I just bought a 2003 7.3 F250 and when I got home I raised the hood to show a friend the motor and I noticed a little smoke coming from under the air filter tube going to the turbo. Upon closer inspection I found lots of old grime, oil dirt and what have you! Is there a valve or line that could be leaking causing dirt to hole up in that area? Maybe I should have looked a little closer before I signed the bottom line?

 

May i suggest you remove the air tubing, and inspect the compressor wheel, inside the turbo assy. Inline with the tube, you should see a green tube, plugged into the air tubing, on the side. Also, depending if the PO did the CCV mod, (inspect the hydroboost area), if theres a 3/4in heater hose running over the booster, then its possible, PO didnt plug the hole on the bottom of the air tube connector assy...

Welcome to guzzle's CCV mod web page

 

Since we use a lot of abbreviations, I listed the ones in this thread for you since youre new
PO - Previous Owner
CCV - Crank Case Ventilation (located on top of the motor, on the drivers side near the master cylinder)
CAC - Cold Air Changer; Also, Intercooler.

 

Congrats on your purchase. Grease, grime, dirt, and an oily gunk film is normal. Now that's you've found FTE, you can understand why that happens and know what to do to fix it.

If you still have the factory air intake, the first thing to do is make sure there are no leaks at the lid to the air filter. That lid doesn't seal well and if dirt starts getting past the filter, bad things can happen. Check the tube between the filter and the turbo for any cracks or openings near where you saw the smoke for the same reason.

Next, keep a pressure washer or car wash wand away from your engine. If you want to clean it up, try some simple green and low pressure water from a garden hose. Snug down the hose clamps on the 6 rubber boots around the big silver pipes (CAC tubes) on the engine. You'll find 2 orange ones, 2 blue ones, and 2 black ones after you clean the sludge off the motor. Loose boots, especially the orange one on the passenger side, can contribute to the oily sludge you're complaining about.