Last weekend I did the 6637, CCV on my 2000 Excursion. Everything seemed normal after the swap. I just ran the hose for the CCV down to the tranny cross member and cut it off. The only problem I ran into during the swap was I couldn't find the right size o rings so I put in some that were a bit thicker and went on my merry way.

Yesterday, I was driving down I-35 on my way to San Antonio and just as I got into town and some heavy traffic I realized I was blowing some large blue clouds of smoke on acceleration. I pulled into our office parking lot to find I was leaving a trail of oil on the ground and that the entire bottom of the truck was covered in oil. Went to the store and picked up some oil so I could make it across town to a mechanic. I put 2 gallons in and that brought the level up to full. Drove about 30 miles to the Dodge dealer a friend of mine owns to have it looked at. It was now 2 quarts low. Oil is leaking from the back of the motor and they can't tell for sure but don't want to go any further being it is a Ford.

So now I am looking at hauling it back north to a Ford dealer where I have a few more friends. To me it sounds like a coincidence that what ever seal that has broken decided to give up right after the CCV, so I don't think this had anything to do with it. I only mention it so that if someone here thinks differently they can speak up.

It sounds like this leak could be from the rear main, a head, or a valve cover. For now no one knows. If Ford has to pull this motor out to swap the seals is there anything else you guys think I should have looked at or done while it is out?

Truck has 175,000 miles on it at this point.

 

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CCV doghouse box isn't sealed and the oil is coming out of there landing on the exhaust manifold or could it, just a guess. Any oil in the valley of the motor?? Where is the most accumilation of oil at under the motor, front, middle, back, right side, leftside?? I'm betting on the doghouse o-rings not sealing and its running down from there, it would right guys, let us know.

 

If the contraption on the valve cover that you turn around when you do a CCV is called a dog house then that is not leaking. My over sized o rings are not leaking. I didn't see any oil in the valley but didn't look real hard down there. Oil is coming from the back side of the motor for sure but I think the TRanny is going to have to be pulled to tell for sure. At that point it seems that the smart move would be to pull the motor but I have never had to deal with this kind of issue. Maybe the Ford house can make these repairs without pulling anything out???

If they do pull it though, I want to take care of any other issues that should be looked at/addressed before it goes back in. Since I am fairly new to PSD's I am looking to you guys for that kind of info.

 

From everything I have learned about the PSD's thus far, the rear main very rarely fails on our engines.

that said, i would be looking at turbo pedestal O rings, hi preassure oil lines, heck, even a loose oil filter or the oil cooler right above the filter.

Best bet would be clean it up with simple green and a garden hose, then use an inspection mirror too look at the back of the turbo and such, that much oil it shouldn't be hard to spot.

 

This is the best plan of attack. That much oil loss will leave a obvious source of the leak. I would guess the HPOP lines would puke that much oil out in that short of time.

 

So ther are some lines on the back side of the motor?? Well that is probably better than a seal. May not be pulling the motor afterall then.

Making arragements to get my trailer back from long term loan. Plan to go fetch it today and have it at the shop later. I will let you know what they find out.

 

Frequent leaks occur towards the front of the valley where the hpop is located, (hpop lines, plugs, etc.) They then travel down the valley to the rear of the engine where there is a drain hole at the rear of the valley which then trails down the back of the engine making it appear as if it is coming from the rear of the engine. I had an o-ring on my hpop go last year, and as small as it was, it would spew quarts within a mile or so.

