Dumb question, valve cover leak?

[HOBrian]

Brian - before you replace any of the gaskets, try removing the valve cover and simply re-torquing the rocker box bolts.



Ryan

It is really strange how we think alike!!!!! Last Friday I took a look see at how hard this lower rocker cover was going to be and while I was in there I thought to myself why not just see if it is an easy fix by snugging up the bolts. The bolts were tight(I moved them 1/32 of a turn), but the rear most bolt was so tight it did not move at all and I did not want to mess with it until I was ready to tear it down.



Next week is going to be warm enough that I can clean the engine down and see what I have. I try and see every possible out come before I start into something, it makes for a happy day instead of a day with lots of #%$^% &^*& *&(*( #$@##$:-laf :-laf :-laf

 

[rbattelle]

I've concluded that my leak only occurs during very cold weather, and I suspect it only happens when I don't let the truck warm up enough before driving normally with it.

Now that the weather is warm, the leak has completely disappeared and the back of the rocker housing (where it was originating) is dry.

So now I'm faced with this dilemma. Do I go ahead and change the gasket? Or do I just leave it alone and drive more carefully on very cold winter days?

I think I'm going to leave it alone.

What's the status on yours, Brian?

Ryan

 

[MMeier]

I've concluded that my leak only occurs during very cold weather, and I suspect it only happens when I don't let the truck warm up enough before driving normally with it.



Now that the weather is warm, the leak has completely disappeared and the back of the rocker housing (where it was originating) is dry.



So now I'm faced with this dilemma. Do I go ahead and change the gasket? Or do I just leave it alone and drive more carefully on very cold winter days?



I think I'm going to leave it alone.



What's the status on yours, Brian?



Ryan

Ryan, since you now stated it only occurs during cold weather... thats when I thought my little oil leak, jave a thread somewhere on that also, occured. turns out it was the fuel reutn banjo on the back of the head leaking just a small amount till the hot fuel going through it made it stop leaking. By the time it ran down the back of the engine and through the bellhousing it picked up enough crap to make it look like oil. Might be worth checking, turns out quite a few have had this occur.

 

[rbattelle]

turns out it was the fuel reutn banjo on the back of the head leaking just a small amount till the hot fuel going through it made it stop leaking.

But mine doesn't smell at all like diesel fuel, and when the leak is fresh it seems too thick to be diesel. When it's been leaking, I can stick my hand back there and it will come back covered in the substance. I would expect a strong smell of diesel in that case.



Actually, to my nose, the fluid has no odor whatsoever. Aw heck, I don't know.



The fitting to which you refer is the fuel return line. I assume it must be pretty low pressure.



Ryan

 

[Johnstra]

Is your "cold weather theory" still holding up, Ryan? I cleaned mine up a couple of weeks ago and it has stayed clean so far.

-john

 

[HOBrian]

My leak is gone. It did take a while for all the oil to stop dripping off the motor, but after a good cleaning it has stopped. Oo. The gasket was in really bad shape. The SM says that if it is twisted or cut it will leak. Mine was so badly twisted I have no idea how it held any oil back.



Ryan, as for the warm weather/ cold weather thing you know darn well the first cold snap it is going to leak more than ever and you will be pretty #@$%! at yourself for not changing it when the weather was nice. :-laf

 

[rbattelle]

Ryan, as for the warm weather/ cold weather thing you know darn well the first cold snap it is going to leak more than ever and you will be pretty #@$%! at yourself for not changing it when the weather was nice. :-laf

Yup, you're right. I didn't realize you replaced yours. I think I'm going to do mine on Thursday.



Ryan

 

[HOBrian]

I changed mine but it was still dripping and I thought it might be something else. I washed down the motor the best I could(I thought) and it was still dripping on the garage floor. I then went under the truck and washed the whole back half of the motor#@$%!and now it is not leaking at all. I wanted to wait awhile before I posted back to make sure I fixed the drip. Oo.

 

[LesStallings]

No fuel smell, too clean for oil...

My truck must have known I've been reading this thread - it now is leaking something that is not diesel, apparently (no smell) but seems too clean for oil. It too is leaking from somewhere near the back of the engine and I can see it coming down from above the transmission.



There was a bit of a puddle today under the truck. This need attention. What does the fluid in the hydrobooster look like and is there anyway it would leak from up high on the engine???



I'll do a major fluid check tomorrow. Suggestions welcome

 

[MMeier]

Les, see my post #23 above, almost willing to bet thats what it is. Hydroboost fluid is your power steering fluid and I do not see anyway it would wind up coming from up high on the engine, except if it has a high pressure leak that is directing the stuff directly that way, highly unlikely, but it seems nothing is impossible on a 3rd gen truck anymore.

 

[LesStallings]

That could be it. I'll focus on that banjo fitting first. The temperature dependency seems to fit my problem. The truck is garaged in an air conditioned building, so it is cool initially. I have the drips when I frist start up but not when I bring the truck back in and up to operating temperature. (EDIT: Not true. I found leakage after shutdown this time. )



Would the fuel return banjo use standard O-rings?

 

[LesStallings]

Update: Appears to be transmission

I found no sign of a fuel leak from the upper portion of the engine. In fact, it appears to be a transmission oil leak from around the shifter (6-speed manual). It is only up high on the transmission and it is certainly damp around the shifter extension housing.



I wonder if the shifter was removed during the AC repairs (blend/recirc) last month and a seal was damaged when the shifter was replaced...



Any thoughts on this possibility??? Would the spray from the gears in the transmission get up high enough to leak from the shifter???

 

[rbattelle]

Would the spray from the gears in the transmission get up high enough to leak from the shifter???

Absolutely. I have a clear lexan cover over one of my fastcoolers... you should see the way the fluid churns in there when the engine is running!



Ryan

 

[LesStallings]

Absolutely. I have a clear lexan cover over one of my fastcoolers... you should see the way the fluid churns in there when the engine is running!



Ryan

That's kind of what I thought... Thanks Ryan.

 

[LesStallings]

Problem Solved



I found three of the four screws to be loose on the shifter extension housing spacer. They are supposed to be torqued to just 7-9 ft-lb and MAYBE they had worked loose over 80K miles. Whatever!



I'm topping off the fluid and reinstalling everything to factory specs. I am using a little dab of medium strength loctite on each screw, just to make sure they don't vibrate loose.



The problem was obvious once I removed the shifter boot. I wish everything was this easy to fix.

 

[RMacneil]

This is an old thread, but GREAT info here.
The weather has become pretty cold and my Rocker Box gasket and Valve Cover gasket have started leaking pretty good. Thanks to you guys I've got the info I need to dive in and fix this annoying issue.

Thanks!