I have my 2002 Ford F450 7.3 diesel in the shop right now. Early story is it is leaking in the turbo or there is a problem with the turbo. Last summer I took the truck cross country and 500 miles from home I was gunning it to get on the highway and it started acting up (poor excelleration). And it started smoking and leaking oil. I crippled it home at lower speeds. Now that it's in the shop they told me about the turbo but have to keep it till tomorrow for a closer look. My question is what else should I consider since they have it in. I mean should they replace the turbo while their at it or any other parts that make sense since they are already into it?

 

Leaking oil as in it drips on the ground? Those types of leaks typically don't have any affect on power levels unless it makes the oil level too low.

White smoke pouring out the tail pipe is a sign of blown seals in the turbo and means you have to rebuild or replace, and makes a huge impact on power. But I don't think you could have limped it home 500 miles with the turbo burning that much oil.

How much smoke are we talking about, and did you have to add oil to get home?

 

When the issue first occured and I limped it home it only smoked when the oil got onto the hot engine/transmission parts. If I eased up on it and drive it without really pushing it (normal driving) no smoking at all. powers fine.

When I got back I took it to the transmission place (thought it was the tranny first because of the power loss) they said it was valve cover bolts so I took it to the engine shop because the previously had done my injectors. Now the engine shop is telling me its something with the turbo.

 

Reman injectors? Who made them? What issues at start up, idle, low power, under full load in terms of smoke, idle roughness, extended crank times, etc?

You never answered, is the oil dripping on the ground? If so, how much, and how much/often to you have to add oil to keep it topped off?

Loose valve covers will leak, but rarely leak enough to cause significant smoke. What was the shops response to the loose valve cover diagnosis? Is that something you can check yourself? (It is, but are you willing to do it?)

What did the shop say was wrong with the turbo? EPPV issue, o-rings or turbo seals?

 

New stock spec injectors from pensacola diesel. No issues ie startup, idle, roughtnex extended crank etc. It's difficult to answer the oil usage or load issue because the only time I really put a load is hauling the trailer and I do that once a year.

Perhaps in my naivete I've relied on the mechanics because I trust them. I looked when this 1st occurred and the oil looked like it was coming from the valley then running down onto the transmission and exaust pipes (ie smoke). I took it to the tranny place because it was loosing power which i interpreted to be a tranny problem and it was under warranty. They looked at it and told me it was leaking from the valve covers. Since I had also just gotten the injectors replaced I didn't question it and took it in to them. You asked what they said at the mechanics...they're real busy so the impression I got is they really hadn't looked at it and were just throwing out what they thought it was. My post was "if they're already in there and it's turbo related what should I have them do" I mean I don't want to repair an old turbo and pay another x amount of dollars if I could have more fixed at the same time.

 

Pensacola diesel has the cheapest reman injectors, and also likely has the worst reputation for newly installed injector failures. Do a search for Pensacola diesel injector problems, either in this forum or on google in general.

I will say they at least stand behind their warranty and will replace each bad injector as they act up and as you find them during the warranty period. As long as you don't mind doing or paying for the labor to do the swap out.

Your minor valve cover leak likely didn't cause the smoke, neither did a bad turbo. I'd worry about your new injectors if I was in your shoes.

But to answer your direct question if you choose to go the turbo route, the item to consider is a set of bellowed up pipes, or replacement up pipes and gaskets in case yours are crimped too much. A boost leak at the up pipes can cause loss of power and poor fuel economy, and is more common after the turbo has been removed. You need to pull the turbo to replace the up pipes, so while it's out, that would be the thing to consider. Also removing the pedestal and changing out the o-rings isn't a bad idea since that's a cheap option.

 

Yeah I would jerk them Pensacola sticks out as soon as I could afford to put ANYTHING else in their place. I've seen them fail on 2 7.3's and a 12 valve cummins. Sounds like you're trying to stay ahead of the curve which is not a bad thing at all. I have a similar problem as far as an oil leak. My pedestal is leaking and it is noticibly worse after hard driving. If I drive normally, the truck will rarely even leave a spot. If I'm heavy on the skinny pedal, whether it's towing or enjoying the fruits of my mods, it will leave a spot about 2" around right below the bell housing. I would wait until you have it accurately diagnosed before you go throwing money at parts you may or may not need to replace. But when in doubt, change it out. I plan on resealing everything I pull apart to get to my pedestal with new seals when I finally do mine.

 

Sorry and no offense intended here but I've basically stated that the smoking was from oil on the exhaust and now we're talking about my new injectors being garbage. Actually I'm very happy with the performance of the vehicle and if I somehow haven't explained things well, sorry. My question is basically "they may end up doing work on the turbo, either a leak or replacment....I'll know more tomorrow. Are there any parts or other things they should do while they're at this?"

Thinking back on my original research getting the injectors and all the advice I got back then it seemed to be a Levis or Wrangler debate. I'm not expert enought to really know but I do know I'm not going to shell out another $2500 to $3000 to get them changed. I know if they go out they probably won't all go out at once. I'll decide then.

So to my original question should I have them replace the turbo or what else should they do while they are in there?

 

Lack of power is probably coming from lack of oil. Injectors need the oil to fire them. Low oil=low power...as for turbo, a 60.00 rebuild kit and a day getting dirty asking with catching a buzz, will be suffice. Unless you guy 2k which that's what they'll charge you, I'd order the kit...inspect the 2-pipes behind the turbo. If you see black residue on them, your uppipes gaskets are shot. A cheap permanent fix is the Dorman crossover pipes from rockauto for 80.00

 

I would second just rebuilding the turbo, not replacing it. While in there you could rebuild the pedestal, the EBPV solenoid O rings go bad eventually and may be the source of your leak. And, of course, the four pedestal O rings, two on top and two on the bottom.

 

I'm having trouble finding a rebuild kit. I called the dealer and got the OEM number for the turbo it is f81z6k682barm cardone told me to order 2t-215p and 2t-209 looks like one is the rebuild turbo and the other is the pedistal. Also I found a new turbo on amazon as well as a mounting gasket and pedistal gaskets:


I'm not excited about paying ~800 for these parts but cardone lists quite a few quality checks when they rebuild them and as a novice I'm not sure I'll rebuild it right--and then there's locating the right kit as well. Is it hard to pull the turbo? I didn't do my injectors or pull the passenger valve covers due to the complexity. I can't look at the truck to eval right now since it's in the shop.

I do put some value on doing a good thorough repair now while it's apart than dinking around repairing something twice.

 

If your turbo is stock, then you can get rebuild kits from several places including the following.

https://www.spturboost.com/

https://www.riffraffdiesel.com/

Ebay, Amazon, etc...

If you do not have a stock turbo, then let us know what you do have and we can help out further with options, if there are any.

 

Supcompany, where u located

 

Roswell New Mexico

 

Man, did I have dyslexia with your name, lol... Hey, if your willing to pull the turbo, I have a fresh turbo here(rebuild with 100miles). I'll trade you, but gotta get about no more than 150.00(covers shipping and new rebuild kit for yours), if you want to go this route.. Either trust me that I'll send it to you(been here since 2010) or Chet(lives by me), can be a middleman..ya Chet, throwing you under the Bus, lol