Well guys, you were right, they have determined it is the bedplate leaking . They are supposed to start the open heart surgery today and repair. I told them I also wanted the thermostat checked and replaced if defective (they probably will replace). They gave me a loaner car and stated it would probably be next week sometime before the truck is ready for pickup. I hope I've got a good tech working on it .

 

So oil was on the bell housing? How bad was the leak?

 

Not bad at all. I've been noticing an oil coating on the bell housing/transmission for awhile. Not really enough to leak on the garage floor, just a coating. I don't use the truck a lot, only for pulling my fifth wheel camper so when it's used it gets worked pretty well when it's not it's sitting in the garage. The last three times I pulled (about 600 miles each trip) I cleaned the oil off the bell housing before leaving on my trips. Each time I got back, oil would be back coating the housing. The last time it seemed to get a little worse with an actual drip forming. Still didn't drip to the floor but then decided to get it checked after reading about the bed plate problems with '08 6.4s in the forum. The dealer dye tested and found out that the bed plate was leaking, so now the truck is in the shop getting cracked open, almost like open heart surgery .

 

Man this is what worries me. I also have a front electric locker (wired to upfitter switch) and on board air system and figure all that wiring will be screwed up as well.

 

I too have an air spring system on my '08, Firestone Ride-Rite (complete system). I have the same Air-Lift 5000 installed on my '97 F250HD 7.3 4X4 as you have. Both systems work great when towing heavy loads (this is a different topic for another thread). I will let you know when I get my truck back how bad they screwed up the air spring compressor system. Probably will have to be re-tubed if my luck holds true.

 

This makes me think if I ever install bags, onboard air, or anything else that gets wired, it would be a good idea to install quick disconnects where needed for a cab off scenario. Thanks

 

when my high press turbo was replaced they did a cab off. I have airbags and the banks programmer on the truck.

They got it all right. I showed them everything and they hooked it all back up correctly.

 

Trying to make it easier on me not them.

 

Well, my truck has been gone now for three weeks getting the bed plate leak sealed. My local dealer's only certified ford diesel tech quit when my truck came in. I live in rural southeastern Tennessee and I assume my local dealer only had one diesel tech qualified to do the work. The dealer loaded up my truck and took it to a Chattanooga, TN Ford dealer and now I haven't heard from it since. Who knows they may have sold it since it was a low mileage truck, may never get it back. The only good thing in this mess is my local dealer gave me a loaner car to drive, 2012 Chrysler 200, so the rest of my autos are getting a rest, just racking up the miles on the loaner. But, my worry now is who do I go to if I have a problem when I get it back? My local dealer states they will take care of everything (they wrote it up), but they didn't do the work. This is going to be a mess, I just hope the truck is right whenever I get it back.