 

I would check down in the valley first. If it is wet then your leak is most likely from the front (fuel or oil). You said it was blue so I assume we're talkin' oil. The HPOP can dump that much depending on where it's at. The gasket that mates the pump to the block and the plugs are usually the culprit. The bottom plug is the "non-serviceable" plug because theres a ball in there and if it gets dislodged when you remove the plug, then the pump is done for (so Ford just replaced the HPOP instead of a repair). That plug is short on threads so has a tendency to be the leaker. Not saying that yours is, just that it's the most likely candidate if you don't know where to start. The HP oil lines on the pump can do it to (the two main lines on top on the driver's side of the HPOP). There's a cheap little clip called a "circlip" (looks like a tiny split washer) that hold those lines on (at 3000psi no less) and if one of those is busted then your line could be working itself loose (believe me, I know). The Injection Pressure Regulator (IPR) can leak too (it's the piece on the driver's side of the HPOP that has an electrical connection to it). Just to throw it in there, the Injection Control Pressure (ICP) sensor on the forward side of the driver's side head can leak too (take the connector off and if it's oily like mine, then it's a leaker too).

If you have fuel in the valley it's most likely from the fuel bowl drain valve or one of the flex connections for the fue lines.

If your valley is dry (especially in front), then there are some possiblities in the rear. The Y-pipe doughnuts can be leakers, but it's more of a dusting and loss of boost. The only thing in the back that can dump some oil is the Exhaust Backpressure Valve (EBV) actuator or the turbo pedestal o-rings (the pedestal bolts have been known to back themselves out on the 7.3L).

I don't know what it looks like when it leaks, but the oil dipstick tube at the oil pan can leak too.

I agree that rear main leaks are very rare, but that is still a possibility...

Hope this helps. The 99-03 7.3L forum has more info on oil leaks than you could read in a lifetime (okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little). Although reliable, the 7.3 does age and seals, gaskets and o-rings don't age well (especially the cheap rubber ones they used when they built them).

When you do find it, please let us know so we can all learn and pass it on. Also, here are some great places to find repair parts. Both guys are great:

Replacement O-rings for Ford Diesel Engines (Bob)
Riffraff Diesel (Clay)

I'll also toss in there that you might want to check your starter bolts while you're crawling around as they have a tendency to back out too...

Best of luck!

 

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Got the call I've been waiting on from the Ford house, it's not good. Don't know the exact failure of the turbo yet but apparently it is terminal. Ford wants nearly $2k for a new turbo so I am looking for alternatives. I looked at options awhile back but decided I wasn't going to go that direction any time soon so never got all too carried away with it. I am now doing some research to see what way I may go but I know that for 2k I can have a much better turbo just not sure I need that much of one. The 38R comes to mind but I have a stock truck for the most part and I'm not sure I can run that without a bunch of other enhancements. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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Really wasn't prepared to throw a bunch of coin into the truck right now so gotta think this one through. Any ideas or suggestions from you guys would be helpful. I need to get my truck out of the shop so I can't sit around thinking about this for too long.<o></o>

 

There are options to having Ford take $2K of your money. Talk to Clay at Riffraff Diesel. If you can support a little down time I know that Dennis at ITP Diesel (7.3L PSD Turbo Rebuilding) offers a rebuilding service for far less than that.

Just some options. Hopefully others will chime in. At the very least it's a bump back to the top!

Best of luck and let us know how it goes.

 

Thanks, looking around the internet but not seeing many aftermarket options for complete turbo's. I don't know if mine is rebuildable yet but obvioulsy Ford doesn't offer that service. The 38r looks like a good deal when compared to the Ford option, just not sure I really need that, I can get a reman for far less.

 

Ford should tell you exactly "what" is wrong. If you had a seal fail in the turbo, and your slightly handy with a wrench, get yourself a ~$100 rebuild kit and do it yourself. If it's O-rings at the base of the turbo, Clay or Ed is your man, you may be able to reduce you $2k price by THREE zeros.

Just sayin...

 

If the seals in the turbo went the oil would be going into the exhaust and not all over the engine, at least not in those quantities. Is there oil in the exhaust pipe? If not it most likely is not a turbo seal leak.

Bad pedestal or turbo o-rings wouldn't leak that much oil in that short a time. I suspect it's a High Pressure Oil leak as already mentioned. The non-serviceable plug is serviceable. LINK That much oil in so short a time just doesn't sound like a Low Pressure Oil leak.