About a month and a half ago, I came home to a pretty big oil leak underneath my 96 F250 7.3 PSD. It was pretty sudden.

Took it to the shop and $3300 later, it's still leaking. It's not leaking nearly as much as it was, but I'm still not fond of the leak after $3300.

When I took it in, they identified the Rear Main Seal, Oil Pan and HPOP as leaking. Fuel pump, RMS, Oil Pan seal, and HPOP were all replaced.

One spot I've identified is where the dipstick enters the oil pan. It's not alot and I'm not sure it's even reaching the ground. The other spot (not sure of the source) is the dust cover where the tranny meets the engine. The shop washed off the top and I washed the bottom after I got it back. It's still leaking about a 1/2" to 1" drop on the ground every time I drive it.

Suggestions?

 

I'm afraid to say, you got ripped off. The things replaced were most likely not the problem. I defiantly could be wrong though. My guess is the O rings under the turbo pedestal were leaking causing oil to run down the back of the motor making it look like the rear main seal was bad. To replace the oil pan seal you have to pull the motor or cut the frame support, then weld it back together again. The HPOP might have been leaking but the high pressure lines feeding the heads could have been the problem. Why did they replace the fuel pump? There is a large nut on the dipstick that could be tighten to stop that leak. Do a search on dipstick repair. Ask the shop if they pulled the motor to do the repairs, if they say no, then they are lying!!!!

 

There is a o ring that I guess swells up and needs to be replaced. Pretty tricky to do I understand. Very common issue. Mine leaks a bit. IIRC the starter has to be pulled for easier access. But maybe not. I think I would ask for a freebee from the shop that did the work. I'll guess they didn't pull the engine.

 

If not for this forum I would have spent $2000+ on a HPOP and another $2000 on the same stuff you did. That was at 135k miles. 5 Years later at 250k miles I still have the original HPOP.

I did eventually replace the turbo charger because it failed due to lack of oil. The oil leak in the pedestal caused the turbo to die early. The leak was not the O rings, it was a cracked pedestal.

The turbo charge pedestal sits on O rings. Those do fail though what I found is the O get blamed for failing because the turbo charger pedestal bolts come loose. Then you get a leak that dribbles oil down the bell housing of the transmission and out the right (passenger) edge of the block.

The oil that drips along the right side goes down along the back of the starter and it seems like its a leak at the rear main seal. The remainder of the oil that accumulates on the bell housing drives you nuts trying to figure out where it comes from because it usually pours off when you pull a grade. It usually then whips back on the exhaust and shows up as smoke in the rear view mirror.

If you park downhill the oil on the bell housing pours off toward the front and again appears on the ground below the flywheel. So it sure seems like its an oil pan or rear seal. Also when parked down hill, oil pours toward the front and if someone reaches in to the valley by the fuel bowl or the HPOP, they find fresh oil. One shop I went to use this Barney Fife technique to diagnose it as HPOP and it would be $2500 to $3000, depending.

I had just read a similar story on here of a guy that went back several times for the oil leak after all the same stuff you said, and he still had the oil leak.

I have a cutaway so its easy to pull the doghouse and check the bell housing for oil. Its also easy to check the turbo charge bracket hold down bolts and the pedestal bolts as well as the up tube to Y flange bolts. After replacing the TC that became ritual with each monthly oil change - check all the TC bolts.

The first time I pulled the TC and replaced the O rings it still leaked. Then I replaced the pedestal bolts and the turbo bracket bolts and it still leaked. I took the turbo and pedestal to a Ford dealer that told me I had a cracked turbo charger or a cracked pedestal. He looked and said neither was cracked. I went back and started putting it all back together again and while cleaning the pedestal I spotted a hairline crack.

After replacing the pedestal it leaked no more. A few months later I replaced the turbo. The oil leak was depriving the turbo of proper oil pressure.

Use a torque wrench on the pedestal bolts - it is essential. And the pedestal is not cheap. The effort to remove the turbo is enough to make you never want to do it again. I got the R&R of the turbo down to 25 minutes. The secret is to loosen the cat back tube at the first flange under the truck.

 

I had a oil leak on mine. It looked like the rear main leak. The issue was the turbo had a crack in it. It used 1 gallon of oil in 750 miles of pulling my camp trailer. The oil leaks into the valley and then down the right side of the motor.

 

Thanks for the replies. I'll try to check it out some more when I get home tonight. The leak is WAY better than it was, so something they did worked.. Something else is still leaking though.

 

What I did was use a rag in the valley with some brake cleaning solution and cleaned it all up. Then I used a flash lite after I drove around the block and then checked for leaks. Its not a fun process but most of the time the leak is something simple. That's the trouble with these repair shops, they will rip you a new one when ever they get a chance, especially if your a women.

 

Luckily the repair shop is a friend. For all the work that was done, the bill should have been closer to $5,000. They didn't make much (if any) money on this project.

The oil pan alone (according to local Ford dealership) was 22 hours labor.

 

Yes but did he pull the engine? Friend or no friend, I think you got taken. I'm sorry, I'll keep my mouth shut now. Good luck to you and your PSD, there great motors!

 

I have an oil leak that is progressivley getting worse. I am almost afraid to look for it. I think I will just use safety wire to tie a drip pan to the underside of the engine.

 

Sure; then set up a sump pump in the pan, run on a float switch, and pump the oil back up and into the crankcase via the oil fill on the valve cover. Complete, closed system.....

 

That's a great idea. I've put it off a few times to look for the oil leak and then after being embarrassed because of the oil slick in the street I start looking for it. Your idea put into action I could put it off longer lol !!!

 

if it looks like the oil pan is leaking, and the starter is oily, the turbo pedistal is most likely leaking.

or something up on the valley. It drains down on the starter.

 

I will see if Napa has a filter for this application.

 

The truth is on my first inspection, looking up at the motor from under the truck, I see oil in the front of the engine near the balancer and in the back of the engine near the starter. I will have to degrease the engine and try to find it.

On a side note: all of the oil that has been leaking has made it nearly impossible for rust to attack the underneath of my truck. LOL

I have seen postings regarding the turbo pedestal and something in the valley so I will check there. I only hope it isn't gonna kill my wallet. LOL