Question about some leaks my truck has
04-06-2006, 09:06 PM
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Question about some leaks my truck has
Hey all,
I've got my truck into the dealer for:
1. Seepage on the drivers side of the motor oil pan gasket.
2. Leak on drivers side of the transmission.
3. Seepage on the tranny dust cover.
4. Loosing about 1.3 quarts of oil per every 6K mile oil change.
trucks got 90K on it. power box removed. I've been told that oil seepage on a diesel is common and accepted. I have a hard time accepting the fact that a 04.5 motor is doing this. I'm really concerned with #4 listed above. I fully expect them to tell me that this is normal and blow it off. What can I come back with when they tell me this. My luck is steady with things that go wrong and I have to pay for it later.
thanks Jamie
I've got my truck into the dealer for:
1. Seepage on the drivers side of the motor oil pan gasket.
2. Leak on drivers side of the transmission.
3. Seepage on the tranny dust cover.
4. Loosing about 1.3 quarts of oil per every 6K mile oil change.
trucks got 90K on it. power box removed. I've been told that oil seepage on a diesel is common and accepted. I have a hard time accepting the fact that a 04.5 motor is doing this. I'm really concerned with #4 listed above. I fully expect them to tell me that this is normal and blow it off. What can I come back with when they tell me this. My luck is steady with things that go wrong and I have to pay for it later.
thanks Jamie
04-06-2006, 10:35 PM
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My 05 oil pan leaks also
I changed oil at 5,000 miles and everything was dry under the truck. At 10,000 when I rolled under the truck the cross member was wet where oil had leaked from around the oil pan gasket at the rear of the motor. I had also used a quart of oil (or lost it). I tried tightening the bolts but they were already pretty snug. I checked 1,000 miles later and the leak had slowed down. I was able to get a little more on the bolts and checked it again after another 1,000. It has all but stopped and my oil level is still full. My cross member had a small amount of oil on it. I do not believe any leak is acceptable on a new engine. If this last torque does not stop it completely, I fully intend for the dealer to repair it. I wonder if anyone else has had this problem.
04-07-2006, 04:28 AM
#3
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JMac,
Are you sure your leak is coming from the oil pan gasket? Are you sure the blow-by tube (driver side) is not where the oil is coming from?
Mine has leaked some too coming from the blow-by tube and had left some residual oil on my oil pan and transmission housing. It has done this for a while now, and im coming up on 40k.
Anyway, my last oil change at 35k I decided to try running about a quart less oil than my usual even 3 gallons. That seemed to reduce the amount of oil on my pan and trans housing.
Im going to change mine again at 40k and put in 2 gallons and 3 quarts of oil again see what happens. My theory is that we are just putting a little bit to much oil in and it has to go somewhere so it goes out the blow tube. My guess is that there is nothing wrong with your truck. Or mine. Or Sawmillman's. I think the trucks are just designed to run with a little less oil than a full 3 gallons.
Are you sure your leak is coming from the oil pan gasket? Are you sure the blow-by tube (driver side) is not where the oil is coming from?
Mine has leaked some too coming from the blow-by tube and had left some residual oil on my oil pan and transmission housing. It has done this for a while now, and im coming up on 40k.
Anyway, my last oil change at 35k I decided to try running about a quart less oil than my usual even 3 gallons. That seemed to reduce the amount of oil on my pan and trans housing.
Im going to change mine again at 40k and put in 2 gallons and 3 quarts of oil again see what happens. My theory is that we are just putting a little bit to much oil in and it has to go somewhere so it goes out the blow tube. My guess is that there is nothing wrong with your truck. Or mine. Or Sawmillman's. I think the trucks are just designed to run with a little less oil than a full 3 gallons.
04-07-2006, 12:24 PM
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Here is an email from Cummins when asked about the blow-by...
Summary: 04 Dodge blowby
Solution:
Thanks for your Email message.
The tube on the side of the engine from the top of the engine, is the
crankcase breather tube, which is attached to the crankcase breather on
top of the valve cover. The crankcase breather tube is necessary in
diesel engines to relieve normal crankcase pressures. Some oil or vapor
out the crankcase breather tube of diesel engines is normal.
Diesel engines operate with much higher crankcase pressures because of
twice the compression ratio of gasoline engines. This is because diesel
engines run from compressed air and fuel to create heat for combustion.
These are heavy-duty diesel engines designed and built for heavy loads
and hard work and some crankcase pressure is a normal function of a
diesel engine. Blowby readings from 0 to 12 in. H2O are considered
normal but readings above 18 in. H2O are considered excessive.
