intermittent oil loss
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New User
Joined: Aug 2007
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intermittent oil loss
I've got a 98 e350 powerstroke 7.3L diesel engine that is really confusing me. Sometimes it seems to use a ton of oil in just a few hundred miles, and sometimes it doesn't use any. There is a leak at the dipstick tube insert on the oil pan, which i tried to silicone up, but didn't entirely work, but that stll doesn't seem like it would account for 2qts every 300 miles. It's not showing any smoke at all in the exhaust, there is some smoke in the crankcase when you open the cap, but i figured that was somewhat normal. Anybody got any suggestions?
Post Fiend
Joined: Sep 2006
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From: Millbrook Alabama
Look at your coolant and let us know if there is oil in it. are ther any spots(oil slicks) in the driveway? Pull dog house and look at back of turbo pedistal, is it leaking? International has a fix kit for the dipstick leaking at the pan. I remember someone on here doing this fix last spring(or early summer) Just cant remeber who.
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there are little oil spots on the ground, but i don't think they're leaking enough to account for the amount of oil that i'm losing. I looked into the coolant resevior and didn't see any oilly slick or anything on top. I'll pull the doghouse and check it, but if there was any significant loss from there, i think i'd see it dripping down.
Of the next Riffraff East
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 8,679
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From: Concord NC
If that much oil was going into the cooling system, it would fill up quick. Got to be leaking somewhere. Should show lots of smoke if burning 2qts per 300 miles. Find a clean spot or lay some cardboard under the engine and crank it up, let it run for several minutes, 30+ if possible, then see if you have a bigger oil slick under it. You could clean the entire engine compartment with Simple Green or Purple Power and rinse with garden hose to clean all the oil off, go for a drive and then check and see where the new oil is. Any leak should leave its mark, like oily tranny pans, cross members and even rear axles,
