well the first part of this will sound good, so keep reading.

i heeded all of your advice, and decided to remove the turbo from the truck after several unsuccessful attempts with the in-truck method. once i got it out, i cleaned it, and broke all 12 bolts loose. i then put a vise grip on the rounded end of the vanes, and put a wrench on the compressor side. it kept popping off. eventually i got it off, and put the new one on. locktighted all 12 bolts, and reassembled it. went to put it back in the truck, i noticed the large o-ring in the pedestal. looked dirty, so i pulled it out, cleaned it, and put it back. didnt bother with the other hole, didnt look like it had a o ring. well i got the up-pipe back on (PITA), and the two 13mm bolts on the pedestal. thought i had it good, so i did the final reassembly. once i had everything back and checked for loose parts, i went to start the truck, while i was putting tools away. about a minute later, i noticed a HUGE puddle of oil on the floor (about 3' diameter), and more and more gushing down. i frantically shut the truck off. i looked under while more and more gushed down, and i thought one thing- that other hole should have had ,a o-ring. it was the only place where i was working, so it could be the only possibility. i guesstimate by the 5' diameter puddle of oil, that i lost 4-6 quarts of oil. which is bad, because i had recently (2000 mi) filled with $100 of amsoil. one question- can i put shell rotella 15w-40 to fill it back up, will it be okay with amsoil? i have 1 quart of the synthetic, and "unlimited" rotella.

on to the important part- i will get my dad to get me a complete replacement o-ring set tomorrow at the stealership, while i am at school. i will be replacing the lower pedestal rings too (yellow i believe), as i had the leak around the weep hole as some describe. i also will be getting the two (i guess its two?) rings for the supply and return lines in the actual pedestal. is this all i need? (other than a bunch of engine degreaser )

here is a pic of the seals that i saw, from the walk-through that i used.


upper pedestal ^ Lower pedestal ^

 

Those look like the correct o-rings. Both sides of the pedestal use one out of each package.

 

Bummer, man. Thanks for sharing though - if anything it emphasized the importance of those o-rings! Just ordered a new wheel myself - will be taking on the same task next weekend so thanks for the good - and bad.

 

i had half-a-notion to take out the lower pedestal while i was at it, and change all four. but i decided against it because my rig was down and i was home by myself. plus i cant drive on my own yet. but i will get it fixed correctly this time. if anything, i will benefit a faster out/in time because i know exactly what to do. no more guessing. plus, ill have new o-rings...i would recommend removing the turbo also.





one thing hasnt gotten answered yet- can i mix my synthetic amsoil with castor (dino oil) shell rotella 15w-40? it will most likely be a ratio of 2amsoil:1dino.

 

i would not mix the oils. if it were me i would ditch the amsoil and go with rotella i have had amsoil before and it was nothing but trouble. dont mix the oils at all. another thing u need to be concered about it the mileage on you truck. if the engine has had amsoil in it from the get go, the wear patterns are set for that peticular weight and viscosity of oil. but if you switched late in the game and went from regular to synthetic oil you will have problems with blow by etc etc.

 

i bought the truck 2000 miles ago, not knowing what was previously in it. so i switched to amsoil. i guess i can go back, but its a waste of $100 i didnt need to do. i will keep the amsoil filter however, because it only has 2000 miles on that, rated for at least 10K miles.

 

how many miles are on the truck now? and when you bought it?

 

Pictures look familiar, and yes, Cookie, correct as always.

One hint, there is an on line vendor that sells a slightly thicker set of "O" rings that will ensure a positive turbo and pedestal seal so you will not have leaks the second time around.

I've been down the leaky "O" ring path before and the countersinks on some pedestals may be a bit deeper then the stock "O" rings and may not seal or compress enough to form a good seal.

My .02 worth....and add $3.57 for a Starbucks frapuccino.........

 

i bought the truck with 70000 miles. now it has just over 2000. i am debating on wether or not to waste out the amsoil and put dino oil back in. there is a puddle of $40 of oil on the floor...

 

the issues that you are going through is EXACTLY why i did NOT want to take my turbo out... i didn't even take the wastegate actuator arm off because i was woried about loosing that retaining clip.... all in all, if you can do this job with the turbo still on the truck you are better off... jmho...

 

Remember to re-check the turbo bolts after a few hundred miles to ensure they are still tight. Nothing like turning wrenches on your own truck. Removing the turbo is not for the weak of heart.

 

Throw the Amsoil out, and go with the Rotella!!!

 

Nothing is more frustrating than a huge leak like that....

 

thanks for the reminder... i'm gonna re-check mine this weekend..! do they loosen up..?

 

how old are you? i take it you are young... pretty cool you got a rig like that at that age. i wish i was that lucky when i was 16.