Diesel engines are 'compression ignition' engines, which means that
there are no external means to ignite the fuel and air mixture, except
by compressing the fuel/air mixture to create enough heat to promote
combustion of the mixture. The compression ratio for the diesel engine
is currently around 15 to 1 and gasoline engines for example are about 8
to 1. Since gasoline engines are spark ignited, they have less
compression ratio, where the diesel must 'compress' the fuel/air mixture
into a smaller space to create enough heat to initiate ignition.
One of the major contributors to excessive blowby, is light load
operation of the diesel engine. Light loading does not generate enough
heat to properly burn fuel and create maximum piston to ring contact.
Light loading or excessive idling, causes 'fuel slobber', which is
detrimental to proper engine break-in, ie, piston ring to liner seating.
Light loading operation can lead to carbon buildup on pistons and piston
rings, which can cause some 'blowby' out the breather tube. Medium to
heavy loading creates more heat and more efficient engine combustion.
The only other reason would be 'dirt ingress' through the air intake
system causing excessive piston ring wear. One handful of dirt is
enough to cause significant wear on the piston rings and one handful of
dirt can accumulate quicker than expected through a dirty air cleaner or
a hole/crack in any piping from the air cleaner to the turbocharger.
The engine in the new vehicle is very new, and the piston rings may have
not had a chance to 'seat' yet, and some cylinder pressure is getting by
the rings into the crankcase, which is what we call 'blowby'. After you
get 1000 or so miles on it, the engine needs to be 'worked' to create
some cylinder temperature. If the engine is operated with only light
loading, it can take up to 30,000 miles to 'seat' the piston rings.
We would suggest giving the engine a good workout, by loading the truck,
driving in the mountains or pulling a loaded trailer and make the engine
create some exhaust temperature. This will help burn off the excess
carbon to allow the rings to seal better and the oil drip or vapor
should diminish. It may be difficult to eliminate the drip completely.
Another option on a truck with some miles on it would be to go to a
Cummins distributor and have them to 'flush' the injectors with Premium
Plus Injector cleaner, which would improve combustion.
Also, we were advised that Dodge would be issuing a TSB in February 2000
about retrofitting the blowby 'catch bottle' to collect any oil from the
crankcase breather tube. The current model engines have the breather
tube attached to the front cover and older models have the breather tube
located on the oil fill side of the engine block. This will require
some modification to fit the catch bottle on the side of the engine
rather than the front cover.
The kit should also be available through a Cummins Distributor under
Part Number 3800918.
Kit 3800919 is for those few early production 24 valves that still had
the breather mounted off the tappet cover. It includes all parts
necessary to move the breather to the front gear cover and to mount the
bottle. There currently is no kit available for the 12 valve models but
it is likely that the bottle from 3800918 could be attached to the
existing draft tube.
We thank you for your interest in Cummins products. Please let us know
if you need assistance in locating the nearest Cummins-authorized Dealer
or Distributor Service Provider. For assistance in locating a Service
Provider, feel free to use Cummins North America Dealer Locator, which
can be found on Cummins website:
http://www.cummins.com/service_locator/index.cfm
Please let us know if you have other questions and if away from your
computer or have a time-critical request that needs more urgent
attention, feel free to call us toll-free (from North America) at
1-800-DIESELS (343-7357).
Email direct: powermaster@cummins.com
Regards,
--
Powermaster
Customer Assistance Center
Cummins, Inc.
Columbus, Indiana, USA
Hub
Summary: 04 Dodge blowby
Solution:
Thanks for your Email message.
The tube on the side of the engine from the top of the engine, is the
crankcase breather tube, which is attached to the crankcase breather on
top of the valve cover. The crankcase breather tube is necessary in
diesel engines to relieve normal crankcase pressures. Some oil or vapor
out the crankcase breather tube of diesel engines is normal.
Diesel engines operate with much higher crankcase pressures because of
twice the compression ratio of gasoline engines. This is because diesel
engines run from compressed air and fuel to create heat for combustion.
These are heavy-duty diesel engines designed and built for heavy loads
and hard work and some crankcase pressure is a normal function of a
diesel engine. Blowby readings from 0 to 12 in. H2O are considered
normal but readings above 18 in. H2O are considered excessive.
Diesel engines are 'compression ignition' engines, which means that
there are no external means to ignite the fuel and air mixture, except
by compressing the fuel/air mixture to create enough heat to promote
combustion of the mixture. The compression ratio for the diesel engine
is currently around 15 to 1 and gasoline engines for example are about 8
to 1. Since gasoline engines are spark ignited, they have less
compression ratio, where the diesel must 'compress' the fuel/air mixture
into a smaller space to create enough heat to initiate ignition.
One of the major contributors to excessive blowby, is light load
operation of the diesel engine. Light loading does not generate enough
heat to properly burn fuel and create maximum piston to ring contact.
