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Old 03-09-2021, 12:43 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Mar 2021
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Ran my 7.3 L Power Stroke with a major oil leak

Hey there everyone. I've been lurking on Skoolie.net for a few weeks now and wanted to see if anyone here could help answers a question I've head bugging me for a bit.

I recently bought a 1999 E350 4-window short bus that was previously owned by the District of Columbia school district.

It has just over 100,000 miles on the 7.3 L PSD and has had it's oil changed every 5,000 miles.

I was driving it last week when I started noticing a gradual loss in power. Then the engine began to run very rough, shaking the entire front of the bus vigorously as it slowed down to barely above 20 MPH. I pulled over to the shoulder of the road after limping a few miles and noticed a very large puddle of oil forming on the ground.

I was able to find the source of the leak : the dipstick flange had come loose and was pouring oil out of the pan.

I'm concerned I might have damaged my engine from running it with such a small amount of oil running through the system. I've heard that the HPOP will shut off before any meaningful damage can be done to the engine, due to lack of oil pressure. But I have no way of confirming this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I'm not too familiar with the 7.3 PSD.

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Old 03-09-2021, 12:47 PM   #2
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oil leak...

what was the oil pressure gauge indicating before you shut off the engine? What was oil pressure reading during the "limping along the road"?


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Old 03-09-2021, 01:05 PM   #3
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oil pressure gauge

In my panic I didn't remember to check what the oil pressure gauge was displaying before I cut the engine. But while I was driving it appeared to be steadily decreasing.
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Old 03-09-2021, 01:17 PM   #4
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Sounds like your injectors were failing to operate with lower pressure. It's possible that you could fix the leak and top it off and it will run. Easy and cheap to try.
Good luck
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Old 03-09-2021, 01:42 PM   #5
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Planning to do this as soon as it gets out of the shop. Until then I'm stuck here fearing the worst, haha
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Old 03-09-2021, 02:09 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Halt View Post
Planning to do this as soon as it gets out of the shop. Until then I'm stuck here fearing the worst, haha
I don't know your relationship with the shop but be wary, especially if you told them the scenario
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Old 03-09-2021, 02:21 PM   #7
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I also had my doubts about using a shop to fix a few problems on the bus as opposed to doing it myself.

It's a small dealership located in VA that has been operated by the same guy since the mid 90's. I purchased the bus from him and everything looked and ran great for the most part. They replaced the CPS free of charge already after finding (they did, not me) it cracked and DIY repaired with JB weld ().

They took the bus back and ordered a new flange to replace the loose one, also free of charge. Don't know whether I should be even more suspicious, or thankful to be honest.
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Old 03-09-2021, 02:32 PM   #8
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If you bought it from him he might be inclined to not *find* anything seriously wrong. Either way... I don't trust dealers but then that's just me. He could be a great, honest guy.
I wish you the best and keep us updated
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Old 03-09-2021, 05:03 PM   #9
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Depends on where the leak is as to whether you’re heui system will save you from catastrophic failure. Generally it wont unless the leak is in the high pressure oil lines in the lifter valley. If that dipstick seal ring was loose you have probably damaged your engine or reduced it’s life at best. Fill it with oil and see if it will run. By the time that oil pressure gauge drops at all you basically have no oil. Limping any car on the side of the road when it is running very poorly is asinine unless 1: you really know what you are doing and have examined the vehicle and understand the fault. Or 2: you are in a life threatening situation. My last bit of advice will save you a lot of money and heartache....CHECK YOUR GUAGES WHILE YOU DRIVE OR YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS DRIVING ANYTHING EVER.
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Old 03-09-2021, 06:31 PM   #10
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I think the engine will be fine. Seen oil leaks shut down several Powerstrokes with no internal damage.
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Old 03-15-2021, 09:08 AM   #11
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Thank you everyone for the advice. I got the bus back over the weekend and it appears to be running alright. I'm pretty cautious right now as I learned from the mechanic the engine had only 8 quarts of oil left in the pan when it got towed.

I'm going to get a compression test done to see how it compares to when I originally purchased it. The dipstick flange O-ring was replaced and no longer leaks.

Any other pieces of advice would be great, thanks guy
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Old 03-15-2021, 11:04 AM   #12
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8 quarts means you are fine, got lucky.
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Old 03-15-2021, 02:10 PM   #13
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I was curious on what would be considered "dangerously low" for a 7.3 L Powerstroke. Since the engine takes 15 or so quarts for an oil change, wouldn't holding only 8 in the pan mean you're 7 quarts low? I wasn't able to find much information on how much oil is circulated through the crank case during operation, other than a single post stating it was "roughly 3 quarts".
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Old 03-15-2021, 07:02 PM   #14
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Anything under 12 quarts is what I would consider to be in urgent need of attention, From what I can tell the oil cooler holds 2 quarts, the filter holds 2 quarts and the engine circulates at least 4-5 at any given time, given the oil galleries in the heads and the HPOP reservoir. I think you were in a dangerous situation however I don’t believe any catastrophic harm would be done to that engine with 7-8 quarts in it still and being run for that duration.
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Old 03-15-2021, 08:47 PM   #15
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I grew up flying airplanes and was taught to look out to the left, around the front to the right and then scan my gauges as I looked back to my left.

I do this when I'm driving because it keeps me aware of where traffic is and how my bus is running.

My bus has an oil pressure gauge, water and tranny temps.

I've added an EGT gauge and am looking at a bluefire to read my other engine info. I'm not sure if I could use a scangauge D because I have a RE, but I'm going to look into it.

With a diesel, knowing what your engine is doing is critical. Knowing how to interpret and respond to that information can warn you of potential problems, tell you if you need to pull over and let the engine cool, or if you can put your foot into it a bit more.

If your engine checks out, I'd add some gauges and learn how to use the information they provide.

Best of luck.
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Old 03-16-2021, 08:14 AM   #16
Mini-Skoolie
 
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I like the gauges idea and routine advice. I'll do some research on installing some new ones.

The information about oil is also good to know, I haven't really been able to find a good explanation anywhere about that.
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Old 03-16-2021, 10:46 AM   #17
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Here are the gauges I either have or am looking at:

MaxTow - It's a mid priced gauge, yet it's got good reviews. https://www.maxtow.com/gauge-series/

ScanGauge - Seems many others have this and like it. The LCD screen is really small. https://www.scangauge.com/

Bluefire - Bluetooth plug into your data and it sends ECM data to a phone/tablet that you can mount. I really like this idea because I can detach it easily. I'm also hoping I can also use the tablet as the screen for my backup and dashcam systems. https://bluefire-llc.com/website

Best of luck.
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