Lost all oil, driver side of engine??

[1RWeiss]

Where do I start... . three days ago I blew 2nd gear on the transmission going up Teton Pass pulling my fifth wheel, I was able to pick up an HD Rebuild at the local Dodge dealer (something I wanted to do anyway even before this) that installation went smooth except the park indicator didn't light so I went back the next day to have that adjusted and while I waiting I asked them to adjust the valves, again no problem.



The next day I hit the road to continue the trip and I thought I smelled some oil while I was in traffic but paid it no mind...



Two hours down the road I pulled over for a break and the undercarriage was coated with oil and there was a bunch of oil on the ground... checked the dipstick and it showed zero oil!!!



What the heck am I looking at here... rear seal? something to do with the valve adjustment?, maybe a breather problem??



PLEASE any help would be appreciated... the diesel mechanic might not be in tomorrow so I might be staying in Pinedale, Wy. for awhile.



What could be wrong?? definitely more oil on the drivers side, turbo side is clean. .



Ron

 

[TCDiesel]

Teton was open for trailers? thats one Nasty pass. . Been their several times. . Pinedale. . Hmmmm you could be struck in Jackson. . Is this your 1st trip to the Teton, Moran, Togetee?

 

[cerberusiam]

Valve cover gasket not seated correctly maybe?



Can you tell if the oil is coming from high up on the block or down low?

 

[1RWeiss]

It seems low on the block, I tried tightening the valve cover bolts but they were tight, don't see any seepage around gasket, leak seems lower on the block.



Did not see the sign at the bottom of Teton Pass that said not recommended for trailers or RV's..... everyone asked me the same thing.



Ron

 

[SHobbs]

Isn't there another cover just below the head, tappet cover maybe?

 

[HBarlow]

Just in case the loss of oil is related to the service just performed by a dealer I would not touch it and certainly would not clean it up myself. Have it towed to the dealer AFTER photographing everything. I would have it towed back to the original dealership if possible and arrive during business hours. I would accompany the truck and ask for the service manager immediately. Show him the dipstick and the underhood oil. Be careful, this could be a $15,000 engine replacement and you should be prepared to seek legal representation depending on the dealer's attitude and actions.

If you actually ran it without oil with a heavy load the dealership might owe you an engine.

 

[1RWeiss]

The truck is back at the dealers "sister" location about 2hrs away from the dealer that did the work, they arranged for the double tow there.



My wife and I did take photos of the undercarriage and the small oil puddles on the ground so that's covered.



It's 2003 5. 9 by the way and I don't see a second valve cover only the black plastic top piece and then the cover, If it's the valve cover gasket the only place it could be leaking might be way in the back where I can't see.



Ron W.

 

[TCDiesel]

Send the picture here and I will look and post them. . Do you frequent the area... if not call Me I spend 2 months yearly in the area. . Know just about every rock and Ranch.

 

[1RWeiss]

TCDiesel,



Thanks for the offer... Don't know the Pinedale area at all, we were just passing through from Yellowstone when disaster struck.



Thought everything was fine until the oil issue.



I have the pics on my cell phone, not to enlightening. I can best describe it by saying the driver lower side of the engine was the most oil soaked maybe centered by the breather tube, the turbo side was pretty clean and the turbo lines looked OK from what I could see. The fifth wheel had oil only on the driver side, again pointing to that side as the culprit.



I'll take you up on your offer and call.



Ron W.

 

[cerberusiam]

Tappet gallery cover is low on the drivers side of the engine. It is possible it started leaking for whatever reason. Sometimes there is no reason, they just leak. Engine oil pressure sensor is there also, possibly it got broke at the first dealer or maybe it just let go.

 

[Spooled05]

Theres no tappet cover on the cr like the older versions. The oil press sending unit could have been broken or they didnt get the small line from breather to block put back on good.

 

[1RWeiss]

Just saw the truck and mechanic showed me the valve cover gasket, it was folded over on back corner of the valve cover. He had to get on a step ladder and use a mirror and flashlight to see it. When he saw the red wire from the injector under the valve cover he knew he found the problem!!



Since it was in the very back tha'ts why I didn't see it.



Sooo... . we will be back on the road today.



Thanks guys



Ron W.

 

[Bob4x4]

Those gaskets are reusable unless they come out of the groove. Then must be replaced. Looks like the tech that did the adj. must have bumped it out of it's groove #@$%!

 

[1RWeiss]

That's exactly what happened... out of the groove and folded in.



They put a new one in just to be safe.



Ron W.

 

[jakprince]

well what about the injector wire hope it didnt cut it

 

[1RWeiss]

No the wire wasn't cut, but because the gasket was pushed in when he looked sideways with the mirror he could see inside the valve assembly with the cover still on.



Oil was free to roll down the valve train assembly towards the rear of the engine then down the right side firewall.

 

[BLoging]

was the cummins motor hurt?

 

[1RWeiss]

Cummins was fine, the engine was purring along when I pulled over, I never stressed it. The dipstick showed zero but when they filled it up it only took 4 quarts.



I just went another 400 miles today and everything is perfect, thank the Cummins God.



It's funny I wanted to do the valve adjustment myself (as a learning thing) and I was going to wait till we got back from our trip, I should know better but the dealer that did the transmission said they could do it for $100.



That $100 bucks almost cost them a new engine... ...



Ron W.

 

[Motorhead]

This sounds like another "FAST FREDDY FLAT RATE" mechanic job. Sounds like you will be alright.

 

[1RWeiss]

This sounds like another "FAST FREDDY FLAT RATE" mechanic job. Sounds like you will be alright.

Sure does... what bothered me the most was my inability to see the actual leak in the back of the valve cover, even standing on the front bumper looking down I couldn't see it.



I lost a whole nights sleep thinking about all the possible causes of oil belching out the right side of the engine, everything from blown turbo seal to busted ring



Ron W.