Light loading or excessive idling, causes 'fuel slobber', which is
detrimental to proper engine break-in, ie, piston ring to liner seating.
Light loading operation can lead to carbon buildup on pistons and piston
rings, which can cause some 'blowby' out the breather tube. Medium to
heavy loading creates more heat and more efficient engine combustion.
The only other reason would be 'dirt ingress' through the air intake
system causing excessive piston ring wear. One handful of dirt is
enough to cause significant wear on the piston rings and one handful of
dirt can accumulate quicker than expected through a dirty air cleaner or
a hole/crack in any piping from the air cleaner to the turbocharger.
The engine in the new vehicle is very new, and the piston rings may have
not had a chance to 'seat' yet, and some cylinder pressure is getting by
the rings into the crankcase, which is what we call 'blowby'. After you
get 1000 or so miles on it, the engine needs to be 'worked' to create
some cylinder temperature. If the engine is operated with only light
loading, it can take up to 30,000 miles to 'seat' the piston rings.
We would suggest giving the engine a good workout, by loading the truck,
driving in the mountains or pulling a loaded trailer and make the engine
create some exhaust temperature. This will help burn off the excess
carbon to allow the rings to seal better and the oil drip or vapor
should diminish. It may be difficult to eliminate the drip completely.
Another option on a truck with some miles on it would be to go to a
Cummins distributor and have them to 'flush' the injectors with Premium
Plus Injector cleaner, which would improve combustion.
Also, we were advised that Dodge would be issuing a TSB in February 2000
about retrofitting the blowby 'catch bottle' to collect any oil from the
crankcase breather tube. The current model engines have the breather
tube attached to the front cover and older models have the breather tube
located on the oil fill side of the engine block. This will require
some modification to fit the catch bottle on the side of the engine
rather than the front cover.
The kit should also be available through a Cummins Distributor under
Part Number 3800918.
Kit 3800919 is for those few early production 24 valves that still had
the breather mounted off the tappet cover. It includes all parts
necessary to move the breather to the front gear cover and to mount the
bottle. There currently is no kit available for the 12 valve models but
it is likely that the bottle from 3800918 could be attached to the
existing draft tube.
We thank you for your interest in Cummins products. Please let us know
if you need assistance in locating the nearest Cummins-authorized Dealer
or Distributor Service Provider. For assistance in locating a Service
Provider, feel free to use Cummins North America Dealer Locator, which
can be found on Cummins website:
http://www.cummins.com/service_locator/index.cfm
Please let us know if you have other questions and if away from your
computer or have a time-critical request that needs more urgent
attention, feel free to call us toll-free (from North America) at
1-800-DIESELS (343-7357).
Email direct: powermaster@cummins.com
Regards,
--
Powermaster
Customer Assistance Center
Cummins, Inc.
Columbus, Indiana, USA
Hub
04-07-2006, 02:51 PM
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Originally Posted by TexasCTD
JMac,
Are you sure your leak is coming from the oil pan gasket? Are you sure the blow-by tube (driver side) is not where the oil is coming from?
Mine has leaked some too coming from the blow-by tube and had left some residual oil on my oil pan and transmission housing. It has done this for a while now, and im coming up on 40k.
Anyway, my last oil change at 35k I decided to try running about a quart less oil than my usual even 3 gallons. That seemed to reduce the amount of oil on my pan and trans housing.
Im going to change mine again at 40k and put in 2 gallons and 3 quarts of oil again see what happens. My theory is that we are just putting a little bit to much oil in and it has to go somewhere so it goes out the blow tube. My guess is that there is nothing wrong with your truck. Or mine. Or Sawmillman's. I think the trucks are just designed to run with a little less oil than a full 3 gallons.
Are you sure your leak is coming from the oil pan gasket? Are you sure the blow-by tube (driver side) is not where the oil is coming from?
Mine has leaked some too coming from the blow-by tube and had left some residual oil on my oil pan and transmission housing. It has done this for a while now, and im coming up on 40k.
Anyway, my last oil change at 35k I decided to try running about a quart less oil than my usual even 3 gallons. That seemed to reduce the amount of oil on my pan and trans housing.
Im going to change mine again at 40k and put in 2 gallons and 3 quarts of oil again see what happens. My theory is that we are just putting a little bit to much oil in and it has to go somewhere so it goes out the blow tube. My guess is that there is nothing wrong with your truck. Or mine. Or Sawmillman's. I think the trucks are just designed to run with a little less oil than a full 3 gallons.
Yes It's coming from the oil pan gasket. And from the dust cover to the tranny.
