odd Cummins oil-leak - Page 4

dredman · 05-10-2016, 09:35 AM

Thanks guys, ordered part from Geno's.

The O-rings look like the did when I installed them. The previous leak was intermittent, which makes me think it was never an o-ring problem. Now it pours out like a faucet, just hard to understand why?

New part MUST solve problem? I need to fix oil leak and then onto the old expansion bottle leak I had forgotten about

Tango · 05-10-2016, 10:15 AM

I HATE mystery leaks...and electrical shorts. Good luck with it Dred.

dredman · 05-10-2016, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tango

I HATE mystery leaks...and electrical shorts. Good luck with it Dred.

Lucky for me I am stuck in paradise, deciding whether to fix up a bus or go sailing

2kool4skool · 05-10-2016, 12:03 PM

Expansion bottle leak...Oh yea.

I spent most of yesterday repairing mine. It's officially called a deaeration tank, pn 1769488. Available for about $300 new.
I plastic welded a small leak. A quick road test shows success....
The leak only occurs under pressure and at full op. temp and then goes away at the slightest pressure drop.

BEEN MAKING ME NUTS trying to find the exact source, but I have now located it. I plan to replace went I get the best price.
If you look inside this thing you can see why it's so pricey...Not just an empty tank, lots of chambers and baffles and stuff in there.

The pic shows it upside down from it's in service orientation.

dredman · 05-10-2016, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2kool4skool

The pic shows it upside down from it's in service orientation.

How did you extract yours?

What plastic weld did you use?

2kool4skool · 05-10-2016, 06:47 PM

Tools I used: 9/16 socket on 3/8 ratchet with a 6in ext. Tools to loosen hose clamps.

Extraction: Drain rad. down by about 2 gallons (I loosened the bottom hose*) Engine side....Rem. the top end only of the hose from bottom of rad. to tank*. Rem. the coolant level wires. Rem. the top of the top rad hose. Rem. the small hose at the tank end. Rem. 2 3/8in. bolts from the tank holder frame. (Hard to see)

Under the front access cover...Remove the rad. end of small hose that connects the tank to the rad. top. Rem. 3- 3/8in. bolts holding the forward tank holder frame.

Back to eng. side, fold the upper rad. hose over (or rem. from engine) and carefully pull out the tank and frame assy.

I could NOT see the leak when the tank was cool and empty so I heat welded the tank all around the suspect area. I used an inexpensive plastic welder that uses only heat...Like a soldering gun with a wide, flat tip. I have a lot of experience with this little welder, it can do a good job if you take your time and follow inst.

Very similar to this:

I just ran the welder over the area, 1/2 lapping the previous pass until I covered all I thought I needed to, using no filler. So far it's holding

dredman · 05-10-2016, 08:15 PM

so the tank comes out the front or from the inside?

I used some JB weld to stem the flow....stick pretty good to everything but the hole

2kool4skool · 05-10-2016, 08:21 PM

"Back to eng. side, fold the upper rad. hose over (or rem. from engine) and carefully pull out the tank and frame assy."

Inside/engine side.

dredman · 06-30-2016, 08:23 PM

so I stopped in Buffalo WY to grab a biscuit before heading over the pass, and 1/2 quart was on the ground as I came back to the bus. That was Sunday

Picked up the bus today - $2600 repair(pulled the whole front of the bus and engine to get to the leaking gasket)

Then rolled out ecstatic to be moving again. Got just outside of Billings, and saw my oil pressure was below 30 rolling down the interstate. Pulled off, checked the oil - NONE! After topping it off less than 150 miles back, WTF?

Now I crawled into Billings, smoke billowing, no power - I am screwed I know it, just looking for options?

Brad_SwiftFur · 06-30-2016, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dredman

so I stopped in Buffalo WY to grab a biscuit before heading over the pass, and 1/2 quart was on the ground as I came back to the bus. That was Sunday

Picked up the bus today - $2600 repair(pulled the whole front of the bus and engine to get to the leaking gasket)

Then rolled out ecstatic to be moving again. Got just outside of Billings, and saw my oil pressure was below 30 rolling down the interstate. Pulled off, checked the oil - NONE! After topping it off less than 150 miles back, WTF?

Now I crawled into Billings, smoke billowing, no power - I am screwed I know it, just looking for options?

