Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Oil Leak

[Smokin' Larry]

It appears the tappet cover is leaking on my '01.I really thought I had a rear main seal leak until I crawled under it and pulled the inspection cover, no oil inside. But this looks like almost as big a job as pulling the transmission. Do I have to pull the injector pump? Never done this before. Need opinions on difficulty. Thanks in advance.

 

[CM_Guest]

It's not going to be fun. There should be an insulation sheet over it. Those are a PITA. Mine was "forgotten" when I swapped a '92 long-block into my '94. I don't think you'll HAVE to pull the injection pump but it might be one of those situations where a little more work makes the job easier. Check the bolts first if you can get too them halfway decent. Maybe you'll get lucky and they'll be a little loose.

 

[JR]

VP, air horn, injector lines, fuel filter canister, and ECM all gotta go. If you have any leaks at the vac pump now would be the time to address them as well. None of it is hard, just a little time consuming.

 

[Smokin' Larry]

Yea, It does look a little congested over on that side. I will definitely see if can wrench a few bolts to see if they're loose. Thanks gentleman.

 

[JR]

The problem is if it has never been changed it's likely so brittle that tightening them could very well crush the gasket and cause a major leak. If you tighten monitor it very closely the first few heat cycles afterwards. The two that I have seen literally break off in pieces they were so brittle.

 

[Smokin' Larry]

Thanks JR. It's looking like I'm gonna have to break down and just do the job.

 

[Sticks]

It can be done without pulling the VP, but the time you spend trying to wiggle it around the pump, and doing the pre-clean behind the VP will be longer than if you pulled it to begin with.

I've done 2, not that bad - and both old gaskets came off the cover in no less than 7 pieces.

 

[CM_Guest]

I'd make my judgement based upon the severity of the leak. Is it leaving a puddle overnight? It probably should be fixed. A few drips? I think it's going to drip a little until it gives me reason to spend a lot of time trying to keep a pint or so from leaking from the engine between changes. It's simple economics. And how "severe" a leak is and how much a problem it may be are all completely subjective. I've fixed "leaks" that were nothing but a little dust attracted to the tiny amount of oil that invariably makes it through a paper gasket and have NOT fixed "leaks" that were almost steady streams that would empty the system in hours. It's all subjective and all up to the person writing the check. I don't LIKE oil leaks but then again I don't expect an old engine design that doesn't have all the sealing technology we do today to stay "perfectly" clean and dry, either. Inevitably front main seals leak, rear main seals leak etc and at some point there will probably be a repair required that necessitates major work to do it. Such as pulling the engine. I'd monitor the leak, wait until it either gets REALLY bad (once again that's subjective) OR until other leaks occur and it reaches a point where I can kill many birds with one stone and just pull the engine and reseal it.

That's how I look at it. I never split a tractor without putting a rear main seal. I never replace a crankshaft damper without putting in a front main seal. But yet I've seen guys that have done both. At the same time, I've seen guys try to do multiple in-frame engine repairs or modifications either simultaneously or close enough together that they could have been, and yet do twice as much work to avoid the work of removing the engine than it would take to remove the engine and do the job. I'm NOT saying the engine has to be removed. I'm just saying that I would look at that leaking tappet cover gasket and wonder about the condition of OTHER MOVING seals and just how much sense it makes economically to do those INEVITABLE repairs separately vs. simultaneously. Big-picture thinking, I guess. Of course some will say or think that I'm a mechanic and I just spend other peoples money. Yes, I do. But I also usually have to explain how and why I'm spending their money. And when it's a job that I REALLY don't care for and don't make money at but I recommend it anyway, it's not my best interests I have in mind with my "let's bite the bullet and fix existing problems and IMPENDING problems simultaneously" approach.