Jamie
04-08-2006, 01:37 AM
#6
Registered User
Originally Posted by Jmac
I have extended my breather tube down to the frame closer to the tranny. That way I get no oil anywhere near the motor from that.
Yes It's coming from the oil pan gasket. And from the dust cover to the tranny.
Jamie
Yes It's coming from the oil pan gasket. And from the dust cover to the tranny.
Jamie
Ok Jamie. It was just a guess on my part. Good luck with it and let us know what the dealer does and says about it. Thx.
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04-08-2006, 10:53 PM
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Originally Posted by Chip
Jmac,
Mine has no noticable leaks except for the puke-tube and that's very mimimal. Get it checked out, 1.3 qts, that's an awful lot !!
Chip
Mine has no noticable leaks except for the puke-tube and that's very mimimal. Get it checked out, 1.3 qts, that's an awful lot !!
Chip
Jamie
04-08-2006, 11:00 PM
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Our truck has a tiny leak from the valve cover. It's only a few drops, truck doesnt burn oil in 3k, but the dealer said they would replace it under warranty. Why not, we thought. They're also a pretty mod friendly dealer, one of the service managers has a TST on his 03. 
04-09-2006, 06:22 AM
#10
Registered User
What's the chance any of your oil seepage/leaks is the result of spilling oil while pouring in new oil during an oil change?
The reason I ask is because I spilled oil on my last oil change and I now have several stains on the underside of the truck (at least I hope that's the cause!)
The reason I ask is because I spilled oil on my last oil change and I now have several stains on the underside of the truck (at least I hope that's the cause!)
04-09-2006, 02:29 PM
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Originally Posted by handymantim
What's the chance any of your oil seepage/leaks is the result of spilling oil while pouring in new oil during an oil change?
The reason I ask is because I spilled oil on my last oil change and I now have several stains on the underside of the truck (at least I hope that's the cause!)
The reason I ask is because I spilled oil on my last oil change and I now have several stains on the underside of the truck (at least I hope that's the cause!)
Jamie
04-11-2006, 03:42 AM
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Oils leaks and Cummins
Oil leaks seem to be part of owning a Cummins. My 05 has 80K on it and at 75K I noticed oil between the harmonic damper/pully and block. I brought it into the dealer and they replaced the front main seal and told me the front timing cover seal was leaking too. They replaced that seal althought they made a royal mess with the cummins gray RTV sealant.
04-11-2006, 07:35 PM
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OK. Got my truck back after three days. Motor oil pan leak: normal. Tranny leak apparently coming from the gasket: normal. Using 1-2quarts of oil b/t changes: normal. Oil at the tranny dust cover: normal.
And the service manager told me if something happens after the 100K warrenty, they would take care of it b/c I've already brought it to their attention. I was given nothing in writing to prove this.
They put dye into the motor oil and tranny oil to see where the leaks are coming from!!! It's very easy to see where they are coming from and I'm not a mechanic!!!
I'm through with dealerships period, end of story.
Jamie
And the service manager told me if something happens after the 100K warrenty, they would take care of it b/c I've already brought it to their attention. I was given nothing in writing to prove this.
They put dye into the motor oil and tranny oil to see where the leaks are coming from!!! It's very easy to see where they are coming from and I'm not a mechanic!!!
I'm through with dealerships period, end of story.
Jamie
04-11-2006, 08:58 PM
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Leaks are not normal and usually not a issue on these Cummin sengines.If they added dye they want you to bring in back in in a few hundered miles to black light it.Kinda standard to document from WHERE its coming from,.Can't imangine adding dye and also saying NORMAL outa the same breath.If it was NORMAL why add the dye.I'd call and and set up a time next week to black light it with you there to go over it with them.
04-11-2006, 10:03 PM
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BTW They did not clean off the oil at the motor oil pan gasket leak or the tranny pan. It looks like someone pressure washed the under side of the truck but didn't know to get the tranny or motor oil pan!!!!!
The service writer also said to me that they really don't like removing the tranny pan b/c its a PITA to put a new gasket on and get it tightened right so that it doesn't leak.
There is a threaded bolt on the driver side of the tranny pan that has what looks like a allen shaped hole in the middle of it on the end and a nut on the outside of it. The nut looks like it holds the bolt tight. I have tranny fluid leaking/seeping from there also. They have tried to fix this leak before.
Jamie
The service writer also said to me that they really don't like removing the tranny pan b/c its a PITA to put a new gasket on and get it tightened right so that it doesn't leak.
There is a threaded bolt on the driver side of the tranny pan that has what looks like a allen shaped hole in the middle of it on the end and a nut on the outside of it. The nut looks like it holds the bolt tight. I have tranny fluid leaking/seeping from there also. They have tried to fix this leak before.
Jamie