... ... ... You ... don't have a failed turbo, do you? Would certainly account for (1) missing oil, (2) billowing smoke, and (3) no power. Oil could possibly be in the tube going from turbo to air intercooler (has this happen on a Volvo w/ ISX Cummins), if it didn't go out the exhaust.

dredman · 06-30-2016, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

... ... ... You ... don't have a failed turbo, do you? Would certainly account for (1) missing oil, (2) billowing smoke, and (3) no power. Oil could possibly be in the tube going from turbo to air intercooler (has this happen on a Volvo w/ ISX Cummins), if it didn't go out the exhaust.

He did pull the turbo tubes?
Could a bad connection cause the same?

2kool4skool · 06-30-2016, 09:49 PM

Pulling for you Dred. Keep us updated if you can.

Brad_SwiftFur · 06-30-2016, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dredman

He did pull the turbo tubes?
Could a bad connection cause the same?

Once had a couple bad hoses from turbo to intercooler - intercooler to engine, causing a loss of turbo boost. Would account for smoke and power, but not necessarily oil loss. Oil's gotta be going somewhere. If it's not in the engine (or cooling system), then it either went on the ground, into the intake, or out the exhaust.

With a major engine disassembly and reassembly, there's always the chance something wasn't hooked up tight ... or a weak connection could fail.

dredman · 06-30-2016, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2kool4skool

Pulling for you Dred. Keep us updated if you can.

I have not felt this low in quote some time, thanks for the support

Brad_SwiftFur · 06-30-2016, 10:04 PM

Would be helpful to know, what flavor engine is in yer bus?

dredman · 06-30-2016, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

Once had a couple bad hoses from turbo to intercooler - intercooler to engine, causing a loss of turbo boost. Would account for smoke and power, but not necessarily oil loss. Oil's gotta be going somewhere. If it's not in the engine (or cooling system), then it either went on the ground, into the intake, or out the exhaust.

With a major engine disassembly and reassembly, there's always the chance something wasn't hooked up tight ... or a weak connection could fail.

Well the oil leak is back too?

If I had not SEEN him put a new gasket on I would think I get swindled?

dredman · 06-30-2016, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

Would be helpful to know, what flavor engine is in yer bus?

cummins 5.9 turbo

Brad_SwiftFur · 06-30-2016, 10:18 PM

First things first. Need to find out where the oil is going. A failed turbo can leak (blow) oil into the intake system. Pull the hose going to the air cooler to check. While you have it off, carefully reach in and see if the turbo "guts" feel tight (fair warning, there might be sharp points in there!), and if it spins very freely.

So, having checked, you found inside the boost hose nice and dry, the turbo tight and spinning freely? Post back here and we'll see what's next. Otherwise, you're probably going to need a fresh turbo, which for a 5.9, I would expect the new one to go around $700 or so.

dredman · 06-30-2016, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

First things first. Need to find out where the oil is going. A failed turbo can leak (blow) oil into the intake system. Pull the hose going to the air cooler to check. While you have it off, carefully reach in and see if the turbo "guts" feel tight (fair warning, there might be sharp points in there!), and if it spins very freely.

So, having checked, you found inside the boost hose nice and dry, the turbo tight and spinning freely? Post back here and we'll see what's next. Otherwise, you're probably going to need a fresh turbo, which for a 5.9, I would expect the new one to go around $700 or so.

Come to think of it, there was a screeching sound just before I came to a stop? I thought that was pistons seizing, sounded more like a loud belt.

I will see what I can do tomorrow, lights out for now.

Brad_SwiftFur · 06-30-2016, 10:28 PM

Next, why can a turbo fail? Well, aside from the obvious age, there's disassembly/reassembly of the engine ... did something get into the oil system and work its way into the turbo bearings? There's no easy way to know after the fact. Was the boost system (basically everything between the turbo to the intake manifold) free of leaks? This can cause the turbo to spin extra fast to (try to) overcome the leaks, causing premature wear and failure. Some turbo setups have an external oil line which could get kinked ... and my big ISX Cummins has a coolant line as well (I don't think the 5.9's have this).

I'm not sure on the 5.9's, but on my ISX, there's a "wastegate" controller that somehow adjusts the turbo as I drive, optimizing the way it works and boosts. This can fail, causing power and smoke issues (a computer diagnostic should be able to catch it). There's a lot of computerized gadgets I have on an ISX that the 5.9's are not known to have.

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