Yet another Oil leak

ccmac · May 26, 2014

Recently I put in a 38r with ww2 and new riffraff boots. After the initial test drive I noticed some leaking oil. Upon further inspection I noticed the top pedistal orings had seeped some oil.

Not thinking any different I ripped it all back apart and installed new orings. Now the pedestal isn't leaking but I still have oil leaking down the back of my motor somewhere.

It's building up on uppipes and dripping down oil filter. My other assption was that it could be a bad turbo but when it was off there was no oil in the turbine housing, nor has there been oil in the down pipe.

Today I checked the service plug in the head for leaks and it is clean. I'm at a loss for where this leak could be coming from. Is it possible I bent a valve cover with my body weight at some point during the install and now it's seeping oil around the valve cover gasket?

My pedestal bolts had a good amount of oil on them the second time I removed them, is there a possibility that the oil is coming out of the block around them? My valley doesn't have any new oil that that I can tell.

I ordered a nice telescoping inspection mirror to aid in my search so I can see better than taking blind videos with my phone.

Anyone else have any personal experience or pointers?

ghohouston · May 26, 2014

First off, go power wash the hell out of your motor, until it looks new, all the valley, valve covers, etc, make it look new again. Take it home, blow the engine off with compressed air, start it up, get a flashlight and mirror and look on top of the engine, in the valley, front to back, you will find the leak. Is your ebpv deleted?

ccmac · May 26, 2014

Thanks, and that's my current plan for when I get the mirror. Yes sorry EBPV is deleted. It was leaking like a sumbiche before i deleted it with a garret delete pedistal and a freeze plug In the turbo outlet.

rascal · May 27, 2014

I have the exact same situation. Arisley just told me to put a light film of silicone on the o-rings the next time I replace them.

gnxtc2 · May 27, 2014

The oil seal on the exhaust side of the turbo leaked externally on my turbo. I had some play on the shaft horizontally.

On start up, there would be a sprinkle oil/soot on the garage floor. No oil in the exhaust either.

My turbo is a TP38 (OBS). I don't think the 38r is rebuildable because of the BB center section if it's a turbo issue.

Billy T.
[email protected]

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fastersteve · May 27, 2014

rascal said:
I have the exact same situation. Arisley just told me to put a light film of silicone on the o-rings the next time I replace them.

Mine too!

Did anyone else have play in the shaft? Is that normal for the 38R?

ccmac · May 28, 2014

Just wanted to update, took a fresh bottle of simple green and the water hose to my engine this evening. Let it high idle for nearly an hour as I kayed under the pickup waiting for it to leak. Finally jumped in and made the square around the section as quickly as possible then got back underneath to look again.

It's definitely my drivers side valve cover gasket. Which explains why it was only leaking under high rpms then just dripping off the block. I guess using it as a place to lift my 250 pound self off the engine compartment was a bad idea. Guess I'll just let it leak until I gety new injectors then just get new gaskets then.

Thanks for the help guys, and my orings did seep a little right after I reinstalled my turbo but after 100 miles or so and a re torquing it's seems like they have finally setup and sealed off.

ccmac · May 28, 2014

rascal said:
I have the exact same situation. Arisley just told me to put a light film of silicone on the o-rings the next time I replace them.

Sounds like we have the exact same pickup too lol

ccmac · May 28, 2014

fastersteve said:
Mine too!

Did anyone else have play in the shaft? Is that normal for the 38R?

My 38r has quite a bit of play, so much so I didn't sleep well after the install until I read on here and found out they all have some play until they get pressurized oil flowin in them...

ghohouston · May 28, 2014

Valve cover gaskets don't normally leak on 7.3's

Arisley · May 28, 2014

Try snugging down the bolts a bit. If nothing else, take them off and put a thin film of silicone on them. Make sure all mating surfaces are squeaky clean.