Okay guys I'm new to diesels and forums so take it easy on me. I bought a 1989 f350 7.3 with the zf5 and an ats turbo the other day. A little history that I know on the truck is that it was purchased brand new in late spring 1989 by a kid fresh out of high school. He must've taken great care of the truck. I was told that it was backed into while he was at work and damaged the front passenger side of the truck. He fixed everything then painted it a nice grey and black two tone. He owned it up until 2011 or 12 where it left Missouri where it had been it's whole life and made it's way into south east iowa where it fell into the hands of another kid who had it for a a while. This is when I saw the first ad for it on Craigslist claiming it burned and leaked oil. I loved the way it looked. I tried to arranged a time that I could come look at the truck but he seemed like a jackass so I gave up. Then a few weeks ago I saw an ad for a 1989 ford f350 on Craigslist. It said it was about 4 miles south of Duncombe, Iowa which is about 15 miles away from me here in North Central iowa. So I called him and arranged a time to check it out.. sure enough it was the same truck! The guy that bought it actually said he was cousins with the original owner. But he did some work on it but it still leaked and burned oil. Plus he wanted $5,000 for it (I'll pass). A few days later one of my good friends said he traded his crew cab chevy 3500 for it but didn't have a need for it. Long story short I bought it for $3,000.

Okay now to my questions. It supposedly has newer injectors, glow plugs and relay, turbo setup is newer (I don't know about that..), and he put a new rear main and valve cover gaskets along with a new block heater and some other things. It has a little bit of bluish smoke at idle and when driving it but then it gives puffs or whitish grey.. maybe injectors or other rings? The truck runs and drives great. Cold starts fine all that. It still burns and leaks oil from somewhere on the top rear part of the motor more towards the passenger side. I've read that water can pool up and rust the valley causing an oil leak? Also possibly a oil return line gasket on the turbo? If that's the case, how could I get a new one? Would it only have to be through ATS? Also I've read the cdr can be neglected causing it to use oil? Could it be that simple? What about the valve seals? Or even destroyed rings? I haven't gotten to do compression test yet. Also, anything else I should check?

It is in great shape body wise with a few scratches and a small rust spot on the right fender and a few spots of peeling clear coat on the hood. It's got newer door panels from a 92 or newer and newer carpet and bench seat. It's been straightpiped and the pump has been turned up a liiiittle bit. Neither the speedometer nor the odometer work. I got the speed sensor s for that. The truck supposedly has around 150,000 on it. Odometer reads 39,779 but I have no reason to suspect it has much more than 150,000 on it. Brake pedal has minimal wear and the bottom other the truck is not rusty or covered in seepage or leaks other than some oil.

Also with this being my first diesel, what all should I need to know? I've read up a bit on these but maybe I missed something. Be patient with me guys haha and I'll post pictures if I see where it gives me the option.

Thanks, Jestin

 

welcome to FTE.
if the person that put the turbo on did not know what he was doing or cut corners, it is very possible he did not put the oil return in properly and that is causing your leak.

smell the exhaust. that will tell you if the smoke is fuel or oil.
if it smells like fuel, you could have a sticky injector that is dripping into the cylinder when it is not supposed to.
if it smells like oil, it could be a bad valve seal, or a cracked ring.
also do a compression test. under 300 is bad. over 350 is good, over 400 is very good.

 

What I would do is fold up some paper towels and place them in strategic spots on the top of the engine. Go for a drive, and see what gets wet.
The engine won't get hot enough to light the paper on fire; don't worry.
I'd also zip-tie one of these folded pads to the inlet side of the 'cold' side of the turbo. Chances are, you'll see oil in that, dripping around the edges of the silicone coupler tube. The issue is that you get a lot of oily blowby, which goes through the CDR valve(even when it's working perfectly), and up into the intake of the turbo, where it falls out of the airstream and drips out(either the pressure or inlet side) of the turbo.
Without a turbo, it just goes into the intake manifold and you don't see it. And it may not use 'much' oil to cause a really massive looking leak.

BTW, at the back of the valley pan there is a drain plug which has a hole in the center; this drops leaked stuff through it and through a groove to the passenger rear side of the engine. So anything that leaks on top of the engine ends up on the passenger side near the starter.