2006 6.0 F-250, 171k

At 156k the front main seal gave up. Or so I thought. Oil everywhere, leaking 1qt/250 miles. Took it in for that job, dealer fixed it. Or so I thought.

165k miles, same issue. Oil started to leak again, being slung everywhere. Eventually turned into a gusher again, about a quart every 350 miles. Needed truck to send out on a few jobs, couldn't take it offline to wait for a diesel tech at the dealer. They changed oil & filter, put dye in to verify where it is coming from (trying to get out of a warranty job, I believe). I drove it another 5k (basically completely changed out the engine oil), and took it in. Obviously, they can't verify where the oil is coming from... We're back to a steam clean, fresh oil/dye, and check with uv light in 300 miles. Truck isn't going out on jobs for a bit, so that is doable.

Interestingly, in the 5k I ran it around leaking oil it threw two new codes. The P0460 code, indicating a voltage discrepancy in the fuel sending unit (I believe), and a P0401, insufficient EGR flow.

Can these codes be related to reach other, or the oil leak, in any way? Or is it just old truck syndrome?

I cleaned the PCV valve at 150k, and it wasn't bad at all. New OEM oil cooler at same time. BPD EGR cooler from 50k.

Truck runs fine, I have no issues with my fuel level reading correctly, I can hear the EGR cycle on and off as per normal.

Thoughts?

Also, anybody have a good source for the fuel sending unit for this truck? Ford wants over $500 in my neck of the woods...

Thanks-

 

My concern over a bad front seal leak would be metal in the low pressure oil pump behind the seal. Which, while it's running, is migrating the metal particles into the seal and taking it out. Did the dealer pull the low pressure oil pump and inspect it when they did the seal the first time around?

Prolly time to pull the EGR valve and clean it. You will prolly find it "coked" up. B.

 

"Check with UV light in 300 miles" ??? -- didn't you just say it loses a quart (already) around that mileage? (Need to check right away -- I use TracerLine for oil, coolants, refrigerants)

Folks -- I'm convinced at least half of the so-called factory trained knuckleheads at the stealerships are clueless --- IDS / Puter idiots and worse yet TIME PRESSURED into doing stoooopid chit

If the leak is at the front of the engine the choices are obvious and limited --- with all that slinging going on it's obviously getting in the "wind field" of the fan or "pressurized" (hint) --- could be something as small as CAC hoses not tight (very common as cold weather frequently exposes this problem) or front cover (less common)............

 

If he's losing that quality of oil through the CAC plumbing, he's got other issues.

 

Thanks for the replies guys.

Just got back from another 650 mile run, had to add 1/2 gallon when I got back. I'm sure the folks behind me were not happy...

I called the dealer yesterday and they said no chance of getting it into their one 6.0 diesel tech for another 2 weeks. I said screw it, I'm going to finally fix this right myself. They won the warranty game, lesson learned...

So I'm going to order up the seal and Moker installer tool for it (seal, wear ring and tool $66 on Amazon), and definitely check for material in the pump as suggested above. I'll also put a new water pump on it while I'm there, those appear to need to be done at these mileages.

Anything else I should do while I have the fan shroud off? Idler pulley bearing, etc?

New glow plugs going in too (#2 is bad per code).

Anything else a 172k mile 6.0 that has been relatively trouble-free should get while I am in there?

 

I thought I'd give it one more shot for suggestions here-

This weekend I'll be-

Replacing water pump
Replacing front main seal
Replacing belt tensioner (if needed)
Replacing fan belt
Converting from electric fan clutch to 1997 7.3 clutch
Changing aftermarket cannister coolant filter
Replacing degas bottle and cap (no obvious signs of leaking, but very cloudy plastic)

Anything else that someone would suggest since I'll have the front and the cooling system taken apart?

 

I'm gonna just throw this out there.

If you don't see oil leaking that is obvious but you are low on oil, then wouldn't it be somewhat a given that it's going through the engine itself somehow in someway? In other words, wouldn't it be burning the oil so there might be ring issues? Sure, I could be way off and obviously there would need to be more testing done but I'm thinking if you can't see oil anywhere, then it pretty much has to be going through the engine. With this much oil loss, it would definitely be obvious under the engine somewhere.

So, either there has to be a leak outside of the engine or it's burning it "through" the engine right? Unless there is another option I'm not aware of.

 

He said "oil everywhere" in the first post.

I'm scratching my head wondering what the PCV valve is.

Check whitebearlake.com and rockauto.com for pricing on most any part.

 

The low pressure oil regulator is right there by the harmonic balancer and if the o-ring leaks on that it will sling oil all over the front of the engine. Pretty cheap to just replace the whole regulator and LPOP housing if you are swapping the front seal. Might as well check bedplate end seals behind the front cover while you are in that deep...