Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Oil leak on front of engine, above and right of fan

[Joe Gerber]

During an oil change today I spotted oil drops forming on the oil pan mounting bolts. I followed the trail of oil up the front of the engine to a spot on the "timing cover" (don't know if that is really what is behind the cover). The spot is a little higher than the fan shaft and a few inches towards the drivers side. There is a raised circular disk that is about 2. 5" in diameter by . 25" thick (looks a bit like an Air Hockey puck) that has a slight gap between it and the "timing cover". There is a dimple in the middle of this "puck". The oil is coming from behind this "puck". You can see the spot by standing in front of the truck and looking over the radiator and fan shroud. The "puck" sticks out of the front of the "timing cover" very close to where the shaft of the cooling fan comes off the front of the engine. The center of the "puck" is 3" - 4" higher than the center of the shaft of the cooling fan, and about 3" - 4" to the right of the shaft of the cooling fan.



There is no curved hose coming out of the "puck", or any way to attached a hose to it. The crank case vent hose comes off the drivers side of the engine towards the rear of the engine.



This is a 98. 5 24 valve.



Can anyone tell me what might be leaking behind the "timing cover" and if it's something that needs immediate attention? I was planning on leaving Monday for a 1,500 mile trip lasting over a month and am wondering if this leak needs fixing before I leave.



Thanks much for any help.



Joe



ps - I edited this post Sunday at 10:30 am pacific time to try and make it clearer.

 

[HeavyHauler]

That's your crankcase vent - I think. Is there a curved hose coming out of the top of it and then going into a black bottle below the "puck" that you describe?



When that starts to leak, it usually comes from the bottle getting full of blowby. You can take the hose out and empty it.

 

[Joe Gerber]

Thanks for the reply HeavyHauler. There is no curved hose coming out of the "puck". Unfortunately I didn't do a good job of describing where the leak is. I'll try again. You can see the spot by standing in front of the truck and looking over the radiator and fan shroud. The "puck" sticks out of the front of the engine very close to where the shaft of the cooling fan comes off the front of the engine. The center of the "puck" is 3" - 4" higher than the center of the shaft of the cooling fan, and about 3" - 4" to the right of the shaft of the cooling fan.



I hope this is a clearer picture.



Joe

 

[TowPro]

It sounds to me like the crank case vent. There should be a hose coming out if this "puck" going down to under the truck. Don't remember when, but they added a bottle in later years. My 98 did not have it, my 02 does. Yes oil will drop out of this hose. My garage floor is a mess with 1" drops all over the floor where I park. My bottle fell off a long time ago. The idea with the bottle is it should stop the oil from dripping and collect in the bottle, but on my 02 the bottle just dripped and never collected much oil inside it.

 

[Joe Gerber]

I have edited the orignal post to better explain where the leak is coming from. I don't think it's a crank case vent because there is no way to attach a hose to it. If it is some kind of vent, I wonder why it has started dripping oil at the 121,000 mile mark.



Does anyone else have oil coming from this area on the "timing cover"?

 

[Thomas]

This is what the crankcase vent looks like.

 

[GWilber]

My 98. 5 doesn't have a tube or anything connected to the "puck" you are describing either. When I replaced the VP44, the round cover you are describing is what is removed to gain access to the inj. pump shaft nut. It threads into the gear cover. You can use a strap wrench to turn it.



Hope this info helps..... Greg

 

[HeavyHauler]

So there's no crankcase vent on a '98. 5?

 

[BigPapa]

I recall reading about a TSB where they relocated the vent on some 24V's back to where it was on the 12V's.....



Found it. Issue 51, Page 46, Bottom right corner:"Glitch: My truck's dripping oil. "



Maybe his has had this done?



Scott

 

[Joe Gerber]

GWilber was right. The "puck" is actually a cap that screws onto/into the cover that is in front of the fuel injection pump.



Mine easily unscrewed by hand. I cleaned it and the mating surface and re-installed it. I suspect it was leaking because it wasn't tight enough. The seal looked okay, but I don't know if it is gettng a bit old and stiff. Time will tell.



My engine does have a breather hose that drips (before I put a bottle on it) onto the front differential. Also, my truck is an early 98. 5. I took delivery in Feb. of 1998.



Thanks guys for the feedback. Now I can go back to loading the trailer.



Joe

 

[HeavyHauler]

So where is the breather hose on your '98. 5?

 

[Joe Gerber]

HeavyHauler, the breather hose on my truck is on the drivers side towards the rear of the engine. I don't remember how high up the side of the block it attaches. It's hard to see from above, but from under the truck it is pretty easy to spot. My truck is four wheel drive, and the hose originally hung down and dripped onto the back end of the front differential. It probably ended about 6" above the differential. Hope this helps.



Joe



ps - I'm the one who took delivery of my 24 valve in Feb. 1998.

 

[jrobinson2]

This TSB describes the relocated side breather on some 24v engines

TSB 09-002-02 Crankcase Breather Overflow

 

[HeavyHauler]

Ok, cool, thanks for the info. So it looks like a new side cover is installed with a port for the breather tube. 10-4.

 

[Herman8r]

Joe--I had the same truck as you. The breather tube was on the driver side at the rear of the engine. These were of the first 24v to hit the market. Like your truck mine also leaked oil out the front. Replace the seal at the "hocky puck" or clean the area and apply RV Silicon sealer. Also make sure the vent tube is clear.



Herman