Archived Exxon Valdez...Oil Leak...HELP!

[rhinomahn]

A bit of back story:

My Holset HX35 seized so I replace it with new one. I changed the oil and filter at the same time did over fill by a 1/2 quart or so.

All went well and my test drive was uneventful...it was good to have the truck back. It has just shy of 395,000 miles and runs like a top.

Now for the problem:

I drove to work earlier this week and notice a faint oil smell. I dismissed it since the truck has always leaked a "bit" of oil. Not unusual for a truck with that many miles. I drove home at the end of the day and notice a rather large "puddle" of oil under the truck after I got home.

Having given it some thought I figured I'd torn the rubber host on the turbo oil return so I tore that off this morning...it was fine.

I fired it up in the driveway and ever after running it didn't seem to leak...so I took it to an engagement about 35 miles away. The burning oil smell was very strong on the way down and, by the time I hit the parking lot, it was leaking bad enough to leave marks to my parking spot. I suspect it leaked about 1/3 of a quart after stopping.

So...did I screw things up by over filling? I did a bit of searching and now one seems to concerned. I did notice a slight jump in oil pressure (factory gauge) but wasn't concerned. I'm thinking of tearing into the front end tomorrow morning and replacing what gaskets I can get to but I'm also concerned it's a front main seal.

Thoughts...suggestions...a shoulder to cry on?

Thank you!

 

[whitexc]

What year truck? 24V running the catch can on front cover still? Is there a chance your vacuum pump seal went out and you are pressurizing the crankcase - pushing oil into that bottle that is full or wherever it can find a way out for that matter? Check oil pan bolts? Just throwing out some ideas.

 

[JR]

You didn't hurt anything by over filling by a half quart. What general area is the leak? Driver's side, pass side, etc.
Vac pump and tappet cover are big ones on the driver's side. Tappet cover gasket becomes brittle with age and heat cycles, starts out as a slow leak but can vacate the oil in the sump fairly quickly if a large piece of the gasket breaks off.

 

[rhinomahn]

What year truck? 24V running the catch can on front cover still? Is there a chance your vacuum pump seal went out and you are pressurizing the crankcase - pushing oil into that bottle that is full or wherever it can find a way out for that matter? Check oil pan bolts? Just throwing out some ideas.

Thank you for the post. The truck is a '85 12v. The oil is coming down the front of the motor and the fan catches a fair bit of it and throws it over the front of the engine and compartment.

You didn't hurt anything by over filling by a half quart. What general area is the leak? Driver's side, pass side, etc.
Vac pump and tappet cover are big ones on the driver's side. Tappet cover gasket becomes brittle with age and heat cycles, starts out as a slow leak but can vacate the oil in the sump fairly quickly if a large piece of the gasket breaks off.

Thank you as well for the post. My first order of business, after sleeping on it, is to limp it over to a local car wash and clean off the engine as best as possible, limp it home, and look for oil. It might give me a better idea of the source.

Cheers!
Dave

 

[rhinomahn]

Good news! I believe I've found the source of the "big" leak. The light "arrow" just above the stationary serpentine idler points to the location I see oil flowing. It appears to be originating from behind the fan pulley mount. I'm off to research but thought I'd post here in case someone has any ideas?

Dave

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[rhinomahn]

Well crud!

After pulling the fan pulley mount off I saw the culprit...the gasket on the back of the timing gear housing failed....yeah, the one between the block and the timing gear case.

Has anyone replaced or possibly repair (yeah, right!) one of these? Looks like a bit job!

 

[JR]

What year is this? You said 85 above i assume 95? Hopefully your not a victim of an uncooperative dowel pin....

Cover gasket R&R isn't that big of a job provided it's just a gasket issue and not a cracked cover. Make sure you install a new front main seal while your in there.

 

[rhinomahn]

What year is this? You said 85 above i assume 95? Hopefully your not a victim of an uncooperative dowel pin....

Cover gasket R&R isn't that big of a job provided it's just a gasket issue and not a cracked cover. Make sure you install a new front main seal while your in there.

It is a '95...not '85 as stated above (can't edit...odd). It's actually not the cover that's leaking but the case itself. I can see a bit of failed gasket just below the fan pulley mount (when it's removed). I suspect my first choice is to remove the bit-o-failed-gasket, clean the are really well and RTV it.

 

[rhinomahn]

Well crud again...

Looks suspiciously KDP'ish! I found it in the area of the leak. It still runs so the failure doesn't seem catastrophic....maybe. I can't tell for sure but there seems to be damage to the timing case where the KDP is located...so I'm going with KDP and I do feel I'm in over my head on a repair and I don't think RTV will help!. Anyone else done one? How bad was it?

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[rhinomahn]

KDP confirmed...the good news is the cover is off and all gear appear "whole." Now the question remains: Do I undertake this my self? I'll be honest the "pulling the cam" bit is more than I've done previously.
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[JR]

That's what i was afraid of...dang.
Only you can answer that question, if you have worked on other engines before it's still not such a difficult job just time intensive. If you are thinking about doing it I'd suggest getting a service manual for your engine and study up on it. Probably the best tool you can buy .

 

[GAmes]

Replacing the gear case isn't a job you can do in a parking lot, it is pretty labor intensive. To pull the cam requires removing the radiator and the inter-cooler. Removing the inter-cooler requires removing the front bumper. A factory service manual would be the most valuable tool in the garage. You also need to remove the valve covers and push rods. Wooden dowels are used to hold the lifters off the cam. The lift pump needs to be removed as well as the vac pump/PS pump, and injector pump. It is possible to remove just the cam gear and reinstall it, but I don't think it should be attempted by a rookie in a home garage. I needed to have my gear case gasket replaced a long time ago. I hired it out. It was a two day job for an experienced mechanic and a helper.