Bus at mechanic for 2 months!

[Truthseeker4449]

I would be highly concerned about oil dripping from an engine during starting. At best it's a sign of really bad blowby. That is to say combustion gases are leaking past the piston rings due to how badly worn or broken they are. If its strong enough it can take oil drops with it. A healthy engine will have no blowby at all.

I don't know what an oil pressure tube is (never heard of it before and I have a 7.3 in a pickup), but I know the medium duty variant can have what's called a road draft tube where simple vents the crankcase to atmosphere. Essentially nothing should be coming out of that tube while an engine is running, otherwise the engine needs a rebuild.

I'm sorry for your horrible experience, this guy clearly knows nothing about diesels beyond the most common failures.

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Originally Posted by Truthseeker4449

I don't know what an oil pressure tube is (never heard of it before and I have a 7.3 in a pickup), but I know the medium duty variant can have what's called a road draft tube where simple vents the crankcase to atmosphere. Essentially nothing should be coming out of that tube while an engine is running, otherwise the engine needs a rebuild.

OP stated 'mechanic' stated it was the oil pressure nozzle. No such thing on an engine, at least none I've heard of. Oil pressure nozzle indicates it is supposed to spray oil, and that is not what diesels do. No engine is supposed to spray oil. The 7.3 PowerStroke does indeed use oil pressure in part to control the fuel injection, but it does not spray oil out of the engine as a normal part of operation. Not sure it would even if it leaked. I was under the impression this was a closed system and that leaks are rare, if ever.

As you state, this idiot clearly knows nothing about diesels. If brains were gasoline, some folks couldn't run a p*ss-ant's go-kart two laps around a dadgum Cheerio.

[Truthseeker4449]

Originally Posted by CHEESE_WAGON

OP stated 'mechanic' stated it was the oil pressure nozzle. No such thing on an engine. Nozzle indicates it is supposed to spray oil, and that is not what diesels do. No engine is supposed to spray oil.

Definitely no engine is supposed to spray oil externally! I must have missed the nozzle part, that guy is full of garbage. I'm not trying to defend him at all, just tossing my two cents and pity at the OP.

As a bit of trivia on the side, piston cooling jets are a thing for diesel engines. But those only spray oil at the bottom of the pistons, not out the side of the engine!

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

have also used torpedo heaters under the equipment for 20-30 minutes to heat everything?
it worked on cold days?
in a bus aspect in cold i have also thought about the same type of heater and removable metal underpinning with vents of course so it doesnt over pressurize the bus to heat the underside which the heat would radiate up.
an idea but i never plan on being anywhere that cold?
but my second bus i am building for my wife i am trying to do it right.
her last 6 months were in fairbanks alaska and now she is working in newberry michigan for at least three months. her last 2 contracts have been extended so virus RELATED MESS might get this one extended also.
insulated but her job decides where she goes but you can only insulate so much without turning a shorty into a bubble.
radiated heat from underside will warm the fuel the oil the chassis and the bus body flooring and will radiate up?
heat rises but in winter you want heat. in freezing temps bring an alternative source to pre heat your engine fuel,oil, and let it work for you.
an idea or opinion.
i live and work in NC so the only places i have been in real snow was in the marine corps and i learned how to snow in the well deck of a LHD/ship until we trained with the italy military before we went into bosnia/herz somalia/original detinee camps at gitmo for haitian/cuban repatriation.
sorry i will shut up now

[awilder]

To clarify, what happened was he sprayed Pyroil Starting Fluid (is that the same as ether?) while I turned the key, which did not start it. I can't remember when the BANG happened, but the mechanic was doing something from the inside of the bus - he had taken off that plastic part inside to access - and he said, 'you aren't underneath, right?' I said no, and then BANG, and then oil dripped (didn't spray, but dripped) from underneath. And when the mechanic came out he had oil all over his hand.
His boss was the one who explained to me next day that the oil was dripping from the oil pressure nozzle.
Bus is back with me and will not start. Guess it will be towed to the diesel mechanic Tuesday.

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

anything labled starting fluid is ether.
oil pressure nozzle?
this is probably the early model of the (huie) pump.
hydraulicaly activated unit injection.
and it is having problems.
if you cant do it yourserlf then get it to a different mechanic.
but you said you have i?
so i assume away from the mechanic?
let us know exactly whats going on and others on here might be able to talk you through this.
but research your motor and a HEUI pump to understand even if you dont do the work yourself you know enough to not let another garage BS you.
once you figure out what you have then you can price a new one or even find a break down of parts diagram.
labor is one thing but overpriced parts or replacing the whole thing at the expense of the owner because it labor intensive to rack up the hours verses changing a specific part and fire it up?
never done or seen a huie pump but it uses high pressure oil to fire the injectors so the mechanic could have just backed a line off a little and blew an o ring.
if it was leaking on previous starts you would have noticed puddles of oil and it probably wouldnt have even had enough oil in it to start.
just an opinion.
i dont know your exact system so just making assumptions after looking into it for a few minutes.
wish you luck

[flattracker]

Too much ether may damage any engine by damaging the piston(s). Interestingly enough I have a 1986 international dump truck, originally built for the Air Force, that has a ether injection system.
I believe it is original equipment since the truck was originally shipped to cold country (It can get -40 degrees F in the winter here). The truck has a V8 international diesel but no glow plugs. I am third owner of the truck.

The injection system is electrically operated with a push button on the dash, and Fleetpride actually stocked the canisters of ether. They look just like a propane torch canister but are tan in color. I used it only once with just a quick press/release of the button. The truck started quickly.

[roach711]

It's not unheard of to have oil or fuel in the engine valley of the 7.3L but there's nothing that I know of called an "oil pressure nozzle" outside that engine. The closest thing I can think of is the injector pressure regulator up behind the fuel canister or the injector pressure sensor on the front of the driver's side head. Those do leak oil sometimes.

There is a diesel fuel line that attaches at the back of the passenger side cylinder head which has 75 psi when the engine's running and the turbocharger pedestals are known for springing a slow oil leak. The high pressure oil pump (HPOP) at the front of the engine sometimes leaks oil into the valley and the fuel filter canister can leak fuel when the seals go south. All oil or fuel leaks at the top of the engine will drip down at the back where you'd expect to see a rear main seal leak.

There's nothing back there to do a "bang" unless the guy gave the engine cover a good whack when latching it or whacked his head on the body.

I'm definitely curious to learn how this plays out.

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Originally Posted by awilder

To clarify, what happened was he sprayed Pyroil Starting Fluid (is that the same as ether?) while I turned the key, which did not start it. I can't remember when the BANG happened, but the mechanic was doing something from the inside of the bus - he had taken off that plastic part inside to access - and he said, 'you aren't underneath, right?' I said no, and then BANG, and then oil dripped (didn't spray, but dripped) from underneath. And when the mechanic came out he had oil all over his hand.
His boss was the one who explained to me next day that the oil was dripping from the oil pressure nozzle.
Bus is back with me and will not start. Guess it will be towed to the diesel mechanic Tuesday.

Sounds like not only do neither 'mechanic' nor 'boss' have any business near wrenches, they also both sound like excellent arguments for birth control.