Greetings.  New to Forum.  New to Cummin's Mods.  Would appreciate any help/advice I can get.

Patient: Mostly stock 2000, 3500, 4wd, Auto, Raptor f.p, VP44 i.p.  Stock breather on timing cover, no breather on      tappet cover. 325K but seams to run good, no appreciable smoke.  Used 99% highway driving with lots of 5th wheel and trailer hauling.

Illness:  Massive oil leak from bottom of factory tappet cover.  Engine and sub frame coated with so much oil from leaking tappet cover, it is hard to tell if hose from stock breather is dripping much oil or if anything else is leaking.

Proposed Treatment:  Replacement of tappet cover with billet tappet cover which has two breather ports and O ring seal.  Plan to install Mopar1973 routing modification of front breather and then "T" in hoses from tappet cover breather ports.   Also considering putting a catch can on high point of new breather routing and find place to send collected oil back to oil pan or crankcase or valve cover, etc.

Questions:  Does proposed treatment make sense? Any obvious problems?  Should I try to return collected oil to engine?  If so, where would be best and relatively easy to accomplish?  Has anyone done grinding on VP44 bracket and bolt head to accommodate new billet cover? (Can't seem to find video on this modification)  How big a job and how to accomplish?  (Yes I know you can buy new billet covers machined to accommodate VP44 but they are uniformly about twice the price of ones requiring some grinding)  Should control module be moved off new tappet cover to firewall?  Should working cam sensor be replaced? (Risking installing new sensor which might be lower quality-foreign made, which doesn't last long.)  Any real reason to remove old fuel pump, not bracket, as now using Raptor?

Consultants Appreciated:  For any of you who have faced similar problems, and worked out different treatments, your experience, recommendations, or cautions would be appreciated.

Thanks Moparman, Dieselfuture, and Haggar for your quick replies.  I am a bit confused however or maybe I didn't give sufficient information or ask the question right.  Let me try again.  I do not have a puke bottle on my timing cover breather.  The hose is routed down and back to behind the transmission.  I am not getting oil on my radiator or anywhere up front.  I do however intend to do the Mopar1973Man vent mod when I have the truck apart.  To date the basically stock truck has run 325K miles with no breather on the tappet cover.  When I replace the leaking tappet cover should I buy a new one with or without a breather?  If with a breather, why?  Any advantage to now having two breathers on the stock truck?  Thanks again for your time. 

Hagger you said you replaced the old tappet cover with a vented cover but you didn't say why vented,   If your truck already had a timing cover breather and the original tappet cover had no vent, why now add another breather and go to through the hassle of routing its discharge?  Did you feel that a second vent/breather was some advantage to your motor's operation or performance?  Also please tell me where and how you collected/sent discharge from the second (tappet cover) breather.

To Mopar1973man.  I just spent some time reviewing your article on removing the tappet cover,  Really fine article and I intend to use it step by step to remove my leaking tappet cover.  If I read correctly you took off the old cover, newly gasket-ed it and replaced it.  If I saw correctly, the tappet cover did not have a vent.  You had the opportunity to replace the old cover with a vented cover but chose not to do so.  Haggar on the other hand, if I read correctly, chose to replace his non vented cover with a vented cover.  As I don't plan to remove my timing cover breather, how do I decide to replace my old cover with a vented or non vented cover (i.e. add a second vent)?  Is there any advantage to a second vent on a basically stock engine?  Thanks again.

I removed the front timing cover breather.  I probably have more blow by than most, so the front of the engine stayed a bit dirtier.  The worst was it would collect on the alternator.  Don't know why.  It just constantly looked like my alternator had an oil leak.  so I moved it.  routed the new lifter cover vent into the driver's side frame rail.  It will never rust out. 

 

Hag

17 hours ago, Haggar said:

It will never rust out.

Ha ha ha! No, it sure won't.

To Mopar1973man.  I just spent some time reviewing your article on removing the tappet cover,  Really fine article and I intend to use it step by step to remove my leaking tappet cover.  If I read correctly you took off the old cover, newly gasket-ed it and replaced it.  If I saw correctly, the tappet cover did not have a vent.  You had the opportunity to replace the old cover with a vented cover but chose not to do so.   As I don't plan to remove my timing cover breather, how do I decide to replace my old cover with a vented or non vented cover (i.e. add a second vent)?  Is there any advantage to a second vent on a basically stock engine?  Thanks again.

To Haggar.  Thanks for the clarification. I am curious though, why didn't you simply route the discharge from the timing cover breather back to the location you now have with the tappet cover breather, or perform the Mopar1973man PVC routing mod.  Seems like one of these would be easier to do and would address your oily front of engine problem.

Thanks you two for having patience with this cummins-challanged newbie.

One additional issue which I haven't mentioned before:  My truck has about 325K.  It runs good but I feel like it doesn't have the power it had when I got the truck at about 225K . As I don't know the history of the truck before I got it, I am thinking that maybe I have worn out original injectors.  I am therefore  thinking of replacing the existing injectors with +75-90 HP new injectors.  Hopefully this will give me a little more power when pulling my heavy 5th wheel up long grades. (Don't do this but maybe once a year)  I don't plan to change my turbo or trans as they seem OK.  Does this sound like a reasonable plan?  Or do any of you have thoughts on what I should do first?

9 hours ago, Tbird9140 said:

I am thinking that maybe I have worn out original injectors. 

With at least 100k miles on the injectors it would be a fine time to change them; if you've never set the valve lash that would be a good time to do so.

On 1/29/2021 at 2:51 PM, Haggar said:

It will never rust out. 

 Maybe put in a splitter so you rust proof both sides of the frame?

On 1/30/2021 at 11:58 AM, Tbird9140 said:

I am therefore  thinking of replacing the existing injectors with +75-90 HP new injectors. 

If you don't have a tuner if stick with rv275, otherwise you'd be smokey and have higher egts towing. You'd benefit from at least a boost fooler so you can run higher boost.

To tag someone just put @ and with no space type person screen name you want to tag. 

Otherwise it may be awhile before you get response unless they are reading all the threads like JAG1 he never tags, make me read everything here 

@JAG1 

16 hours ago, Dieselfuture said:

If you don't have a tuner if stick with rv275, otherwise you'd be smokey and have higher egts towing. You'd benefit from at least a boost fooler so you can run higher boost.

To tag someone just put @ and with no space type person screen name you want to tag. 

Otherwise it may be awhile before you get response unless they are reading all the threads like JAG1 he never tags, make me read everything here 

@JAG1 

I thought all members names mentioned got tagged automatically, sorry Boss. I need a computer class really, even if just a basic one. 

1 hour ago, JAG1 said:

I thought all members names mentioned got tagged automatically, sorry Boss. I need a computer class really, even if just a basic one. 

That's ok we're used to you here, wouldn't be as fun otherwise 

5 hours ago, JAG1 said:

I thought all members names mentioned got tagged automatically, sorry Boss. I need a computer class really, even if just a basic one. 

A little dose of chicken oil in both ears every night will make a world of difference. A little messy but well worth it.

20 hours ago, JAG1 said:

I thought all members names mentioned got tagged automatically, sorry Boss. I need a computer class really, even if just a basic one. 

 

@JAG1 now you have been tagged. All people that are posting should get a email or notification but some member turn that off. So the for sure bet is the @ tag.

8 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

 

@JAG1 now you have been tagged. All people that are posting should get a email or notification but some member turn that off. So the for sure bet is the @ tag.

I had mine turned off for ever, have enough junk in my mailbox as it is. Much easier to see who's tagging you by notifications on the website here.