Oil Leak help please

[PLohr]

Yo Hoot and others with front cover area leaks:

This truck had a crack in the front cover. Follow the link below. See post #12.

https://www.turbodieselregister.com...t-causing-my-crank-seal-leak.html#post2104491

 

[JasonMcNabb]

Lower front engine oil leak

I first changed the crank seal but found that the timing case to block gasket was the source of oil leak. Don't be mislead by oil pan leak, after all you can't properly fix the timing gear case to block gasket without dropping the pan anyway!



It's not cheap if you hire it done, any good Cummins mechanic can do it. It is about 14 hours shop time I think. Look for heavy duty mechanic shops that the employees all drive Cummins pickups!



Here is the silver lining to this fix, because you have the cam out to replace the gasket between the gearcase to block, you have the perfect time to put a new cam in! I put in a Hamilton cam and I am very pleased with it!

 

[hbowers]

I had an 04 about six months ago w/a bad oil leak up front. so I removed the fan and shroud,and removed the gear case cover, put a new seal in cover,put it back together and still had the same leak. so I got it back again,took fan an shroud out,also fan hub. leak was between gear case and block. it looked like about 3 or 4 inches of gasket was missing. jut to right of water pump. so I cleaned it w/ brake cleaner and air. and used ultra gray rtv and hasn't leaked a drop since.

 

[Yo Hoot]

I had an 04 about six months ago w/a bad oil leak up front. so I removed the fan and shroud,and removed the gear case cover, put a new seal in cover,put it back together and still had the same leak. so I got it back again,took fan an shroud out,also fan hub. leak was between gear case and block. it looked like about 3 or 4 inches of gasket was missing. jut to right of water pump. so I cleaned it w/ brake cleaner and air. and used ultra gray rtv and hasn't leaked a drop since.

Sounds like a plan for me. Don't have the $$ for the big job.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Yo Hoot]

hbowers... . did what you did yesterday while I had the whole front end torn apart to replace the steering box, linkage and pump https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?235124-03-08-steering-box-upgrade/page4

I removed the alternator, A/C compressor bolts and unbolted the steel casting from the block that those two accessories are mounted to. Also removed the water pump. That gave me a clear view of where the leak may be coming from. .

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Cleaned it up good and sprayed with CRC brake cleaner. .
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Layed down a good coating of Permatex 81182 Gear Oil RTV

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We'll see... . still finishing up the front end today.

 

[Yo Hoot]

Well the previous RTV job didn't do the trick. The good thing is with it all cleaned and the fresh light gray RTV, I saw the oil was coming from higher up. I wasn't able to clean and seal up there because the fan mount was there.
I put a paper towel in the area. It kept loading up with oil.

So today I took the fan mount off the front of the engine to see what's going on up there. Just like hbowers a couple of posts up, it looks like I had the exact same issue. Looks like a piece of the "gear case to block gasket" is missing. How in the heck can that be? Did it happen during assembly?

Fortunately it's up high and I think it's only oil splash from the gears spinning, slinging the oil through that gap. That's why I think the RTV on the outside worked for hbowers so I did the same. No pressure.

To clean it up, I sprayed it with brake cleaner. It looked like brake cleaner was going down into the gap where the gasket is missing.

Anyway... job is done. Sure hope it works as this leak has been haunting me for years.


Here is what I saw as soon as I removed the fan mount. Fresh oil.
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Here is the missing gasket in plain site.
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Gunked up with Permatex. .
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Strange how the previous attempt I made I could only get the RTV just to where the fan mount was. The missing gasket piece started at the fan mount edge and went up behind it from there.

 

[hbowers]

I bet you've got it now. I have fixed a couple that way. they haven't leaked a bit since.

 

[hbowers]

yo hoot those pictures you posted of missing gasket looked exacly like the two I fixed.

 

[FourBarR]

These things are a pain,dealing with oil leaks in aircraft especially the radial engines which always leak somewhere. I have found two ways to check one cheap one a little more $$$. Get some talcam powder or baby power use a small syringe bulb( available in drug stores. Put the power in the syringe and blast it in the area where the oil is showing up. The powder will stick to the oil and show the leak. Second one is black light add dye to oil run the engine to circulate the dye shine the light in the area should see the oil running . Black lights are available in automotive supply stores. I have a battery powered one I got from a Mazda dealer . Hope this helps.

 

[Yo Hoot]

Wonder if there was an assembly issue for a period of time.