ETH bigtime oil leak and reading low voltage

[Bart Timothy]

About 5 minutes from arriving home tonight I hear a ding and notice the check guages light on. The volt meter is registering 0 volts. Decide to wait until I arrive home to check the thing out and once there notice egine oil everywhere under the hood, radiator, fan, all over the right front wheel -- a big mess everwhere including leaving a trail from the street into the driveway. Check the oil and find it's over a quart down. Check the oil breather bottle and find it's dirty but not causing the leak. While the engine is running notice oil is leaking big time from either around or right above the air conditioning compressor down onto the steering linkage and leaving a big slick all over the driveway. Turn the engine off and the leak stops. Voltage is only 12 volts while running. Can't check out the charging problem because of the oil leak.

What's gone wrong?? This is absolutely the first thing that's gone bad on a truck which only has 19000 miles. Check the service manual and find that the general area of the oil leak is right by the oil pump and cooler but there's so much oil coming out it's hard to say from where. Pictures in the manual aren't much help. It's under 20 dgrees out side and I haven't got the best of lighting. Where's the thing leaking? Could this leak have done something to the alternator causing it not to charge? Need some imput before calling the dealer for warranty work on a BOMB'd truck. Rather fix it myself if possible.

 

[Alan Reagan]

It sounds like the oil filter. I would check it first. A couple of months ago after a 400 mile trip, I was admiring my engine and noticed oil on top of the filter. I gripped the filter and tightened a good half turn. It had just started to lead down the side of the filter. Also, the filter may have ruptured at the top seam. That's where I would start. Or call Cummins at 1-800-343-7357 and talk to a tech rep if you are going to find it yourself. Could it be that you have oil on the belt and it's not pulling the alternator (slipping). That will cause a low charge condition.

 

[Bart Timothy]

Thanks for your quick reply, Allen. My driveway is slopped out to the street and the oil leak is coming off the front of the engine, which is uphill, so I doubt it's the filter, but it'll be light out soon and I'll get a better look.

Actually, in rereading my original post I need to clearify things. When I arrived home, the first thing I did was turn off the engine and then restart. After doing that the voltmeter at least wasn't reading 0 anymore but only at 12 volts. Leaving the engine running, I popped the hood and that's when I discovered oil everwhere, flinging off the fan and belts all over everything. The alternator was covered too, but the belt wasn't slipping.

Thanks in advance for any information anyone can offer.

 

[John Dimartino]

Dude,i hope it isnt another dowel pin that fell into the timing gear,if it is man,unbomb tha truck,you do not want to pay for this one,and bombing it likely had nothing at all to do with this failure,its a design flaw that allows some engines with the dowel hole on the loose side to have the dowel fall into the timing gear while its running,if this is the case,it might even need a new engine. If it wedges right it can break the front bearing cap and damage the crank,but i doubt yours did that since its still running fine. Good luck

 

[Alan Reagan]

If the belt is slipping you probably won't hear it. It just won't pull the alternator. The 12 volts you are reading is probably the battery voltage unless you have cranked it again, then it would be lower. Don't worry about the voltage yet. Let us know what this is when the sun comes up. I'm curious.

 

[dieselburner]

I had the dowel pin problem with mine. The engine ran fine and didn't miss a lick all the way home. Didn't know that there was a problem til I saw all of the oil. In my case I got lucky and the pin went through the top of the timing cover. Only lost less than a quart. It's real bad if it goes through the gear to gear set up the Cummins has. Check your timing cover. Engine mods don't cause this pin to come loose, the pin is not captured by the cover and can come loose inside. The replacement timing cover captures the pin. I would not give the dealership a excuse to deny coverage. When they repaired mine it was something like 3,000 dollars. New cam, gears, timing cover, seals, and labor. All covered under warranty.

------------------
1998 2500 Quad Cab, 12V, 5spd, 4x4, HD Transfer Case, 370HP Diamond B Injectors, #4 TST, 16cm2 Housing, AFC Spring Kit, BD Governor Spring Kit and other modifications, Walker Muffler, 285/75-16 BFG AT's, Stainless Steel Tube Steps, Reese Fifth Wheel Hitch, Leather, CD, LSD Dana 80 Rear, 60 Front, Centerforce Dual Friction Clutch, Rancho RS9000 Shocks, Rancho Steering Stabilizer, ATS Exhaust Manifold, Psychotty Air Induction

 

[Evan A. Beck]

Here's a couple of simple things to check:

First of all, what are your oil pressure readings? Anything abnormal?

--Check the oil feed line to the turbo. The connection on top of the filter head may be loose for some reason, resulting in a ton of oil all over the place.

--Check the oil pressure regulator plug. It will be the larger hex headed bolt-type thing on the front of the filter head. Make sure its gasket is in good shape, and that the plug is torqued to 60 ft-lb.

If one or both of these things are leaking, the oil could have sprayed up into the alternator, causing the screwed up voltage reading. The oil pressure at this location is fairly high, and it could easily spray all over the place. If oil did indeed spray into the alternator, this could cause the internal workings to misbehave, and not register a voltage reading on your gauge.

One more thing to check:

--Check the oil filter head bolts, and make sre they are all tight. Look for leaks around the perimeter of the filter head.

Hope this points you in the right direction... Keep up posted!

 

[Bart Timothy]

Thanks guys for your responses. It looks like the problem is, of all things, the head gasket. Oil on the fan belt turned out to be the electrical problem after all. Might be the dowl pin thiing, but the oil appears to be coming out between the haed gasket and block right above the fan assembly, on the very front of the engine. After the engine is stopped the oil sits on the top edge of the fan assembly and kind of bubbles like there's compression leaking out. The dealer will call tomorrow with the exact problem. One of the good parts of this story is that I found and had it towed to a BOMB friendly dealer who will support me and does very good work. One of the bad parts is that my truck was hauled there on the back of a PSD. I'll keep everyone posted on the progress.

 

[Bart Timothy]

One other interesting bit of info I forgot to mention was when I called the Cummins tech line (thanks Alan and sorry about the miss-spelling previous), the tech told me when Chrysler buys these engines from Cummins they come with no warranty. Chrysler handles all that themselves. I didn't know this.

 

[Alan Reagan]

No problem on the spelling. Seems like if its the head gasket, you would have water in the oil. Anyway, good luck. Keep that tech line number handy. Those guys can be pretty helpful and they are there around the clock.

 

[Bart Timothy]

Latest information:

Called the Cummins tech line today and inquired how an ISB engine could leak oil to the outside of the engine through the head gasket and not have oil into the water or compression leaking out to anywhere. They said it was rare but has happened. Called Cummins Intermountain and talked to the head tech guy who has seen it happen before. Guess I'm one of those rare lucky ones it happened to.

Dealer won't tear the engine down until parts come in next Monday. Will have to wait until then to find out where the root problem is.