Oil leak reaching fan and blowing everywhere

[Shayne Westervelt]

My injection pump just went out and am in the process of ordering a replacement. I have pulled it once to replace side cover gasket because it was leaking oil. But it's still leaking oil from there and somehow oil is reaching the fan and getting blown everywhere. I don't know if its leaking somewhere else too. So one way or another, since I will have the vp44 off, I'm going to replace the side cover gasket again. Should I use a butt load of RTV next time, or buy a different brand of gasket?

[dripley]

I re[laced my vp a couple years ago but there was no gasket to replace. What do you mean by the side gasket?

[Shayne Westervelt]

I re[laced my vp a couple years ago but there was no gasket to replace. What do you mean by the side gasket?

Im talking about the inspection cover gasket, tappet cover gasket, side cover gasket. Some people call it different things. It's on the drivers side of the block. The ECM bolts to it..

[dripley]

OK, I know what you are speaking of. Mine was not leaking when I replaced the VP, but it is now. Mine is leaking to the ground and the fan is not blowing it around. Maybe it is your puke bottle or another seal on the front of the engine that is leaking. The only time I had the fan blowing oil around was when one of my injector orings went bad and let diesel into the crank case and blew the excess out thru the vent on the front of the engine and out the puke bottle. I dont know for sure, but I would not think the tappet cover gasket would blow enough oil for the fan to pick it up.

[Shayne Westervelt]

Yeah that's what I was thinking. And my Puke bottle isn't full. I guess I've got two oil leaks. I'm leaking oil pretty good. When it was running I was leaking like a half gallon every week or two.

[dripley]

So you are loosing oil at that rate and not seeing the oil level going up. When my oring went I was loosing oil but it was going up on the dip stick. Growing oil in other words. right now I am only loosing 1 quart about every 3k 0r 4k. Most of it is blowing back on the engine and running off the bellhousing.

[Shayne Westervelt]

Right. I just replaced my injectors about a month ago, about 600 miles ago, so I'm pretty sure those aren't the problem. The whole under carriage of my truck is covered in oil almost to my rear differential. Th side cover has been leaking for quite some time but since I tried to fix it, about 2-3 months ago, I guess it has sprung another oil leak somewhere and the fan is blowing it up onto the inside of the hood, on my coolant reservoir, alternator, etc..

[dripley]

I would be thinking something on the front of the engine and not the side. but leaking that much oil who knows.

[Mopar1973Man]

:think:There is only a few things that leak oil on these trucks. The tappet cover (or cam cover), vacuum pump seals, crank seals (front and rear). Double check the gear case (possible KDP?)Now as for the tappet cover gasket make sure its installed the right way. I just seen it here locally where a 94 Dodge owner installed it upside down and had it leak too. So be aware of the thicker side goes towards the engine. No RTV required. There is nothing really on these truck that require sealants or silicone.

[Shayne Westervelt]

Ok. I made sure to put the cover back on right. I believe it had an arrow or a slot or something on the top left hand corner so you could tell which side was which. How bad would the crankcase seal be to replace? And what's KDP by the way?

[Mopar1973Man]

Here is the article about the (KDP) Killer Dowel Pin

http://articles.mopar1973man.com/general-cummins/34-engine-system/106-kdp-repairtiming-cover-leaks

Here is the damage it does.

[diesel4life]

Will your truck run at all? IF it does you may be better off degreasing your engine and then wash it down. That way its good and clean and will make it easier to spot where the leak is coming from, even if you can only idle it you should still see where its weeping from. Even if it doesn't run if its that nasty I would still degrease it, makes it much nicer to work on. And like Mike says if you have a cracked cover from a KDP issue or some other issue or say you maybe have a gasket blown you may be able to spot it once everything is cleaned up.

[Shayne Westervelt]

Ok. But what is this KDP?? What does it do, how is it relevant to this conversation? I don't understand what y'all mean when you bring up killer dowel pin. Someone please explain what that is and how it might affect my oil leak. I'm just really confused.

