What is this and why is it leaking oil?

[Josh99]

The leak just started getting a little worse. Need to fix it. You can see the oil right close to the red wire. What is it and how do I fix it?

[paulgl26]

that is the block heater
it looks like the leak is higher
take a good light and look on top of motor
do a search this trucks usually leak on the top from hpop,turbo

[Zaairman]

That long tube is your oil cooler. There's O rings on it that you replace.

[cvdenson]

I just did this job yesterday. Not a bad deal.. I posted a write-up with pics here: Oil Cooler Reseal

[Josh99]

I did the new o rings and gaskets and got it all back together tonight. I am still iffy if I got everything right, my oil smells a little bit like it has some coolant in it. But this fixed my leak, well so far Ive only let it idle for a few mins. I will keep an eye on it. Thanks for the help.

[zpd307]

fun job, huh? i hope i never have to do one...

[Josh99]

Yeah I got a nice shower of coolant taking that plug out

[Josh99]

Is there any chance of my oil getting coolant in it after this? I did everything right and lubed it all. Something still seems different.

[cvdenson]

There can be some cross contamination when taking off the oil cooler. When I did mine I made sure to open the oil drain plug one more time before putting in oil. I had a little coolant come out.