Hi guys, I'm used to being over in the IDI section where I have a pretty mildly built 6.9 but my father has a 1999 7.3L with an Edge Evolution, and 4in turbo back exhaust and other than "stock". Its hard to tell what is actually done to the truck because when he bought it they told him it was all stock. However, it was already threaded for the egt probe, had a ts6 hole in the dash next to the steering wheel and holes in the pillar for gauges. The truck has been through 3 4r100's all with shift kits in 30,000 and two years. Its fairly quick for only a 100hp tune. Now the problem, it started to leak oil pretty bad this past weekend and he wants to take it to the Ford Stealership, but I am very mechanically inclined and I feel like I could fix this problem for parts only. So I need some input before I tear into the truck this weekend, the valley pan is full of oil to the point where when the truck gets pulling into the garage after a 15 minute drive it is leaving a large puddle on the ground from running down the back of the block. The back of the HPOP is dry(I checked that plug) and the turbo appears to be dry, but I couldn't get that good of a look at the EBPV rod. The truck has dripped for a long time, but very slowly. The intakes appear to be covered in oil, and everything else looks dry, the truck still runs just fine. So where should I look? My IDI leaks oil from the factory so this is not new to me, but sure seems to be an issue. Thanks in advance guys for any help!

 

Read through these, it'll give you some starting points. Basically turbo pedastal o-rings, HPOP line o-rings, possible passenger side fuel line at hold down clip towards the rear of valley. Clean the valley, let dry, place clean white rags in the valley, you'll find it.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...in-valley.html
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...on-valley.html

 

I'm not much help for the oil leak, but three transmissions in 30k miles? Get that Edge out of that truck pronto! Do yourself a favor, and get a John Wood Valve body, or BTS valve body for the latest rebuild. Good luck with the leaky oil!

 

Here's a short but good read with a picture of one of the plugs on the HPOP
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...fferently.html

and a thread with instructions for the "non Servicable" plug that is servicable

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...your-hpop.html

Could be the IPR and there is a PDF in this thread for removal and rebuild of the IPR

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...clean-ipr.html


Do like Brandon said and get it cleaned up real good then put clean rags in the valley. A mirror on a stick can be handy here.

 

Yes, its had $7500 of transmission rebuilds before we took it to Ford to have a new one put in, they told us that since the truck is an early '99 it has a different style of TC than a late '99. It would burn up a torque converter and then trash the rest of the tranny, this early '99 also never had a transmission temp sensor so no codes or flashing OD light. Something isn't right with the truck and we've been told its a "mut" because of the switch that year. Who knows.

 

The truck is not leaking anywhere near the HPOP, I did clean it up this past weekend and the oil was coming from the back of the block, how much oil comes out of the EBPV valve when it starts to leak? Turbo is dry and new so it is ruled out too.

 

The pedestal that the turbo sits on has 2 orings underneath were it bolts to the block and 2 on top were the turbo sits on it. Those could be leaking. The seals around the EBPV actuator could be leaking. You could pull the air tubes off to get a better look. Might be able to see were it leaking with a mechanics mirror.

 

I'd bet HPOP line on passenger side at the back. If your sure its oil. Diesel would be the line on same side in the middle. Have you checked the oil level to make sure it oil? Is it running out the hole at the back of the block and down the engine? That's where I'd start then go from there.

 

Clean the motor up so it's easier to trace the leak. Some simple green and low pressure water usually does a good enough job.

Then as mentioned, the suspect places are up front near the HPOP, near the middle near the HPOP lines, or back at the turbo at any of the 4 pedestal o-rings or the EBPV. The EBPV usually doesn't leak a ton when it's not cold outside, but that's usually.

Grab a roll of paper towels or white rags and stuff them down in the valley around all the suspect places, but keep them from touching each other. Then either idle the truck or go for a really quick drive and then start checking to see where the leak is coming from.

Since you've got a new turbo, the pedestal o-rings are suspect.

Since you've got a new turbo and 3 new transmissions, your dad's mechanic is suspect.

For the transmission, get a gauge installed. There's a test port in the side of the 4R100 that a sending unit can be installed in and he can run an aftermarket temp gauge to keep an eye on things. Did they switch to an aftermarket transmission cooler after the rebuild? Install a filter in the cooler lines? An auxiliary cooler and an inline magnafine filter might be a good idea as well.

Don't buy in to the bad transmission because it's a model change year. We're not talking about a 6.0 here. The 4R100 isn't much different than the E40D that Ford ran in the 94 - 97 trucks. The aftermarket shift kits and valve bodies fit both models.