I have a terrible oil leak on the drivers side of the engine. I am hoping someone has seen this before. My Dealer is into me for $1350.00 and wants to send it to someone else to look at. He cannot figure out the problem.

It all started just after I completed the KDP Tab repair. I replaced the forward accessory gear cover gasket and crankshaft seal. First trip after this. The truck began to leak oil. I washed engine down. It looked as if the side cover was leaking. I took it to the dealer. They said the vacuum pump was leaking. They were unable to fix mine, so I purchased a rebuilt pump from fixnram.com. I had them install it. Truck still had same leak. I took it back and they said that a line was leaking behind the vacuum pump. They replaced this line. Still had same leak. They looked at it again, and said the line they had just installed had split. They replaced this again. Still had same leak. They then put a dye in the oil. They said the Head Gasket was leaking. They replaced this. They then called me and said that Cummins had told them to check the side cover. This was also leaking. They replaced the gasket on this. Truck still had same leak. They said Cummins told them the side covers warp. I needed a new side cover. This was replaced. Still had same leak. They then told me that they suspected High Crankcase pressure. It would only leak after they drove it (engine under load).

The Dealer now wants to send it out to a "Special Diesel Shop" so they can see why it has High Crancase Pressure.

I have sent them information on the Vacumm Pump, Fuel Injector and a worn Turbo causing High Crankcase pressure. I was able to get this information from this forum. I asked them to double check the breather for obstructions. They tell me this is clear.

During one of the test drives they said the check engine light came on. They never pulled the codes to see why.They tell me this light went out by itself. The light has never come on for me. I did have an occasion to hook up a scanner to the truck in early Feb. Just prior to this oil leak problem. I had purchased the unit for my Jeep and was trying it out on all my cars. I pulled two codes out. PO234 and PO236. These codes are related to the wastegate. I was surprised back then, because the engine light had never been on. These codes were showing as (Pd) pending. I have a Van Aaken box on my truck and thought that the box may have caused this fault. I never followed up on it.

My Question is, Does anyone see these codes as possible causing the high crancase pressure that is forcing oil out of the various gaskets.
Stuck Waste Gate causing High Manifold Pressure, Head gasket blown, Side cover Gasket leaking. Is my train of thought correct.
I feel I should ask the dealer to pull the codes. Since he said the light came on during one of his test drives.
Any Ideas would be appreciated. They have had my truck for over a month.
Has anyone seen anything like this before?

 

check the vent line at the front of the engine. is that where it is leaking? if the vent is clear it should not allow the pressures to get high enough to cause any issues. if it has been extended be sure it does not have any low spots in it where oil could pool. how is the oil level? is it over full? too much can cause a lot of headaches too.

the fact that the dealer was unsure if it was a head gasket or vac pump scares the bejeezus out of me.

for crying out loud don't go back to that place ever again!!!!!!!

 

after the dealer replaced my injection pump the next day I had a leak I took everything apart on the the driver side to find the leak it would only leak when you drove it,took it back to the dealer twice they couldnt find,finally they pulled the injection pump off and found a plate behind their leaking they changed it out and updated the breather tube to relocate it to the back off the motor which cost me 1000.00 that was 10000 miles ago no leaks so far (nock on wood)

 

The leak was definitely coming off the drivers side of the engine. They tell me that the breather is clear. I am still not quite sure how they determined that the crankcase pressure was too high. I think they called "Dodge Tech support" and were told to check for High Crankcase pressure. I feel they have now made the assumpton this is the problem. I guess it's possible.
I did ask them to check codes. None listed.

 

On my old 12valve, when I had a major, expensive oil leak- I took mine to my local Dodge dealer as well because I was unable to locate it. I had just tabbed my KDP about 1-2,000 miles before but, I could not determine the source of my new, 3 quart a day- all over the tailgate oil habit.
Between road draft and cooling fan draft, it was ALL over the bottom of the truck and up the back gate (shouldnt ever rust).
After about $600 bucks in "bad diagnosis" , the dealers "top diesel man" wanted to "tear into my engine and make sure that my piston cooling nozzles were not plugged creating this problem" (which would have been about another grand!).
After I was done laughing and fearing my for my Cummins life, I warned them not to dare doing anything else...its goin' straight to Cummins.
I was outta warranty so this was all cash anyway.
Cummins told me over the phone it was just the turbo seals--bring it down and they'll hook up the blowby gauges to verify.
45 minutes was all it took. It had excessive blowby caused by worn out turbo seals.
A quick call to PDR and my new hx 35 fixed the problem.
Good luck! I hope it turns out OK for you!

 

I don't know about the other stuff. Mine has always done this, even with the ez. I always get PO234 when I scan and I get no CEL even before the CEL light burned out. Only time I had a CEL was when apps was acting up and I had bad fuel last fall.

 

I got a call from the dealer today. I had told them to send the truck to the Diesel Shop that works on Cummins. The Diesel Shop reported that everything checked out good on the engine. Crankcase pressure was normal under load and no load conditions. But also, no more Oil Leak. Dealer not sure why it has stopped. They suspect that there was blockage in the breater line. It was an expensive lesson for me. From now on when I need engine work, I am taking it to a Cummings/Diesel mechanic. no more dealer.

As a Side note to this saga. I picked the truck up at the Dealers. The front left fender/quarter panel had a bad gouge and scrathes all over it. They want me to bring it back next week and have it repaired/painted.

Thanks for all the responses and information.

 

I am glad that your problem seemed to get better!
Hopefully, it stays gone.

That's too bad about the fender...at the very least, thank God they are not fighting you on its repair!
You know... since it's already in the body shop, maybe they'll charge you parts and materials only if they fix any other blemishes that are bothering you?

Just a thought.

 

Hmmm

I like the way you think. Never hurts trying.

 

Another thing to keep in mind is that any vacuum leaks in the vacuum plumbing- (heater controls, 4wd vacuum disconnect, etc.) will cause the vacuum pump to pump air into the crankcase and cause a major blowby-like condition.

 

I guess I need you to explain how this happens....I don't see it

 

The vacuum pump vents into the crankcase, which isn't an issue unless there's a leak. But if there's a leak it's sucking in a bunch of air, and that air ends up in the crankcase. It will exit the crankcase through places it can easily escape, and it can take oil vapor with it. You will see it especially at the road draft tube and the dipstick tube, and it can make small leaks appear worse.

 

AVMECH I'm realy happy for you my truck had same problem almost and i had to replace #5 piston it was built at the factory without the top compresion ring at 94000 the only compression ring broke i just got it back together runs realy great. The truck always had a cold start smoke problem and insted of making DC do anything i lived with it till it started missing and the crankcase pressure started. I did all the work myself could have maybe got by with just rings but the second ring gland i wasnt comfortable with because the ring had broke so i replaced the piston and rod bearing and did a valve job.
I still wish i had forced DC to do something before my time on war ran out but we live and learn it was the first ctd i have been inside of gosh buit like a tank
Gary