So we are currently in Accord NY up near Kingston area in a campground.. Yesterday we were in Hershey PA so we are some 220 miles north. Before we left the hershey park i check water and oil,, Water good oil a bit low so i added about a 1/2 qt which is common..

We are traveling to Maine from NC so when we move its a 200 mile day most times and we left raleigh on Sat the 9th..

This issues has happened before when traveling in some where a small oil leak that i can not find.. This happened when we were returning from Airstream Rally in western NC area needing to put some 2 qts in and noticing the oil on front of trailer and when looking under can see drips of oil under truck.. it seem to be more on the passenger side but have not been able to pinpoint it.. the oil dipstick area is good no leaks etc, no lines etc.

i power washed under there a while back to see if i could find the leak.. this was just driving around town back and forth to work some 5 miles away and did not see any leaks short of the ones noted on the oil bypass filters deal. I check a couple time and then went for a week or so and check back not seeing any major leak like i see when towing. its hard to tell with out a lift so just wondering if anyone might have a place to start to look.

I recently changed the oil and bypass filter as well before this trip so oil is new and up to speed.

thanks for any ideas..

 

All I can think of is go to one of those self serve car wash stations and thoroughly wash the engine, then rinse very well. Start looking for leaks, checking frequently on your drive. Yes, it's annoying to the passengers, having to stop every 20 miles, but you need to find the source of the leak.

 

Have you inspected the valley for evidence of a leak?

 

Is it coming out of your tailpipe?

 

Make sure you are checking for oil leaks while the engine is running. I have had a couple that were head-scratchers until I started the engine and let the truck idle. One of those was my oil dipstick tube adapter in the pan.

 

yes that was first place i looked.. still dry.. the oil seem to be coming from below some where. There is some drips under the TQ cover but its hard to
figure out if it coming from the rear seal or somewhere else. I did the spray it off bit but stopping every 20 miles is not that easy especially in unkonw places with narrow roads

 

Good idea.. you have a lift I can use?? makes it easier to see under there to find the leaks..

 

I haven't had to chase a big block oil leak in a few years but the only bit ticket things I can think of outside the valley are oil cooler, HPO rail block plugs, oil pan dipstick tube adapter, engine front cover, and HPOP reservoir.

 

Dripping from the torque converter is often diagnosed as a rear main seal leak. Often a wrong diagnosis.

Check the valley. A leak into the valley works its way down to the torque converter cover.

Oil or diesel can leak into the valley. Very common source of leaks on our 7.3 PSD

 

OK so now here were are some day and miles later... I looked in valley and did not see a lot of oil in the front part but not really to see back behind the pedestal area so not real sure on that front.. When it get cooler up here in fryeburg maine,, temp in the fricken 90's and humidity, currently so not going to f with it for a couple days. I tried driving differently this go around.. on the way up to accord I was letting it stay in 4th and mashing on the pedal up hill with temps EGT running 11 12 at times with boost around 15-25 if i really put foot in it.

this trip i drove like i normally do and when EDT get around 11 or mph get around 52 i down shift,, turn off OD, and let TQ hook back up and then keep RPM around 2 to 2200 rpm and the oil issues either ebates or is not as bad.. it seem like the harder i push, and i go get CEL on at times, the more oil it spews out.. will do a bit more under the truck looking later this week but its party party party up here at the airstream rally..

 

Sounds like it may leak worse when higher ICP is commanded under heavy load. I’d look at the HPO lines, fittings, HPOP.

edit: or maybe it’s oil temp related.

 

We are now up near Bar Harbor where it a bit cooler, So i checked the oil lines, all tight and no leaks,, checked the oil pressure stuff on HPOP and the tin nut was tight. there was some oil in the rear part of valley so thinking it might be related to pedestal stuff. I do see some oil stuff on bottom but hard to see with all the crap in the way.. When i had turbo off some time ago and did the o'ring upgrade and checked the EBPV piston which at the time was not leaking so i did not mess with it.

this afternoon i slid under and noticed a wet spot under the back of the valve cover on passenger side enough to leave some oil on the exhaust manifold but not a ton.. had to put almost a qt of oil in and still a bit low on stick. last time it was two qts. earlier when backing up to hook up to RV noticed a large ish oil puddle on ground and found the tin nut loose on the oil pressure control thing on HPOP loose. thought that was the end of it. NOOOO...

I was trying to drive easier, downshifting earlier, not pushing up hills etc.. and still got oil under truck mainly on passenger side it appears and on front of rv .. ordered a pedestal rebuild kit and will not be able to get in till middle of aug when we get back home.. going to install new WW2 wheel and redo pedestal and now check the valve cover gasket on passenger side.

can a valve cover gasket leak that fricken much?? i hope the F not. getting frustrated in this whole fricken deal..

 

Does it look like it might be weeping from the HP oil gallery plug at the back of the head?

 

no weeping on any gallery plugs or hose ends. I check all the hose ends and the by pass as well.. I did have a leak on the passenger bank HPO hose a while back so i took it loose and retightend and keep check an no leak.. I put a paper towel under it and it was clean..

On the back bracket of oil cooler... I did not notice a leak but will recheck.. but the oil splash back seem to be more on the passenger side and the cooler is on the driver side.

 

I have not had an HPOP reservoir or front cover leak so I can't speak to those.

I have, however, had the dipstick tube adapter leak and, at least for me, it exhibited the symptoms you describe. If you haven't ruled it out have a look at the adapter while the truck is idling to make sure it's not leaking.