I have done pretty extensive research on this issue, but i have a few questions.

The leak started about a week ago and seemed like a lot at first and then slowed down. I found the gasket (6840) from Felpro for $10: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/f...SABEgJFkvD_BwE

And this diagram and procedure on the forums here and also a picture of the engine out of the truck so I could see what I was dealing with.








It is probably something i could do myself, but i am nervous about it. I have done a lot of big projects but none involving lifting the engine and dealing with motor mounts. Here is the leak. I'd say the dipstick has dropped by about 1/8 of an inch.



I changed my oil about 1000 miles ago. My coolant is clean and looks good.

I took it to a local mechanic and got quoted $540 for replacing that gasket (6 hours plus the gasket). He also recommended that I replace the thermostat and radiator hoses for another $550 (I am not sure if they are original or not), and he is going to check the water pump $220 if replaced. A much much much steeper bill than I was hoping for.

The truck has 162,000 miles on it. I bought it with 156,000 in mid October. It seems to be really well cared for and that's what the mechanic thought also listening to it. (He says he worked for Ford for 15 years or something).

I use the truck for ranch work, so hauling cattle, tractors, firewood, etc. and it is my daily driver. I rely on it to make money so having it down isn't a good option, and I have a vacation on the 28th which is when I have the work scheduled.

First question: Does anyone know the likelihood that the oil leak would become major all of the sudden... Like driving down the highway and start losing a ton of oil? Meaning if I check the oil daily, is likely that i would have a catastrophic failure? Or put another way, would it be a big deal to wait a while to fix it?

Second question: Is it necessary to do the hoses and thermostat now or is it something I could pick at over time. Worst case is that a hose would burst? Is that common? I am trying to weigh the risk. I have never done this on any of my 7.3's that ran almost to 300k and one to 330k.

I guess the thermostat and hoses are something I could do on my own, but i am not sure why or when that would become the priority.

Third question: I have a 2 ton engine hoist to lift it, which would ease many of my concerns with solving the leak myself, but I read that there are no lifting mounts on the V10 without taking it apart first and putting a plate over the engine manifold with a hook on it. Seems counter productive. Are there any simple options besides trying to stick a bottle jack between the engine and frame and hope it doesn't fall on me?

I figured when i talked to him about these things that when he had the engine half out of the truck he could do all this other stuff for significantly less labor and not be so expensive. But It's about double what I planned to spend so I am trying to decide what to do.

I'll stop there. Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

Totally my own opinions, take them for what they're worth ($.02):

1) Who can say what will happen? It might, it might not. That fact that the coolant is clean means the leak is not going into the coolant, so no worries there. It's more about the leak. Just keep an eye on it often during the day.
2) Do the hoses yourself. Unless they are bulging or look dry-rotted to the point of cracking, leave them alone for now and replace when you get the chance.
3) I can't imagine it would be very hard to find a place to put a bolt into the block and attach a chain and not break a valve cover, timing cover or something else. Look around for something like that. Truth be told, when I did my exhaust manifold studs, I did use a bottle jack between the frame and engine. I can't remember exactly what I did, but I did it in a way that I had multiple supports and blocks holding things up so I could get in there. On the other hand, I wasn't doing the oil adapter, I was just trying to get the engine up high enough to get a straight line into the rear-most studs with a drill. Most importantly. make sure the truck is up on jack stands and or blocks to the frame, not the axle. This way, the chassis won't move on you while you're wrenching. Yeah, I know, that requires some huge jack stands.

 

I do v-10s all the time. The only places to leak on that side are the valve cover gasket which is very unlikely, the oil cooler gasket, never seen one leak, the dipstick tube o-ring, get it from Ford only, and the oil cooler itself or oil filter.
I work on E-450 vans and what I do is jack up the engine on the harmonic balancer, set the oil pan on a block of wood between the pan and crossmember. This allows you to remove the left side motor mount and then the oil cooler manifold. Make sure to diagnose the source of the oil leak first though, these engines are pretty leak free.