Archived Massive oil leak, drivers side, front of block

[Ram4Fun]

1999 3500 24 valve, famous 53 block

It suddenly started leaking oil and had drained out about 2 quarts in just over a mile! The leak is hard to see but is behind the injector pump about 2 inches and about 2" below the head gasket. It is not the oil pressure sending unit ( about 6 inches toward the front of the engine from there) and does not seem to be the vacume pump. THe oil is flowing down the block and you can see it flowing when the engine is running. Is there any oil lines, bolts, plugs, or sensors in this area of the block or am I looking for a crack tommorrow???

Please help. I'm in Eagle River Alaska so it is cold out right now(-5)... could that contribute to the equasion (other than cold fingers)?

 

[Udaloy]

PS drive

Isn't the unit for power steering driven from that location? I thought I read somewhere about that being the cause of sizable a leak. Good luck!

 

[seagrave2001]

Seal

Mine developed an oil leak after i got my truck from the dealer... . (Took it back to the dealer & he is paying a good diesel shop to fix it... ) There was oil dripping off of everything on the from the front of the engine... It looked like something let loose under the hood & nothing was visible from looking under the hood... It wasn't until I crawled under and looked up and saw the drip between the vacuum pump & power steering pump... I drove it to & from work for a day or 2 until I could get it fixed which is around 60miles round trip and every night I had to add a quart of oil... It was just running to the lowest spots and dripping in multiple spots. .

 

[rashwor]

Hope it is not a cracked timing case caused by a KDP.

 

[seagrave2001]

Hope it is not a cracked timing case caused by a KDP.

That could be a possibility... if it cracked up front the fan & normal air movement can be blowing it all around... .

 

[rashwor]

The case can crack anywhere. It depends where the KDP went as to where the crack will be. I would make sure this is not it before driving it anymore. If the case is cracked, odds are you can do very serious damage in a short, short time.



I hope this is not what happened. Keep us posted.

 

[Ram4Fun]

Its at the cummins dealer getting fixed now. IT was the side cover gasket, there is a tappit cover on the drivers side that allows the push rods to be accessed but not removed. That seal will get pushed out if there is too much crankcase pressure, such as with a turbo spike if you are running an exhaust brake. My truck has an exhaust brake but I never noticed any turbo spike, but the shop foreman said that it has only happened once that he's seen on a truck that didn't have an exhaust brake. I rarely used the brake, but I don't know about the previous owner. Cummins said that they can glue the gasket in with an epoxy type glue to keep it in place even with the exhaust brake. There seems to be no good reason for the side cover in the first place since the head still needs to be pulled to remove the push rods. Oh well, it is an expensive fix since it takes a day's labor to remove the injector pump, fuel filter assembly, vacume pump and power steering pump in order to replace the seal. So be warned those of you who are running exhaust brakes.

 

[Jetson]

Your crankcase breather tube could have gotten an ice block in it. Condensation can ice up and prevent the engine from breathing, especially if you have a catch bottle or extension on the hose.