of DP-Tuner fame) mentioned that he ran across a 7.3l which had the HPOP worked on (as yours had) which had a check ball missing from the HPOP and it would drain back into the crankcase. I mention this because Lurch (your former "mechanic") worked on the LPOP and HPOP...

I just found the thread:

 

But...a possible faulty LPOP does not explain an empty HPOP overnight...there is a problem on the high side somewhere. You have way more faith in your ford dealer than I have in mine Jim, BTW.

 

Here is a link to HPOP diagnostics... and this remark in another forum (emphasis mine):

Quote:
Originally Posted by jdexcursion

Thanks for that info. I really need a breakdown showing where the different parts are. What happened is when I first removed my hpop I was checking all the plugs to see if they were tight because I had a leak. Well on of them wasn't tight and felt stripped so I removed it to inspect the threads, it was the bottom drivers side plug that has a rod made on the inside of it. Well when I removed it I think that a little ball bearing that is brass fell out into the ipr area. When I removed my ipr there was this ball bearing sitting inside the pump. So I don't know if the ball bearing goes into the end of the ipr or back at the end of the plug with the rod. I hope someone knows what I'm talking about.

Look through the IPR hole you will see a little hole machined out for it, the rod goes in from the bottom so it will not fall out of that hole...it blocks the bleed hole on the front of the pump kind of a check ball if you will.....

drop it through the ipr side into that hole, insert rod from bottom, then plug...then install IPR....clear as mud?

On edit good thing you saw that truck wont make pressure without it, would be scratching your head why the truck dont start after reinstall...lol

 

Ok we pulled the lpop and it was installed right. Damper mark towards front of truck. However the cover is grooved in some areas. Is this right ?

 

And the cover was replaced also when lpop was installed.

 

I just got a PM from forum member Duck Fan (he wrote the primer on the Melling LPOP replacement) and he stated:

There are 2 what I would descrbe as "pockets" on the inside of the housing. More than anything, he needs to make sure there are no grooves in the front cover. Hope that helps.

 

Maybe this will help you. Maybe not. I fought with some similar issues, hopefully I can help.



Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNI_y08WBhI&feature=youtube_gdata_player


Sent from my iPhone

 

Yes I do have an excellent diesel department close by here at SAN TAN Ford, but I was referring mainly for him to get a quote for repairs to be able to go back on Lurch's shop for cost of repairs! As this could get expensive with loose metal in the sump!