Guys

Seems to me that the more i try and patch up oil leaks on the truck, the more that seem to come out. I have spent the last six weeks fighting with the ram fixing oil leaks as often as i can. It all began with the valve cover gaskets. I replaced them with others and no go, It was a mistake though because no o rings were included for the screws. Well Then i gave up on that for a while and killed my KDP just last week, the seal went in well for the crankshaft, but right at a teeny place that i missed, there was an oil leak, i just tackled that one with tons of form a gasket, and put the balancer back on, I also tightened the screws all equally, had a tq wrench with me this time around as well. WHen i was down there, i noticed that the trackbar is busted, and leaking oil there, and that the whole bottom end, where all the 10 mm screws are (oil pan) is leaking in oil.. Ok, that kinda got me a lil ticked, I knew about this long ago, i spend every weekend tightening and re tightening and checking those bolts, and it still seems that i have leaks. I figure that if the front crankcase has a metal gasket (crummy as it is) the oil pan must have one too.

It is a DISGUSTING SIGHT under my truck, The PO took good care of everything else, but out of my own arrogance and for safety reasons, i want no leaks in my truck whatsoever, Stacy David got me into this long back with his "hacker wire check" and it makes sence that if there is a short, there could be a fire and i could go Kaboom with the rig... Not something i want to do..

Have any of you fellas changed out the oil pan and gasket? how much of a PITA is it? Seems to me it cant be harder than the KDP was, just basic wrenching and lots of it,

What other advise do you guys have for minimizing or stopping oil leaks and the valve cover gaskets, timing cover, and the bottom end as well?

I have already ordered the Valve cover gaskets from Cummins, if that dont work,seems to me i will have to get the chrome or preferably black valve covers as well... where do i get those from?

Is it also true that the newer valve covers are also a different color than black? And is it possible that these black ones that i have are already warped?

Could this issue also be related because i need a valve adjustment? from my knowledge it has never been done.

Sorry for the questions, and thanks to each and everyone who reads this, and who also answers...

Respectfully


PS i loose approx a quart of oil every 3k, which is why this is a major cause for concern..... as well as for safety....

Rick

 

Funny how we all have different levels of tolerance. IMHO a quart in 3k miles is not a huge concern.

I would find it very hard to believe that you would need to replace the acutal valve covers themselves.

On a 4x4 I'm guessing the oil pan gasket is a real PIA.

 

Yep, on a 4x4 the oil pan gasket is a project. There are two ways to do it. Both are a bit of a process.


Hey Tx,

How many miles? I have almost 200K and no leaks to speak of. In fact my only leak ever was the vacuum pump seal, all of about $3.84 and a few hours of my time to take care of.

 

Is the oil pan gasket actually leaking, or it is oil that is dripping out of the blow-by tube? Between the fan, and the wind blowing around under the truck while driving, can make a mess, too. Never replaced my pan gasket, but I bet if you can lift the frame up front, the axle will hang down low enough to do it without to much trouble. There is a lot of travel there.

Grey RTV silicone can replace the OEM gasket on the timing case cover. Make sure to use acetone or similar cleaner to remove the oil, so the RTV will stick.

Unless they are damaged, no need to replace the valve covers themselves. I've noticed the grey marine valve cover gaskets don't seem to last as long as the black ones. Don't know if the black ones are even made anymore. My last 2 sets aren't.

IIRC, the valve cover bolts are torqued to 18 ft/lbs. The bolts have shoulders on them, so you can't get to crazy when tightening them down. Sucks if the start to leak. Just have to replace them. They get a flat spot where they touch head. That flat spot get hard, and no longer flexible enough to seal.

I had one start leaking on my way back home from Fairfield, Ia. Made a stop at Iowa80 truckstop. Noticed a puddle of oil under the truck. Lost a gallon of oil. in that time. Had a gallon jug with me, so no problem there. Had to tighten one of the bolts. That only slowed it down.

Needing to do a valve adjustment is not related to the leak. Good time to run the overhead, though, since you are already in there.

1qt/3k miles isn't all that much really. But it does make a mess, I know.

For safety, unless the oil spraying on a hot exhaust manifold or turbo, it is gonna have to take a fire to burn up the truck. It won't light with a match. If this was on a gasser truck, then I'd be more concered about it. I used to run a tractor that had lots of hydraulic leaks on the loader. Used it to push burning brush piles together all the time. Never had a problem. And some of those fires were VERY HOT!

I'm pretty lucky, I guess. Over 200k miles, and have only had to replace the valve cover gaskets twice and the front crank seal to stop my leaks.

 

OK Smokin dog..

168K as we speak right now, and so far the leaks at the top of the engine and at the crankcase have been defeated (temporarily that is,) because of some serious gasket maker I know i know i know... i found ANOTHER LEAK at my track bar, the little grease fitting leak oil and so forth and its drivin me mad!!

