Hello all. I have a 2002 F350 with 7.3L diesel. Purchased used at 160K, it now has 186K miles on it. I brought it to a local diesel mechanic for basic OLF, but asked them to do a bumper to bumper inspection of items and give me a master list of in need of maintenance / repair. Specifically asked them to look for sources of fluid leak(s). Since it was used, I honestly don't know how long it's been since some of the fluids have been changed... I was assuming they would need to be changed even before "the list" was given to me by the mechanic.

My questions for you. Please take a look at the list below, and provide comments. Are prices reasonable, etc. I'll pose a few more questions after the list.

Leak related items (labor $'s & material $'s)
1) ICP sensor has oil in plug: $93L & $273M
2) Y pipe assy leaking: $419L & no materials
3) Intake manifolds leaking, r/h fuel return pipe: $233L & $79M
4) Turbo compressor wheel damaged-replace & recondition turbo: $313L & $530 M
5) Remove / replace oil injection pump: $282L & $824M


General Maintenance Items:
1) Air filter: $37M only
2) battery cable service: $46L only
3) brake fluid flush (critical): $96L & $72M
4) transmission flush & new filter kit (dark fluid): $$139L & $240M
5) Front differential service (dark fluid): $74L & $55M
6) Transfer case service (very dark): $37L & $35M
7) Rear diff fluid very dark & has metal in it: $75L & $56M
8) All coolant hoses due: $125L & $103M
9) Riser pipes leak: $373L & $297M
10) power steering fluid low (flush): $74L & $61M
11) coolant flush: $93L & $89M

Ok... some questions:

Are any of the leak related items critical, or just a nuisance?...ie. ICP sensor oil in plug, will it lead to other adverse characteristics, etc? How could they detect a damaged turbo wheel on a quick inspection? The $531 for materials on the turbo is for a new compressor wheel, and a refurbishing of the turbo. Any thoughts on a need for a new turbo versus a refurbishing of my existing one? How does one know when the oil injection pump needs replacing? If I need to prioritize this list, which items would you deem highest priority?

Regarding the general maintenance items: Most of these seem pretty straight forward. Guess my only question is do the prices seem fair? Being a diesel specialty shop I brought it to, are these in line with what you may see elsewhere. What do they look for when they say the riser pipes leak? (I'm assuming they are not leaking fluid as they are not in the "Leak related items" section... if so what do they mean by leaking... leaking exhaust? When do they really need to be replaced? What to look for?

I do love my 7.3L... even with repairs, it is still MUCH less expensive than buying a new truck. In a way, I was actually expecting a fairly long repair list... probably the norm when buying used.

Pickup is used for heavy hauling of our pickup camper and our average sized boat & trailer.

Feel free to provide any thoughts you may have regarding money saving tips, things that may catch your eye, etc.

Thanks in advance.

 

How do you feel about getting your hands dirty? You probably don't need to do the injection pump change. That's often misdiagnosed and replaced for no reason. If it needed to be replaced, you'd be here asking about why your truck won't run right or won't run at all.

The rest of the stuff you could do yourself for less than $1000 with a little advice from us. If you don't want to do anything yourself, start with the air filter, tranny flush, and then work your way through the rest of the fluids. Take care of those first.

If you want instructions on how to change or fix anything, that's what FTE is for. Good luck.

 

See some insight in Red but if you don't wish to do it yourself prices do seem reasonable in the "real" world where people have to pay to have things done.

 

Were do you live? I see your name is SpokaneJim. If you live in the Spokane, Wa. area, there is a shop that can be contacted and is honest! Most of the stuff listed is something that can be done at home like the others have said. As a matter of fact, just about everything could be done in a weekend.

Seems like the went through the truck and might have been looking at it like a cash cow.

 

Thanks for the replies.

I don't mind getting my hands dirty, however that time is currently taken up by building our own home. That along with two very new kiddos in the family, and most auto maintenance needs to be paid for versus self done... things like the air filter and ICP sensor of course could easily be done at home still.

