Here is the situation:
My truck had some oil leaks, but still under warranty. I brought it to the dealership, but since the previous owner had the Banks 6 gun tuner on it, the warranty was voided, even though it has been unhooked since I've owned the truck.

They determined that my oil pan was leaking, thats no problem. They also said that the passenger side glow plug harness was leaking, as well as the high pressure pump cover.

My question is how difficult is it to fix these leaks on this motor? My skill set is what I would call somewhat advanced. I have rebuilt several engines, but I have never worked on a diesel before, and never on one of these trucks. It seems to me that these motors are packed pretty tight in there. My worry is accessibility, and my rookieness with diesel engines. I dont even know what a high pressure pump is, what it looks like, or what its function is.

The only other thing is that they also said that I need a turbo seal kit. I guess that means that the turbo has a leak somewhere. Whats the difficulty on that?

Should I tackle these myself or pay the $1200 to the dealership to fix it? Or which should I do and what should I leave to the experienced proffesionals. I believe the oil pan gasket should be no problem for me.

Thanks for the advice in advance.

 

I do all of my own work. I have worked on cars, 4 wheelers, and dune buggies since I can remember but this is my first diesel and I was very intimidated to start working on it at first. But after I did my EGR delete and realized it wasn't that bad I went on to do headstuds and all the other mods.
There are lots of detailed threads on here to include rebuilding your oil cooler, changing injectors, rebuilding your turbo, and just about anything else you can think of.
The biggest pain about working on these trucks is the amount of stuff you have to disconnect from the top of the motor to get anywhere. But after a few times of having it tore down everything falls back in place. Also for some jobs it is just easier to pull the radiator and intercooler to have the space to stand in front of the motor. I have a golf ball sized dent in my passenger side fender from my knee pushing into it, so now I try to squeeze in there from the front whenever I can. I have not had to rip it down to the high pressure oil pump, but would not be afraid to do it myself.

BTW where is Prarieville? I am stationed at Fort Polk and live out in Hicks if you need a hand some time.

 

Prairieville is just south of Baton Rouge. Thanks for the offer! I will skim through the tech folder for these topics.

 

If the leak is slow enough you don't need to add oil between changes, I wouldn't worry about it. Mine has several small weeping leaks, never drips and I never have to add oil, but it is oily all over the bottom of the engine.

 

I just did the passenger side glow plug thing this past weekend. New harness and 4 glow plugs for under $100 in parts + some beer. Looks worse than it really was. Remove the inner fender well and everytihng is right there.

Now getting that fender well liner off is a pain. Mine is still off to make sure the leak was fixed. Has to go back on this weekend ( somehow? )

Turbo was a pain for me to get off, but should be easier if I ever have to do it again.

 

You can buy the OEM manual for you truck on ebay. I would suggest you buy one of those manuals. Take your time and do lots of reading. There is a special tool from ford to remove the glow plug harness "Remover/ Installer Glow Plug Connector 303-1114" would suggest buying of borrowing on of these.

 

you dont need that tool to remove the harness. Although it would probably be nice to have. take a piece of wire and wrap it around the plug where the ring is, then wrap the other end around a screwdriver or something, and pull up.

 

let me say this the pice of wire is a better tool then the oem POS. that thing sucks butt.

to do the oil pan you will need to lift the engine up about 2-3" drop the pan slide it back drop the pickup tube in the pan and remove them both. once out the upper pan will come off with a few more bolts. not a bad job.

if oyu are going to reseal the pump cover by the stc kit and install it at the same time.

 

What do you use to push the new harness on with?

 

lube the o-rings with luberplate and push them on by hand. the tool is only used for removal.

 

hey cheezet i'm about to fix a oil leak on my pan in a few days. Do you really need to take the upper pan off as well. It seams as the leak is comming from between the lower pan and upper. Do you recomend taking both off to fix this?

 

not neccary to remove both. Just figure I would add additional information.

 

Ok thanks.

 

Can someone post a link for a good manual to buy?