Ok you tech guys, 03 6.0 fuel leak

[owtcast]

I went to the lake this past weekend for a little fresh air. When I woke up the next morning I went out and walked past my truck. There was a faint smell of diesel fuel in the air. So I drive it around a little and sure enough, when it warms up it's pumping the raw smell of diesel into my cab since my a/c is set on heat. (fresh air) I popped the hood and poked around but I can't see anywhere obviously wet. It's definately from the engine compartment. I checked the lines going back to the tank since they are easy to inspect and found nothing. When it's warm, I can pop the hood and definately smell it. It's never had any smell before. My truck is bone stock with no engine mods what-so-ever. Could this be from the new ULSD fuels? Are there any parts that are prone to leakage on the 6.0. Being a firefighter, I'm not too fond of fuel leaks.:nono:
Thanks in advance.

Terry

[Clay Henry]

only when it's warm???
Check your oil level. Is it high? God forbid you have an injector leaking like i did.

[Clay Henry]

Originally Posted by owtcast

It is a tad high. I just had it changed, I checked it right after they filled it, but I haven't looked at it since. It's hard to tell by smelling the oil whether there is diesel in it (since it always has a diesel smell regardless), but I wouldn't rule it out. How much did it cost you to have it fixed? (if you don't mind me asking) I have 67k miles on it so it's out of the original 36k warranty.

Also are there any seals/o-rings that should be changed out at the same time since it will probably be pulled apart?

If you got 67k miles, it's still under the powertrain warranty of 100k unless its more than 5 years old. 100.00 deductable at the dealer is all it will cost you unless you have mods on your truck that would void the repair, then your looking at about $3k to repair it. If you think there is a rising oil level and the oil smells like diesel at all. Take it to the dealer right away. Actually, son't even drive it, have it towed. A runnaway can result from this and short of being very dangerous, it will destroy the engine cause you can't shut off a runaway unless you completely cut off the air to the intake.
Not trying to alarm you but i have heard of several 03 6.0s with leaky injectors which results in exactly what I am talking about. Is your fuel milage suffering? If so, i would say you could have leaking injectors. If you smell diesel but have no visible leaks anywhere. Keep an eye on that oil level!!!

[mschn99]

if you just replaced your fuel filters and did not replace the o ring on the little one up top you might want to peak around there too, ive seen those leak so they just barely were visable but smelled pretty strong

[owtcast]

Guess I'll be calling the dealer and informing them of what I have. I can see that being very detrimental to the engine.... especially with the lower lubricity of the new fuel. Main bearings weren't meant to spin in diesel.

Thanks again Clay for the quick response.

[owtcast]

Originally Posted by Marc

if you just replaced your fuel filters and did not replace the o ring on the little one up top you might want to peak around there too, ive seen those leak so they just barely were visable but smelled pretty strong

Marc. It's been about 2 oil changes (12k miles) since I changed the fuel filters. Could it still be the o-rings?

[Clay Henry]

Originally Posted by owtcast

Guess I'll be calling the dealer and informing them of what I have. I can see that being very detrimental to the engine.... especially with the lower lubricity of the new fuel. Main bearings weren't meant to spin in diesel.

Thanks again Clay for the quick response.

I think the dealer tech told me i had 10 quarts of fuel in my crank case oil with at least 4 injectors leaking down before i knew what the problem was. The only difference...mine was being fueled on vegi oil at the time so it didn't smell like diesel...it smelled like a turkey fryer. There were codes that indicated injector failure so maybe get yours scanned for codes.
I had my oil tested and that indicated excessive wear...1000 miles later tested again and the wear was not present anymore.

[owtcast]

Ouch.

Is it common for more than one to go out at a time?

I could see where it would be hard to detemine a fuel leak on vegi fuel. Without the harsh smell of diesel inside, I would of never bothered to inquire about it.

[Clay Henry]

The tech said he has seen several with 4 or more bad injectors at one time...also with several quarts of fuel in the crank.
Complete engine replacement can result from this if not caught in time.

If you have 4 that test bad, they will replace all 8.

[Clay Henry]

Originally Posted by owtcast

I could see where it would be hard to detemine a fuel leak on vegi fuel. Without the harsh smell of diesel inside, I would of never bothered to inquire about it.

Actuall the first thing they did was check the dipstick and it showed to be twice as full as it should!!!
10 guarts extra in it and it's supposed to have 15 quarts...thats 66% more volume in that sump than is supposed to be in it.