[diesel4life]

Read the link that Mike provided above it will explain the kdp. If by chance it backs out it could crack the front case and cause an oil leak. Not saying that is your issue, just something to look for when your trying to find the source of the leak. If your engine bay is that nasty that you cant see where the leak is coming from, I would seriously do a degreasing job before you break into the engine. It will make it much easier to work on and easier to spot the leak, assuming you can start the truck.

[jshalala]

how do you guys recommend de-greasing and washing the engine down? Can you just spray it with purple power or similar then pressure wash it?

[dripley]

I am going to have to mine pretty soon due to so oil leaks and am a little hesitant to pressure wash. I figured I would just hand clean the areas I need to work on, tappet cover and vacumm /power steering pump and most like the the front seal. Not sure if I have anything leaking up front yet. I am thinking I dont want to pressure wash until I get the leaks sealed so i dont force any water into the engine. I am definitely not an expert on this, but that is my thought process

- - - Updated - - -

I should add that this sensor is being sold as the sensor for an 02 and not an 01 and is a 3 wire sensor.

[rancherman]

Shane, I just did a vp44 change out about 3 weeks ago... and my engine was a real greaseball too. My radiator was all but plugged on the backside with dust and oil. An oil leak towards the front of the engine is a bugger to locate.. dang fan really does weird things to leaking fluids. I got a vacuum pump seal kit, a tube of 'the right stuff: by Permatex' and a front crank seal. At the time, I didn't know what was leaking, and wanted all possible 'fixes' on hand when I tore into it. My truck had a really bad front crank seal. I got a fel-pro front crank seal and used 'the right stuff' on the front cover. There is NO gasket on that cover, and I put a nice even layer on both surfaces, and just ran up the bolts not quite snug.. an hour later I went ahead and cinched them down. I didn't need the vacuum seal kit, so I have that on hand WHEN NEEDED. Been dry as a bone for 3 weeks now.

[CTcummins24V]

The vacuum pump/power steering pump are underneath the VP44 or the rear seal on the timing cover (in between the block and backside of the timing cover). Most common leak is the puke bottle, relocate it! then timing cover and front crank seal...I have over 200,000 miles on mine and just did all those reseals and it helped...but my oil pan and vacuum pump are leaking too...all common leaks that can get blown around and dirty up the engine.

[rancherman]

how do you guys recommend de-greasing and washing the engine down? Can you just spray it with purple power or similar then pressure wash it?

Rule # 1: NEVER WASH A HOT ENGINE. Warm is ok. Try to avoid the rubber hoses, fan belt, and electrical connectors with the pressure gun. I have a 4000 psi pressure washer that has done damage!

[Shayne Westervelt]

Shane, I just did a vp44 change out about 3 weeks ago... and my engine was a real greaseball too. My radiator was all but plugged on the backside with dust and oil. An oil leak towards the front of the engine is a bugger to locate.. dang fan really does weird things to leaking fluids. I got a vacuum pump seal kit, a tube of 'the right stuff: by Permatex' and a front crank seal. At the time, I didn't know what was leaking, and wanted all possible 'fixes' on hand when I tore into it. My truck had a really bad front crank seal. I got a fel-pro front crank seal and used 'the right stuff' on the front cover. There is NO gasket on that cover, and I put a nice even layer on both surfaces, and just ran up the bolts not quite snug.. an hour later I went ahead and cinched them down. I didn't need the vacuum seal kit, so I have that on hand WHEN NEEDED. Been dry as a bone for 3 weeks now.

Yeah I'm glad that worked out. I pulled the timing cover today after work. I went and bought a front crank seal and a push rod cover gasket for when I put my injection pump in probably Thursday. I pressure washed the fan shroud, washer fluid tank, coolant reservoir, puke tube and bottle, and harmonic balancer to clean everything off. My KDP is still in place so that's a big load off my mind. I scraped both surfaces of the timing cover and where it bolts to to rid it of all the old gasket material. I will replace crank seal and put the timing cover back on tomorrow. How would I check the vacuum pump seal. I've never heard of that.