Why is my reservoir draining, still?

[Mollieandgil]

I've replaced the HPOP and the IPR. The HPOP to Timing Cover gasket was leaking terribly. I replaced it with a new one and cleaned the valley. It is spotless.

I replaced the reservoir to timing cover gasket too. But when it is parked overnight, the reservoir is empty the next morning. Do I need to do injector o-rings? What else could there be?

It runs great once it finally starts. It'll set you back in the seat when your rollin' coal.

[BigFuel]

'95 and older had a check ball in the block to hold up the reservoir. Possibly your truck being a'96 was early enough to still have it. I have conflicting Ford manuals that say the check ball went away in '96.

[Mollieandgil]

You may be right. I didn't take the quick-fill valve apart when I was down to it. I guess I'll take the HPOP out again and take that valve out. Should I replace the spring and ball, or just try to clean them and reinstall them?

Thanks,

[Mollieandgil]

Here's my saga, from the beginning.

The reservoir was draining as it is now. I replaced the IPR with a new Motorcraft IPR. It didn't help.

I then replaced the 15* HPOP with a 17* HPOP because I thought the pump was defective. The new 17* HPOP came with a new IPR, so I installed that too. In that process I discovered that the valley was full of oil and that the HPOP-to-Timing Cover gasket was leaking. I thought, "That must be the problem." So, I installed a new HPOP-to-Timing Cover gasket and a new Reservoir-to-Timing Cover gasket with the new 17* pump and the new IPR.

Still, the reservoir will drain empty.

Now I have the reservoir off, and I noticed that it only drains down to the level of hole in the timing cover that feeds the HPOP. And by the indicated arrows, that's as low as it drains. Clear as mud?

So, with the reservoir removed, I can fill that hole and the hole drains empty. So, the oil must be draining through the HPOP. Why would it do that? Injector o-rings?

[BigFuel]

The new 17* pump, is it a pump out of a SD or is it a 15* that was turned to a 17*?

[Mollieandgil]

SD 17*. It came with an IPR, and the two IPR's are different. The one that came with the 17* pump has the edge filter, and that is the one that I installed. The IPR originally in the truck didn't have the edge filter.

I also had to swap the hose fittings between the two HPOP's. The 17* had quick connect fittings, and my hoses are threaded.

[BigFuel]

This is one of my conflicting Ford maps. This map show a check ball in the block not in the HPOP like another map that I have somewhere. Can't find that one at the moment.

[Mollieandgil]

Hey BF,

I don't think my Low Pressure side is leaking down, at least not through the quick fill valve. It, the Low Pressure side, contains oil up to the level of the hole that feeds the HPOP. I can fill that hole with oil and it drains away, into the HPOP. The Low Pressure side that comes from the quick fill valve remains full.

[Cratos]

I an having the same issue since I had the front cover changed.
I had to have the front cover changed on the 7.3. but now that I have it home I have a slow start issue I have found that the HPOP res is empty overnight.
I also had the lpop changed at the same time. I know when it was put on it was packed with what looked like red grease, could this a caused an injector O-ring to blow? I have noticed when I picked it up at the shop that the oil pressure was about 2-3 psi higher than it is now, (probably from the grease in the system?)I have unhooked the DS line to the head ( no oil was in the line)and put a fitting and hose on it and filled it with oil and refilled the res.to see if it is the DS side , or front cover leaking next I will do the PS if the res leaks down. It just seems odd that I did not have any leak down problems before the front cover change?
the new cover part # is for 99-03 (I had them return the old one to me so I checked both #'s on the covers) is the only diffarnce in the cover the filter screen?

[BigFuel]

Originally Posted by Mollieandgil

Hey BF,

I don't think my Low Pressure side is leaking down, at least not through the quick fill valve. It, the Low Pressure side, contains oil up to the level of the hole that feeds the HPOP. I can fill that hole with oil and it drains away, into the HPOP. The Low Pressure side that comes from the quick fill valve remains full.

Alright, here is my confusion between my two maps for the oiling of the HPOP. In 94-95 the drain plug in the HPOP was a serviceable item. Too many people where braking the IPR so Ford then announced that the plug was not serviceable and changed the maps. The HPOP has a service check ball in it that feeds the IPR oil when under pressure and is supposed to close when not. It is under the HPOP and International Harvester DOES sell a kit to fix this. Ford does not and will just sell you another HPOP.

[EDIT] Found this video showing the kit and where the plug is. Scroll to about 2:12 and watch on.

7.3 HPOP - YouTube

7.3 HPOP - YouTube

Originally Posted by Cratos

I an having the same issue since I had the front cover changed.
I had to have the front cover changed on the 7.3. but now that I have it home I have a slow start issue I have found that the HPOP res is empty overnight.
I also had the lpop changed at the same time. I know when it was put on it was packed with what looked like red grease, could this a caused an injector O-ring to blow? I have noticed when I picked it up at the shop that the oil pressure was about 2-3 psi higher than it is now, (probably from the grease in the system?)I have unhooked the DS line to the head ( no oil was in the line)and put a fitting and hose on it and filled it with oil and refilled the res.to see if it is the DS side , or front cover leaking next I will do the PS if the res leaks down. It just seems odd that I did not have any leak down problems before the front cover change?
the new cover part # is for 99-03 (I had them return the old one to me so I checked both #'s on the covers) is the only diffarnce in the cover the filter screen?

How are you reading block oil pressure? Did the installer pull the motor to do the front cover? Was there any other work done at the same time if the motor was pulled? The red grease sounds like assembly lube but if it is not I have no idea what else it would be (Last LPOP I did came soaked in motor oil not assembly lube). Grease should not be used inside a motor under any circumstance. I'm hoping that your HPOP intake isn't clogged. Pull the HPOP Res. cover and look in. Also, do a oil change and cut open the oil filter when you are done. If the filter was collecting the grease and clogging itself in the process the oil bypass would open and relieve the pressure from the backup and give you lower block pressure.

Side note, the 99-03 timing cover is about $100 cheaper then the OBS 7.3l cover. I have not installed one myself but they do have different part numbers leading me to think that there is a difference (not always so).