Oil Leak

[csdwarf11]

Hey, Ive had my truck about 6 months, when I got it the temperatures were starting to drop, so I held off on the work and ran it for the winter. Things are starting to warm up again and I'm looking into a few of the small problems the truck has.

I have an oil leak, and possibly a fuel leak.

I have looked the truck over for the oil leak but its hard to find because there seems to be dirt and grime everywhere I look. So my first question is what is the best way to go about cleaning these things off to check for oil leaks?

There is a lot of wires ect so Im not sure if its alright to just go to town in the hose and degrease? or do you strip everything (turbo fuel pump, hpop fuel bowl ect ) off the top of the motor and carefully clean it up?

also, the leak seems to be ahead on the engine, and I still haven't been able to verify if it leaks only when running, or if it leaks all the time.

Ill check it out and get for information today.

Note*the oil leak is well, I added about a quart in 4000 miles.

and Im surprised it only leaked that much, every time I stop for a few hours there is a quarter size oil stain. maybe even a little more.

thanks guys! 197.8k miles

[garyeco]

Everytime I've cleaned under the hood, I've used a steam cleaner.It seems to do a good job melting all the gunk. The top cleans pretty well because of the drain areas under the turbo.As for the leak,try to determine which side it's coming from.That will help determine the cause ie, oil cooler,turbo,hpop,etc.Good luck

[mojoman]

slighty warm the engine...warm not hhot...apply simple green or similar...put plastic bags on the intake and alt...let green work for about 10 mins then wash off with a garden hose...too much pressure from the hose may damage the sensors etc that are exposed...hth

[vegasjeep]

Dollar store oven cleaner breaks all the crap up. I keep away from the outside body as it could damagae paint but experience with it.

I let sit 10 minutes then pressure wash off. If your careful with a pressure washer on vital areas you'll be fine

[backwoodsboy]

Once you've got the majority of grease taken care of, brake-clean works really well for spot cleaning to track down exactly where the leak is.
Is there oil in the valley, or just coming from under the truck? My money is on the oil cooler o-rings.

[csdwarf11]

Oil cooler? were is it located? my truck is a manual, so do you mean transmission cooler? I didnt realize these engines had oil coolers. possible could be that.

because the oil leak is in front, I was reading possibly the seal on the cps?

[erics diesel]

the oil cooler is on the bottom of the block on the drivers side. the oil filter is on the back of it and follow the tube/cooler to the front of the block. there are 4 orings in there that are known to leak

[backwoodsboy]

Originally Posted by csdwarf11

Oil cooler? were is it located? my truck is a manual, so do you mean transmission cooler? I didnt realize these engines had oil coolers. possible could be that.

because the oil leak is in front, I was reading possibly the seal on the cps?

Yessir. They have oil coolers, whose o-rings have a tendency to harden and distort over the years. There's a few good write-ups about replacing the o-rings on the web. Not a terrible job, will probably take you a couple hours the first time you do it.