So I have a 2002 Ford F250 V-8 5.4L 4WD (2223,000 miles) and driving today was fine. Get out and notice front drive shaft has some oil on it from a drip. I drove about 80 miles today. I notice more oil resting on the top of the exhaust manifold on the drivers side. Just for the hell of it, I tightened any bolts on the exhaust manifold.. The Passenger side was dry. Any leaking is occurring on the driver side. Can a gasket on the valve covers be the culprit. I do not remember getting these changed nor have I done it myself. I can't see any discernable leakage at the mating of the valve cover and engine block.

Oil that dripped is sitting on top of drivers side exhaust manifold.. Any suggestions about things I can check to rule out ?

 

To add commentary to the above problem, would an older, worn out Valve Cover Gasket be a possible culprit to leaking oil? Some of the valve cover bolts are wet with trace oil around them. I am going to try drying up any loose oil, take the truck for a run around the block and see what gives. Again, it's only on the drivers side. Any helpful solutions or trouble shooting would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
PJ

 

The picture provided, illustrates the leak originating from very close to the actual oil dipstick tube mounting boss on the cylinder head. Since it looks like it's already been rusted through for a long time, removing the bolt that secures it to cylinder head and watching that area with the engine running might provide you with an answer.

 

If in that's the case whereas the oil dipstick has developed a slight hole or other corrosion issue, what is the fix? Would getting a new dip stick tubing be the answer or perhaps putting some tubing over it would provide the fix????

 

Changing out that dipstick tube will be a very difficult job, due to the need to remove the driver's side exhaust manifold and the oil pan. That said, if the oil leak does in fact originate from a hole in the dipstick tube itself due to rust through, I would be wondering how much blow by there is, since there shouldn't be any oil coming from there under any kind of pressure.

Perhaps a little more detail of my earlier reply will provide more clarity. Years ago, I was assigned with the task of installing a used engine into a 2006 F-150. The used engine, a 4.6L two valve V8 (same engine family as your 5.4L V8) was provided by the customer if I recall correctly. However, due to the fact that the used engine provided by the customer had a completely mangled dipstick tube (likely due to transport damage), I elected to install a new dipstick tube. The original bolt to secure the dipstick to the cylinder head was still installed, but securing only a broken piece of the dipstick so I removed it. But removing it must have damaged the boss a little, due to how badly the used engine was corroded (likely from sitting for God knows how long). Upon installing the used engine and getting it running, was when I developed an oil leak from the hole in the cylinder head where the bolt secures the dipstick. Rather than having to go through the labour of having to remove/replace the cylinder head, I simply removed the bolt and put JB weld into the threads of the bolt hole and reinstalled the bolt to let it sit for hours to cure. THAT fixed the leak.