Help Needed oil in the valley

bigkahun74

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2002 psd 7.3l. the other day i pulled the front end of the truck up onto the concrete pad in front of the garage to see where a rattling noise was coming from. when i got under the truck there was a ton of oil running down the backside of the motor. traced it up to the valley where there was still a few small puddles. checked everything out on top and it all is tight. just wondering if anyone has encountered this with their 7.3l and what it ended up being. going to make a 7 hour trip to KY in 4 weeks with it and need to make sure she good to go..

thanks,
Mike
 

JRJ04

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Yes, its not uncommon for these to leak oil from time to time. Things do wear out. How many miles are on it?

There are a few things it could be. If you've got a TON of oil, and it looks fresh, then the leak is probably pretty substantial and noticeable.

So, the first thing I would do is clean it all up REALLY well. Get some simple green or degreaser of your choice and soak the whole valley with it. Let it sit and then flush with clean water and repeat until its clean.

Crank it up, and then get under the hood and start looking. This is probably HPOP (High Pressure Oil Pump) related, which is located at the front of the motor, just under the "powerstroke" logo.

First, Check and see if it looks like oil is coming from where the pump attaches to the motor. If so, you'd need a new gasket, nr new o-rings depending on where its coming out. Next, VERY CAREFULLY inspect the 2 lines going from the pump to each side of the motor. There could be a tiny pinhole in one of them that doesnt open up until under pressure. Also check the fittings that mate the hose to the engine and to the HPOP. The o-rings could be weak and letting oil through. If all that looks good, then check your IPR (Injector Pressure Regulator) which is directly under the fuel bowl and has a wiring harness attached to it. The o-ring in it can go bad and let oil seep out. Finally, check your turbo pedistal. Over time, the moving parts in it can get weak and start to let oil leak out. I doubt its this since you have oil in the valley. When the turbo pedistal is leaking, it generally just runs down the back of the engine.

Good luck and let us know your findings!
 

iracemine

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being bone stock..... im going to say its you intake x pipe squirting oil from the boost couplers. Thats what mine did till I took them off cleaned it all up and then did the ccv mod so that would not happen again. you will be amazed how much oil comes out of the ccv.

I also took my inter cooler out and gave that a bath.
 

JLDickmon

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degrease it and then run it for a day or two..
might even want to get some oil dye and dig your old blacklight out of the back of the closet...
 

TurboDsl8

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I had the same thing happen on my 99 1/2, oil in the valley and down the back of the engine.turned out is was the o-rings on the turbo where the tubes clamp on. I think they were only about $3 a piece and only take 10-15 min to replace.I found this out after the dealer tried to tell me it was a head gasket... imagine that. from a $1800 to under $10 and a little time.Do you think they would have told me the truth if I let them fix it?....Didn't think so.Anyways good luck. Hope it's a cheap and easy fix.
 

NJKen

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The last two major oil leaks I had on my 02 where the ICP sensor on the drivers side head up front and a plug in the HPOP that is directly in front of the ICP solenoid. I actually just posted a big rant about it on oilburners.com. If there is a puddle up front (almost rite bolow the fuel filter) chances are high its coming from the oil pump. If there is a puddle further back it might just be coming from the pedastle o-rings. The 02 and 03 didnt seem to have the turbo oring problem as much as the HPOP problems.
Ken
 

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