Since I asked for a quick inspection, when looking for leaks, the engine was not cleaned, or dye tested to find specific leak locations. Thus I could see how the very dirty engine could be diagnosed as having many leaks. Not blaming the mechanic... in reality I don't suspect anything too suspicious from them yet.

The oil injection pump seems to be a leading candidate for the cut list. The truck is indeed running VERY well. Anyone care to elaborate about what to look for if it does need replacing, or why it is often "misdiagnosed" often? Again, since they were looking for leaks, is it possible that it may need to be removed, and reseated or something similar if it were leaking... is it possible the pump itself is leaking? I guess I'll ask the mechanic to elaborate on his diagnosis / ask him to if just replacing the gasket mounting it to the engine may be the problem if is is leaking in the area. Eliminating this item alone would cut a huge portion of the cost from list.

Re. the turbo compressor: I'll ask the mechanic what he means by the wheel being damaged & also ask if he looked at the filter box which I don't think was on the list. Anyone know of any links where I could learn how to rebuild one myself including what "dusted" means?

I'll also ask about the possibllity of oil mist from the crank case vent onto the Y pipe assembly. If the case, doesn't mean there would be a perpetual leak / oil drip from engine, even if everything is normal?

Anyone care to give me a leak detection tutorial? How would I clean the engine & then do a better self inspection? What do they mean they talk of a dye test as another mechanic in town told me?

Thanks again for the input.

 

The HPOP(High Pressure Oil Pump) has a few places they can leak. There is even an "Unserviceable Plug" that can be serviced. These are all Orings that can be replaced and there is a "Serviceable plug" replacement available. Here's the parts Riffraff Diesel Performance Parts: - HPOP Parts/ O-rings

Here's the write-ups http://www.dieselorings.com/docs/service_plug.pdf http://www.dieselorings.com/docs/fullHPOP.pdf

Dusted means that the turbo was sucking dirt/dust from a leaking filter box, pretty common for them to be broken or not sealing correctly. Since it runs well you are probably fine, but you could do a quick check for blowby by flipping the oil fill cap over with the engine running it should sit atop it and not blow or lift off. For the turbo rebuild Here's the parts Riffraff Diesel: Garrett GTP38 Journal Bearing Rebuild Kit and the wheel Riffraff Diesel: Garrett GTP38 Compressor Wheel 99.5-03 and the write-up Welcome to BDrummonds Van Turbo Rebuild Web Page

As for the filter box replacement many go with a 6637 filter aka Tymar it is a cheap solution to the box and offers great filtration Riffraff Diesel: RDP 6637 Filter Kit some think it is too loud though, and there are more expensive options out there.

Basically the CCV(CrankCaseVent) if vented into the turbo intake tube, thus always pulling an oily mist into the Charge pipes. Some modify it with a CCV mod to eliminate it, The international version uses a draft pipe to atmosphere, but some think it stinks and don't like the smoke. I am stock and I keep the engine pretty clean and don't notice a big issue with leaks. Riffraff Diesel: RDP CCV Kit

Use simple green and low pressure water to clean especially the valley since that is where most leaks will occur then you can monitor leak progression. Common places would be the HPOP fittings at the pump and lines, turbo pedestal(what the turbo mounts to) and EBPV(Exhaust Back Pressure Valve) located inside of the turbo pedestal.

 

I'm in a similar position as you (two kids means - not much time to work on the truck). I'll defer to others on the rest of your to-do list, but I've spent a lot of time on this forum researching leaking up pipes/risers and I'm about to do this repair myself.

If you search "up pipes" you will find lots of threads discussing how they are very prone to leaking and rob you of boost which translates to lower milage and poor horsepower. I'm not sure what the mechanic is offering to do in terms of repair - but the preferred option seems to be a new set of up pipes that eliminate a flaw in the original Ford design (the donut gasket that seals the stock up pipes fails). The bellowed up pipes alone are about $430, so the estimate below is probably just to replace the leak prone donut gaskets. $297 for materials seems way too high for just replacing the gasket and too low for bellowed pipes. The labor estimate for that job might be right since everybody says its a full-day job.
Norm