Mysterious Oil Leak in t444e?

[tcs339]

02 International 3800 t444e.

I have spent thousands at 3 different diesel mechanics and still have the same oil leak: driver side, somewhere in the high pressure system (I think). Doesn't seem to leak when idling or even in neutral at ~1500 RPMs, but any reasonable drive and under the hood is saturated with oil. Radiator fan seems to be throwing it everywhere...dripping down on the shocks and chassis, the underside of all the hoses, the wheel wells, etc.

I've had the oil pan resealed 3 different times, replaced the oil cooler gaskets twice, and just got a new rear main seal. I don't think it's the HPOP because that looks dry. Tried numerous leak seal oil additives and blacklight dyes to no avail. What the hell could it be??? Any ideas???

[cadillackid]

the HPOP reservoire sits on top at the front of the engine.. the LPOP is mounted to the crankshaft right behind the damper.. the Lpop is a concentric gear pump and has a gasket to the front cover.. it could be leaking at the LPOP or the front seal in the LPOP housing then getting slung everywhere...



another place that 444E's love to leak is the Dipstick Tube in the side of the pan.. they typically dont cause oil to be slung in the fan but it will result in oil all over the underside of the vehivle and on the ground..



Rear main;s dont leak too often in these however HPOP lines coming from the HPOP and going into the heads are a big source of leaks.. and those can spray oil in the air in a fine mist.. they also result in oil in the valley-pan which will then run down the back of the engine appearing like a rear main seal.



a worn engine will blow quite a bit of oil out the draft tube which results in it being on the underside of the transmission and such...



over-filling the oil in a 444E is a sure way to blow lots of oil on the ground...

[Booyah45828]

What he said. Check hpop oil lines as they might not be so much of a leak, but a mist, especially when under high pressure(driving).

Also check turbo pedestal as those are a frequent leaker as well.

I've seen oil cooler heads suffer from erosion issues in the castings, so a gasket/o-ring replacement might not fix a leak in one. Not directed at you, but a general statement.

Sorry that you spend thousands at multiple mechanics, but this shouldn't be that hard.

[cadillackid]

I always forget about the turbo pedestal.. maybe because thats the one leak out of the rest i havent had to fix :P

[tcs339]

Thanks for all the info. Re: the oil cooler head, I believe the last shop replaced it, but I'll have to double check. The weird thing is that the oil is only on the driver side, passenger side is bone dry. Definitely seems like it could be "misting" though.

[jazty]

Over the years I've been tracking down and fixing the oil leaks in my ol' 1997 T444e. Most of the leaks were minor, but contributing to the overall slop spraying around the chassis (rust protection!). Except for the oil pan. It eventually started leaking with a steady drip. No rust or anything, but a bunch of the bolts let loose. I used loctite this last time around.
Otherwise I found leaks at and fixed:


- the oil cooler;
- the front oil pump gear inspection cover;
- the rear main seal (wouldn't have bothered with that minor leak, but the only good way to seal the oil pan was to remove transmission so it was worthwhile to do);
- the dip stick holder.


If you have a leak up front I'd check around the Cam Position Sensor. Maybe pop it out and investigate the o-ring. Also take a look around the oil pump gear cover. It looks like this:

[J_Binks]

Hey man! Did you happen to figure out where the leak is? I got the same problem. Feel free to DM me. Thanks!