My '02 has HVAC problems. The temp goes from ice cold to too hot in one notch, theres a fan problem or something blowing around in the ducts causing a buzzing noise and I'm pretty sure there might be more problems that that I don't know about or that will show up. And my dash cover is also cracked. Doing a little YouTube research I've found dozens of "repairs" for broken dashes and HVAC problems that all promise to be "easy'. The only problem is that NONE of the "easy" ones are the FACTORY methods for restoring FACTORY performance or appearance. Invariably, they are ALL shadetree "workarounds" and not repairs at all. And they all claim to be cheaper or quicker than what the "dealership" would charge. Well, I'm guessing that's probably right. Is the dealership going to do a FACTORY-SPECIFIED REPAIR for shadetree costs and non-factory performance? Not so much. One guy was whining about the dealership him quoting him $2300 to fix the A/C system. I'm guessing they don't DICK with removing the original HVAC module, putting in a few new pieces and throwing it back together so in 5000 miles the heater core or some actuator or fam motor can fail while it's still under repair warranyt. They probably replace the whole thing and call it good. I'm not going to go THAT far but I AM going to look closely at the heater core and will probably replace it. And I'll probably vacuum test the A/C system BEFORE I disassemble the truck and look at the evaporator closely too. And I'm going to go to "all that work" to pull the dash and everything because I have multiple existing and maybe impended HVAC problems AND the A/C is low on refrigerant AND I wasn't to flush the cooling system AND I want to fix the dash correctly.

 

[Smokin' Larry]

It's leaking pretty good, about 2 qts. in the past month. I hate going out to my truck and seeing a puddle of oil under it. There's a wet streak at the rear lower corner of the cover. I'm gonna go ahead and pull the pump and all, get it all clean and take the time and do it right. I was surprised to see the ECM mounted to the side of the engine. This is my first diesel p/up and I'm enjoying everything but the ride. I really appreciate you guys input. Thanx again.

 

[klcammie]

It's leaking pretty good, about 2 qts. in the past month. I hate going out to my truck and seeing a puddle of oil under it. There's a wet streak at the rear lower corner of the cover. I'm gonna go ahead and pull the pump and all, get it all clean and take the time and do it right. I was surprised to see the ECM mounted to the side of the engine. This is my first diesel p/up and I'm enjoying everything but the ride. I really appreciate you guys input. Thanx again.

I just did mine about a month ago. I had never pulled the vp, turned out the injector lines were harder then the pump. The gasket came off in several pieces, and the insulation cover fell apart and did not go back on. It took me about 8 hours taking my time. The vp turned out to be not as hard as I thought, just take some time make sure the key is on top [ 12 o clock position]. All in all I'm glad I did it, learned a lot about my truck. Good luck and have a little fun.

 

[Smokin' Larry]

What is the insulation cover? Are the fuel lines going to be a pain? I'm starting to cringe a little.

 

[JR]

I assume he means the insulation cover on the hood...it is a time consuming job but not difficult, it is mostly basic mechanics removing and reinstalling. Just study up on setting the timing on the VP and get yourself a puller for the front of the VP and the gaskets you will need. It really isn't a bad job

 

[Smokin' Larry]

I assume he means the insulation cover on the hood...it is a time consuming job but not difficult, it is mostly basic mechanics removing and reinstalling. Just study up on setting the timing on the VP and get yourself a puller for the front of the VP and the gaskets you will need. It really isn't a bad job

Thanx JR. I'll be glad to get this over with.

 

[klcammie]

I assume he means the insulation cover on the hood...it is a time consuming job but not difficult, it is mostly basic mechanics removing and reinstalling. Just study up on setting the timing on the VP and get yourself a puller for the front of the VP and the gaskets you will need. It really isn't a bad job

The insulation cover I refer to is on the tappet cover. Mine came off in three pieces and did not go back on. The injection lines are a bit of a PITA but use a little patience and all will be well. Geno's garage has lots of special tools like gear puller and crossover puller and a tool to make injection lines easier. They are worth the money. They made it a little easier for me.