major oil leak

[Ranch horse]

I have a 99.5 7.3 6spd cc drw 4wd. last night it blew gray smoke out everywhere. I pulled over and could see I had an oil leak, but still had good pressure. I decided to drive it a little further to get off the road. The engine died, I'm guessing because of a low oil sensor??? Anyway, the best I could tell in the dark the leak looks to be up around the turbo. The oil leak/explosion pattern is heaviest to the passenger side. I didn't seem to loose any power, so I'm guessing the turbo didn't go out. Any ideas of what I'm looking at? Parts, labor...can I fix it myself, etc? Thanks, Luke

[tonyf250]

Sounds like the o-rings on the turbo pedistal. I am not sure how much they cost but you can pull the turbo yourself.

[460+]

Check along the passenger side of head, there are oil passages with plugs in them and have orinng that get burnt and blow out.

[jfines@cox.net]

I with 460+ If it was an explosion then it has to have come from the High Pressure Oil Gallary that is located along both heads.

I wouldn't think that the turbo could puke that much oil that fast.

And if I remember correctly the oil gauge doesn't show the High Pressure Oil, it is just regular oil pressure.

IF you have an HPX line then that could have blown also.

[Ranch horse]

thanks for the info. the truck is a few hours away so I haven't been able to look things over. how hard is it to access the head plugs to change out the o rings? should i go ahead and get enough to do all of them (don't want to go through this again anytime soon)? I guess the o rings are a dealer item? my plan is to fill it up with oil and drive it on a flatbed, any problems with that? will I have to disconnect the batteries so the oil level sensor will reset or is there even a sensor? if not, I may be having other issues too being that it will crank but not start. I put what oil I had (about 3 quarts) in it last night to try to start it and find the leaks but it wouldn't start. also, where would I look for an HPX line, to see if its the problem? thanks for the help, Luke

[MrJohnWayne]

if you fill it full of fluid and start it long enough to put on a flat bed you should be fine. there is no sensor. The reason the truck dies from low oil is because it uses high pressure oil to actuate the injectors. if the oil pressure cannot get high enough the injectors will not fire.

you can get orings from aftermarket dealers but if there are none around you you will have to go to the dealer.

If this is right you have

5 orings for the hpop and lines
2 orings for the heads (with or without a high pressure crossover line (hpx))

If you have a HPX line it would be just behind the intake spider in front of the turbo, it will either be a hard line or a hydraulic hose that ties the 2 heads together.

Hope this helps

Edit: Forgot to add. if the truck is that low with oil the HPOP resevoir wil be empty. (if it is there) you will need to remove the "powerstroke" cover and there is a hex head plug on the driverside of the resevoir on top. remove that plug and fill the resevoir with oil and it should start fairly quickly.

[Ranch horse]

Thanks for the info. It was the hp oil line that runs over to the right side fuel rail. Luke