So yesterday while installing my B&W turnover ball I noticed that there was some kind of fluid all over the bottom of the truck from the back of the engine all the way back to the fuel tank. I checked all my fluids and all are showing to be full. So at this point I suspected that maybe the fuel filter was leaking fuel down the back of the engine while the engine was running and therefore it was then blowing down the bottom of the truck. So I checked and there isnt anything up that high on the engine to make that a possibility. So now Im back to square one. The fluid I believe is oil, but I cant tell 100% because there is dirt and what not stuck in it so its hard to tell, but Im pretty sure its oil because its much darker than I think ATF would be even with dirt mixed in (and my ATF looked very good when I pulled the dipstick).

So help me out, would yalls best guess be a main seal leak? Are there any common leaks with the Cummins (specifically the 305/555's) that I need to know about?

Thanks for any help or advice

Wes

 

Hummm, if it was the rear main it would be really wet near the bell housing and back of the Oil pan. Did you ck your blow by tube? Is your oil over filled???? Only thing I can think of that would produce that big a leak would be if the crank was full of oil/Diesel as if an injector stuck open.

 

Where is the blow by tube exit location on these? Sorry, Im still new to this truck, only had it since Mid-October and been driving it too much and thank goodness havent had to work on it much.

And it is fairly wet at the back of the oil pan and up to the bell housing.

But Ill check the blow by tube if you could inform me on where its at!

Thanks for the advice

Wes

 

I believe the blow by tube is located above the front diff. Should be a about 1" or so in diameter. I'm just going by observations on my truck though. It will probably have oil residue blown around the tip.


Wood

 

Your blow by tube is a black tube. about half inch diameter, and hangs down very near the DRIVER side of the Oil pan. Just in front of the Bell housing. Can't miss it. I had some tiny seepage at the back of my oil pan and I snugged the pan bolts down and cleared it right up. Knock on wood.

 

Been knockin on wood all day!! I think tomorrow morning Ill go to a car wash and power wash the bottom side of the engine as best as I can and then keep an eye on things and see if it is indeed the blow by tube, which Im praying it is!!

Thanks again for the help

Wes

 

Well, if you have that much coming out the blowby tube means there is a problem of some sort. Ck the oil level for sure. Usually you will get some seepage and a few drops from the blow by tube but not enough to coat the underside of the truck.

 

Ok, today i modified a 1 liter coke bottle to go over the end of the blow by tube and put some holes near the top to make sure there would be no backpressure on the system. After letting it run about 10 minutes it was clear that this is where the oil is coming from.

So I once again checked the oil and it is reading dead on the max level line. Now I still need to figure out what is causing the blow by for it to come out in the quantity that has (I would guess around a quart maybe a quart and a half based on the accumulations and accounting for what has dripped off). Do these engines have a PCV valve? If so, is it like most other engines that have them and when it quits working you get a blow by problem? If not would the only other possibility be overfilling of the oil at the last oil change (approximately 4k miles ago, but Im not exactly sure when the oil started coming out of the blow by tube, I dont think it was that long ago)? Please help me with the diagnosis so I can get this thing to stop looking like a POS everywhere I go with the drips of oil!

Sorry for the possibly rookie questions but Im trying to get to know this truck better and cant afford for someone else to work on it (unless its something I feel completely uncomfortable doing) so I just want to educate myself to diagnose and fix the problems.

Wes

 

OK, here are some options for you to ck a few things:

1) Change the oil to FRESH oil, 12 quarts exactly. That way you know exactly how much went in there. While your draining the oil, take a sample in a clean bottle and send it in to the lab for analysis. Blackstone labs are great in my opinion. This will rule out any contaminants, fuel, coolant etc... You will ge your results in about 2 days time

www.blackstone-labs.com

 

thanks for all the help Roperteacher, Ill try and drain the oil and put new oil in tomorrow when I do a brake job on the rear and then send in a sample and monitor it to see if Im still having the problem.

Wes

 

Never got a chance to send a sample in (first sample kit got lost by USPS, second is now sitting in my room as of this afternoon) but the issue got really bad this weekend, to the point that the WHOLE bottom of the truck was covered in oil and everywhere I stopped Id end up with 15-20 approximately 2 inch (diameter) spots of oil. Took it to the dealer this morning because I remembered that I had gotten a little warranty with it when we bought it and they called me this afternoon around 4:45 saying they had spent all afternoon cleaning the oil off, had put dye in the oil and were going to figure out the leak and issue first thing in the morning. I told them this morning I believed it was coming out of the blow by tube and they said this afternoon that they were going to do the dye just in case mine (and their) initial suspicion wasnt true, and if it is they were going to do an in house sample (which they said would only tell a few things but it would find the common stuff such as diesel and antifreeze) in the oil. They should be getting back to me tomorrow by lunch so when they do Ill update this.

Sorry if Im just taking up server space, I always like to follow up so that if/when others search for an issue they are having they can see the final results of what I have had happen.

Wes

 

Oh yeah, and this stupid Dodge Caliber rental car completely sucks, cant get out of its own way!!

Wes

 

Was your oil level rising? Its either a real bad oil leak or an injector stuck open IMO.

 

From all the sounds of it it is a defective injector. Mine went thru 8 gallons of fuel in 15 miles and totally covered the bottom and rear of the truck twice. Really makes a mess of things. If it is an injector see if you can get them to change all 6 as in my case less than 30 days after the first one a second failed and after the second one kept having small fuel problems related to injectors. Finally traded my 04.5 for the 07 now in my signature.

 

apparently there is a small bit coming out of the blow by tube but what is covering the bottom of the truck is transmission fluid (it never read low when i checked it either) and it is leaking from one of the lines. this of course, as my luck goes, is not covered under the warranty i got (for a used truck since i bought it used in oct) and so now im paying 878 bucks to fix the issue at hand, do a tranny filter and remaining fluid change, and an oil change. he said the slight amount of oil coming from the blow by tube is considered a normal amount.

now i gotta sell my saddle so i can afford to pay for this (i.e. to pay off the CC cause i hate debt)

wes