I own a 2000 Excursion and over the past 6 months it has started leaking oil. It's been getting worse and the wife is having a fit so I thought I'd check into it. Last year I changed the rings in the fuel bowl so I know it's not connected to it.

Yesterday I thoroughly cleaned out the engine bay and especially the engine valley. Got up all of the oil and debris and as of this morning everything was nice and dry. I thought for sure I would be able to see what is leaking.
After I took the kids to school, I came home, lifted the hood and found oil in the valley. Fortunately, ( I think), the oil was at the front of the valley and not at the back under the turbo. Actually, the first two little divots in the manifold had oil pooled up in them. What I could not see was a trace of oil from anywhere.
I checked the HPOP outlet fittings, the oil lines themselves, the "non-serviceable" plug underneath, the plug at the rear of the pump, and even the snap ring area at the back of the pump was dry. What I'm wondering is could this be leaking from the gasket where the pump bolts to the front engine cover?
There's no leaks around the valve covers so this is the only place that I can think of where oil might be coming out but yet not be able to be seen. Also, the reservoir seems to be dry where it attaches to the front cover as well.
My question is I guess, or questions are: Should I replace the rings and both plugs since I'm going to have to remove the pump to replace that gasket (if it is that gasket), and is there anything else I should try to diagnose this before hand?
Any help with this would sure be appreciated as I hate flying blind into this. Thanks!
Dave

 

Are you 100% sure that it is oil and not fuel? Down in the valley and mix up, both do 'look' the same. clean it out and find out for sure. If you overhauled the fuel bowl, you might want to check and make sure that the bolts holding the drain valve are nice and tight. Fuel will leak into the rubber (pull off) hose and not go down the tube but 'around' it. and dribble into the valley.

Why is the wife upset? does she keep your engine clean or is it dripping on her clean garage floor?

It sounds like a very slow leak that should be easy to find.

 

No, its definately oil. I wish it wasn't. Yeah, the oil is building up on the driveway and the wife isn't happy. Me, its a diesel, its supposed to leak. But, it seems to be getting worse. Everything on the pump is extremely clean. No visible signs of oil anywhere. Plus, the oil needs changed so it's pitch black. I thought it would be easy to see where it's coming from but no such luck. That's why I'm curious whether or not it could be the gasket where the pump mounts to the front engine. I'm also assuming that the oil leak is coming out from under the pump but I don't see any fathomable way of determing that without removing it. Would this be the right way to go? Thanks in advance. Dave

 

Brother Les, you were right. I feel like an ****! I went out this morning and dabbed a white napkin into the valley and it came out clear and wet. Sorry about the over confidence of it being oil.. I will now go back and start checking all I can with the fuel bowl. At least I don't have to pull out the oil pump Was not looking forward to that. If I get stumped, I'll start another thread. Thanks
Dave

 

inspectt he pass side fuel rail. Its clamped halfway back under the valve cover. The rail rubs againstthe clamp wearing a hole, after awhile.

 

that one is easy to diagnose....it comes out pretty fast! mine made quite the cloud of mist

 

Dave,
you said that the oil/fuel was in the first two 'divits' in the valley, but you are getting 'oil' in the drive way. If you have found out that it is fuel then look under the truck at where the 'fuel drain' tube is coming out (front passenger side, close to behind the fan area). Is that tube end 'wet'. That is where you are loosing you fuel from the drain valve. Have you overhauled the bowl? You said that you 'changed the rings in the fuel bowl', but what does that mean. full overhaul or just the drain valve? the rubber gaskets/tubes that are between the fuel bowl and the fuel lines willalso wear out and cause a leak (high pressure), these should be replaced.

Welcome to guzzle's Powerstroke Fuel Bowl Rebuild Web Page


as for feeling bad.... I am not there and am just throwing a suggestion out there. We are glad that you posted that you narrowed down the problem a little more, so now we can all go from there and focus on getting this repaired and making the wife happy.... What will really make her happy is tell her that a d/Stealer would have charged you 800.00 to fix it and you will be able to fix the driveway problem for less than 50.00. (20.00 for parts and 30.00 for beer)

 

Since you say you replaced the rings last year, you might want to also check the Fuel Pressure Relief Valve (FPR) housing. It has a really bad tendency to crack under very little pressure from the compression sleeve. When you take the off the sleeve check for cracks anywhere around the threads, but also look down inside the FPR.

I had what your describing when I installed an Adrenaline HPOP which necessitated the removal and re-installation of the fuel bowl. Mine had a hairline crack midway back on the inside which ran almost parallel with the outside threads. When the truck was off or at idle, the outside of the FPR felt only slightly damp. But after driving it I'd find fuel in the valley and sometimes a drip path marking my journey around the neighborhood. At the time I just thought it might be seepage from the cap's gasket and/or it the leak was getting thrown up on the FPR by the wind, So I kept overlooking the FPR as the source of the drip. Even though I knew it was delicate I still wound up cracking the replacement FPR, just an 1/8 of a turn to snug it overdid it.