Bmoeller, I didnt consider it being the blow by tube at all, when i look at the bottom of the truck, i do know that the blowby tube is and there is more oil on the left side of the ride, and the most seems to be on the right front side of the chassis, it got so thick there that i had to use a paint scraper to get it off...

I know this disqualifies me for TOM bigtime too But im just tryin to fix what was neglected a little bit at a time, and its downright irritating already.

I looked at that bottom end, seems that pulled the oil pan out will be a doozie, but im just gonna keep fighting at it, and try and do something about that blow by tube, any ideas or suggestions? thanks guys for the help

PS Bmoeller, I ENVY YOU..

Tx

 

When i redid my brake lines, the part of the framerail where the brake bias valve sits and the fuel lines emerge from the frame to goto the motor, the C of the frame was gone, instead there was a flat face of gunked oil and road grime almost straight across from bottom to top, makes me wonder what the previous owners actually did to this truck other than drive it through tar. :-\ It literally buried the bias controller and took me a good 2 or 3 hours to clean it out. She's all clean now though, lets hope it stays that way with the inspection plate leaking. Anyone know if it's possible to just get back there and tighten the bolts for that plate without pulling the IP?

 

Ok, 2 things leap to mind. First, when you say the fitting on the track bar is leaking, the track bar is only greased, shouldn't be dripping motor oil. You might have a leak above the track bar and I would suspect the seal between the vacuum pump and the power steering pump. It will be easy to see a leak there from under the truck. Might want to give it a good wash all over including underneath to spot the leak.

Second, the leak on the front right of the engine might me from the oil return from the turbo housing. There is a hose there with 2 worm clamps. You can see it best from the right side of the engine behind the oil filter. It easy to get to with the filter removed.

I would clean it really well then look for your leaks. Remember the oil will leak from the top down so if you start at the bottom work your way up until it's not wet anymore, then look for you're leak.

 

Seems that grey gasket maker didnt work well

I have a very minute leak AGAIN when i smothered the area with gasket maker and even removed the timing cover and did it again.. Does anyone suggest anything better than that POS grey gasket maker?

What about silicone?

Fschiola, i will go ahead and look to see what i can do about it, i have TONS of homework this week, so it might be outta the question, right now as we speak i am working on a paper, and im on here to think a lil better and to distract myself from the headache i call Entomology class..

Many thanks for yalls help!!

Tx

Tx

 

On the gear covers, I just use the factory gasket, and have never had a problem. Get a gasket from Dodge or Cummins, then when you put the gear cover back on, make sure the seal is centered on the crankshaft using the alignment tool that came with the seal.

I've found that these engines are very easy to seal using the factory seals and gaskets. These parts work well and last a long time. Better than on many other engines I've worked on.

 

Factory seal is dead center. I swear it.

it went in just the way it should have. perhaps a new gasket is in my future..

Thank you!!

Tx

 

Sounds to me like you are trying to fix a little here and a little there. Start at the top and work down. Did you get the gray valve gaskets. The O rings should come with the kit from Cummins. Don't reuse old ones. It won't work.

Make sure the vacuum pump isn't leaking. That will really make a mess. A gasket and the right arm will stop that one.

On the timing cover. Do it right the first time and it's fixed.

The blow by tube is a real messy proposition. What I did to to releave the bottom end pressure, is to get a fitting for the front of the timing cover, where the oil is put in, off an FL 70. That has another blow by tube made into it. When you see it you'll know what I mean. This setup will give you 2 vents and relieve the stock setup. You will still get some oil out the stock tube, but not nowhere near the amount you had before.

What ever you do, do it right, once, then go to the next one. Before you know, you're done. You can clean the engine and it will stay clean.

..Preston..

 

Man i know what you mean. Mine leakes pretty good all over the place. I've got a bad injector leak right now i've been fighting with for 3 weeks or so, with no luck yet, and i think when i get that fixed, im spraying my whole darn engine with gunk, and pressure washing it off, and putting new valve cover gaskets on, and work my way from there. Maybe kill the KDP and replace all those gaskets. I would definatley like to get it stopped leaking, but my injector leak is my worst problem right now.

Eric

 

Eric

not a tough job to do, i can guarantee you that your GSK was alot tougher to install than killing a KDP.. Just have a buddy with you, I wrote a report on it so to say he he he he for lack of a better word, with working with the TST kit. Seems to my my leaking has stopped but im fighting it one weekend at a time. I too need to wash my engine AGAIN... i usually do it when i was the truck..

Tx

 

Yeah, i saw your write up, and that kinda motivated me.lol I need to do it, because im sure those seals are leaking anyways. My motor is just covered in oil. Theres not hardly a place on the front or top of it that doesent have oil on it. When i get that injector leaked fixed im gonna wash it all up, try to clean it good, and see where all my leaks are.

Eric

 

when I used to work on Peterbuilt's with CAT 3406's, we always had a couple rattle cans of CAT yellow spray paint around for minor leaks. clean the area aruond the leaks and spray a little paint over it. will work on some minor gasket seals, sometimes repeat apps. are required.
my $.02