I found a big oil leak a week ago Saturday. Immediately cleaned the driveway of maybe 1/2 cup of engine oil.
After thinking 🤔 all weekend about the solution it felt right to bring it to the what I consider one of the best shops in town, 5 stars on Yelp and AAA approved.
First thing Monday morning brought it in. Initially, it was a HPOP seal. Picked it up eod Wed with a $1,280 bill. The next morning I woke up to a drip puddle about 3” and a “Service Engine” light. I immediately brought it back. They looked at it and determined there was no other leaking that what I saw was likely residual and the light was a faulty sensor. I forget exactly but it was another $380.
Just before I was getting ready to pick it up, I got a call letting me know it’s not ready. They took it for a 10 - 12 mile test drive and it’s still leaking.
After a couple days of inspection they now have determined the leak is coming from the rear of the oil pan, roughly another $2,900 job (mostly labor), less any courtesy considerations.
The service writer said the engine has to be removed for this (15 hours).

Im open to thoughts regarding their diagnosis or anything else please. $4,700 to fix a sudden oil leak is a bit overwhelming.

The picture below shows the location of the dripping Thursday morning, It’s the same location I saw on Saturday.

 

Looking at the top of your engine, check the HPOP lines from the pump to heads for leaks. These are more catastrophic when they fail, but check where they mount to the HPOP and heads.
Make certain that your IPR on the back side of the HPOP has it's Tinnerman nut on tight and it's body is tight in the HPOP housing. Check your HPOP seals again for leaks.

Keep us updated.

 

I would highly recommend getting a second opinion from a mechanic that is familiar with 7.3s. It's most likely leaking up on top of the engine is going down the backside of the engine to where you see it coming out at the bottom. Along with checking the HPOP and hpop lines, check out the turbo pedestal area also

 

I've fixed a few for free after someone told them it was the pan or rear main seal.

The boots from the "y" in the intake will leak oil from crankcase vapors into the valley, down the intake plenums, and down the drain hole at the back of the block....tightening them is usually a good cheap fix. Also, if the drain hole is obstructed with debris, it will prolong the perceived leak.

 

I wish my oil pan looked as good as yours. I agree with the above suggestions, get a second opinion from someone with real experience on 7.3 engines. They aren't complicated, but there are more likely culprits to your oil leak and I'd want to be damn sure before pulling the engine, and there are several other things I'd be doing while pulling the engine.

 

Being a professional mechanic has got to be sweet. You get to play ”Part Darts” with someone else's money and even when you get it wrong you still get paid. I agree with the consensus, get your rig away from those folks.

 

Not all of us.

I would be just under $7000 richer this year had I stuck to my guns and not worked on three 6.0L PSDs and a couple other things I knew better than to attempt doing.

If I don't fix it, I don't get paid (including labor). There are three 6.0Ls with expensive new parts I bought and don't get to drive. These aren't things I was confronted about.....I put in parts after lots of diagnosis and the problems persisted so the customers were not charged - just sent somewhere else afterward.

Needless to say, I won't work on 6.0L driveability problems anymore. If someone is dumb enough to own one, I'm not going to be dumb enough to try to work on it.

I guess to put it another way, I put more money in three other peoples' vehicles in the last year than I've put in any of my own fleet - including BUYING TWO MORE PICKUPS!

 

well I can tell you that’s not the norm here with mechanics shops. Ik some one that was told injectors on their 6.7 about 4K later they said bad engine when it still didn’t run right, probably should have ran a compression check first. Cheers to you for being an actual honest mechanic.

 

do you have an HPX line? when ours leaked, it looked exactly like that. but, agree. check the lines on the top of the engine.

 

Owning a 20 year old diesel truck is not always going to be cheap or convenient. At this point they've all got "personalities" and there is always something that needs attention. Something will be leaking or seeping from somewhere.

 

Is it just me or does the predominant personality tend to be ”Needy Bi*ch”?

 

Rear main seal leak is a very common mis-diagnosis on a 7.3 engine. That is actually rare. But oil leaks on top of the engine will flow to the back of the engine, out the drain hole there, down the back, and drip off in that location.

If you are comfortable turning a wrench we can help you every step of the way in diagnosis and repair. Several places to leak up top and we've seen them all. But if not I agree with advice above, take the truck to a 7.3 mechanic.

Unless the current mechanic will give a money back guarantee.

 

Thank you for having integrity. It seems like fewer and fewer people these days even know the meaning of the word let alone have any. Money comes and goes, but the thing that will follow us to the grave and beyond is our reputations. That is the true measure of a person's worth.

 

do not go back to that shop. chances of pan leaking are around zero. dipstick adapter leak is what I would guess from here

 

Thank you!