Hope someone can help. I have a 01 superduty 4x4 7.3 with 200k on the engine. It has had a oil leak since I bought it with 175k a year ago. i thought there were 2 leaks 1 from the rear main seal and the other from the passenger side valve cover. I was waiting to fix them when the trans needed some work and I replaced some glow plugs. .
While in ABQ NM for the Balloon Fiesta I had my chance to fix one leak (the major one I thought). The trans gave out going up a hill. I had it rebuilt and asked the shop to address the leak. They put a new seal in and things seemed to be fine until I got some where in Tx on our way back to NC. and noticed oil dripping from the inspection cover again.
At home I got it up on a lift. It seems that the inspection cover gets filled with oil and then drips out. Also there is a trail of oil from above going down to the cover. I had a few shops tell me that they had other customers with similar leaks and they changed the rear main seals twice without fixing the leak. A shop told me they thought it was coming from the pan gasket. If thats the case, oil is cheaper then pulling the engine to replace the gasket. I didn't think that the valve gasket could leak that much.
Has anyone had this situation before. Any suggestions or help.

 

There are multitudes of locations that can be leaking and it appear to be the rear main seal. That is due to the fact that oit can puddle in the valley of the engine (the area under the turbo for example) and it typically drains through an opening near the rear portion of the engine, thus appearing where one would think rear main seal. My first suggestion would be to clean the engine, simple green is recommended alot on here. Then, pay close attention on the top of the engine. There are oil pressure lines that might be leaking all the way to o-rings. Anyway, just my thoughts. Oh, and yes, the oil pan can be an issue. Look and see if it appears to have rust on the exterior of the pan. I don't typically see leaks at the pan gasket or valve cover gaskets, but wouldn't rule it out.

 

The oil is probably the EBPV actuator leaking. The rear main seals almost never leak on the 7.3. The oil is coming from up top and draining through drain holes in the back of the motor. Usually it is almost never a RMS but, gravity and oil spots can be very deceiving.

 

Thanks for the reply. Could you spell out EBPV for a newbe.

 

Thanks for the reply. This truck is my first experience with a ford 7.3 D. I am trying to learn from the members. I know these things almost always happen to others too. Its awful hard to tell where it is coming from. I am hoping its not the pan gasket I really don't think so and I don't see any rust. With the oil leaking there is no rust anywhere lol. I can tell there is a leak from above somewhere just can't see where.. I will keep looking and post the results.

 

Exhaust Back Pressure Valve actuator. Its a fairly common place for these motors to leak. Usually the oil comes from a few places, EBPV actuator, Non serviceable HPOP plug, HPOP gasket and the list goes on. Clean out the valley really well and let the truck run and keep an eye out. Sometimes using a small mirror will help when looking for leaks.

 

Thanks for the information Jack