2003 7.3 powerstroke leaking oil again

kubota2234 · May 20, 2009

I have a 2003 Ford Powerstroke diesel that is leaking oil from the high pressure oil line off of the turbo again. I have been plagued with this problem for three years. I have took my truck to the Ford Dealership the past two times and they said that they had fixed this issue. I paid the warranty deductible both times proir to this one. NOw for the third time i contacted ford and well, I was told that i need to have it inspected again and i would be charged for the inspection and I would still have to pay to have this fixed AGAIN. The money is not the issue. My issue here is that why am i having to pay to have this "fixed" when in fact it has not been fixed? No one at Ford has even tried to assist me in making this right. I also started looking into Ford Customer Care on the internet and well there were very few good reviews compered to their bad ones. One of my friends who is a mechanic already diagnosed my problem for me and even when I explained this to Ford and what the problem is they acted like they didn't care. Other than having my friend fix the issue for me is there anything else I can do? Again my truck is a 2003 with only 85000 miles on it.

Diamondpilot · May 20, 2009

Find a new dealer. Really. My Ford dealer would do anything for me. He knows I buy a truck each year and my dad, brother-n-law, and about 20 friends and customers all buy Fords from him. I could cut the sales quickly with one bad experience.

I had this same problem my first time I owned a GM. I have since owned 2 others from different dealers. One was a good relationship and the other was so so. The worst vehicle I ever owned was a Dodge 2500 but the dealer was great. I had one particular part fail 6 times and they fixed it no questions asked. I will not ever buy another but anyone who wants one I would send them to the same Dodge dealer because the dealership was great, just not the product.

Chris

Highbeam · May 21, 2009

First thing is that you don't have a high pressure oil line to the turbo. At the turbo base there are O-ring seals connecting the turbo to castings, the oil comes up and goes back down through these castings. No oil line to the turbo. There are high pressure oil lines that connect to the heads but not the turbo.

kubota2234 · May 21, 2009

Just repeating what the work order form from the past two times its been worked on from my ford dealership. Dont know but if there isnt a oil line there, what did they fix?

soarkrebel1 · May 21, 2009

Here are a few website you can learn a little about your engine.

This one you can download the data.......Diesel Technician Society

Another....Diesel Technician Society

And some videos.....this guy knows powerstrokes!!!!!!!! POWERSTROKEHELP.COM - The Information Source for Ford Power Stroke Diesel Owners

DieselPower · May 22, 2009

Like Highbeam said, there are NO oil "lines" to feed the turbo on a 444E/7.3L Powerstroke, some have a EBV (exhaust back pressure valve) and some don't. Worked on many of them over the years as a Ford and International mechanic. There is a turbo pedestal and the turbo sets on top of that. There are o-rings that go between them and seal it. I have to wonder if their pinching the o-rings when they are setting the turbo back on the pedestal. It's a bugger to get back in there. Personally I always used Caterpillar o-ring assembly lube when doing jobs like that. It's a soy based lubricant much like grease. It's really good at holding o-rings and helps to keep them from being pushed out when your sliding the turbo back in.

This is what your turbo sets on and is the same from 1999.5 to 2003. The two holes in the top middle are where the o-rings go, one for supply one for return.

Builder · May 22, 2009

My 7.3's used to leak oil into the valley between the heads. It used to get 1-2" deep with oil if I let it go a couple months.

kubota2234 · May 24, 2009

Well I dont know what it is, but like i said its been repaired two times and now when i tried to get it done the third......................Ford dont want to help when they are they ones who should have made it right to begin with.

Duffster · May 24, 2009

Are you sure it is leaking from the same place?

Skyco · May 25, 2009

One thing to check is the crankcase vent.
On my 96 Powerstroke I added an aftercooler to the turbo. Well the crankcase vent puts enough oil vapor into the system I had trouble blowing the large cooler hoses off under high boost. So I took the vent off the intake and routed a road draft hose back under the truck. Somehow it got a crimp in it putting the crankcase pressure a little high, it relieved itself by blowing oil out the turbo pedestal o rings into the valley. This is because one oil path up to the turbo is pressurized and one is a drain back to the block. If the crankcase pressure gets high the drain one can leak.
After undoing the crimp they sealed right back up. If your crankcase vent filter is restricted you could be experiencing the same thing. On the 96 their is a mesh filter inside the housing on the left valve cover, don't know about 99+.
Keep in mind IIRC there are o rings under the pedestal sealing to the block as well as on top of the pedestal sealing to the turbo. I wonder if they replaced both sets?

There are oil lines on the PSD but they feed oil to the heads under high pressure, could that be what is leaking? There are also o ring sealed oil galley plugs on the back of the heads that sometimes leak. There is an updated plug from International to cure that.