Fuel for Thought

That Oil Leak

February was only a three load month, and it was still productive. Most of February was consumed by jury duty, time in the shop and bad weather. The time in shop was the most productive. I finally managed to nail the oil leak that has been pestering me for the past year. I won’t turn this into a suspense thriller. The oil was leaking from the base of the oil filter housing where it is attached to the engine block. $85 of labor and a ten dollar gasket solved a year of messy oil. The original dealership diagnosis was that the leak was from the engine, upper pan seal. A $13,000 job because the engine and transmission had to be removed; otherwise, it could have been a $100 job. I held off and tried to see if the leak could be solved when I preemptively replaced my transmission in April. It turned out it wasn’t something that could be addressed at the same time as the transmission job. By mid summer it seemed the leak was slowing when it occurred to me that maybe my engine drain valve had a slow leak and that the oil was being blown up to the upper pan seal. I tried replacing the valve, modifying the valve and finally it seemed like the leak stopped, but within about three weeks another slow drip. It was a very slow leak, but I didn’t like the mess, and I didn’t like the idea that the oil was gumming things up and probably degrading my hoses and belts. Two shops couldn’t find the leak without tearing components off the engine block. Then around Thankgiving the first cold weather hit. It went from summer driving to single digit temperatures, and oil started pouring on the ground. “Pouring on the ground…” is a slight exaggeration, but it was enough to excite a short panic attack. My Sprinter Co-Diagnoser said, “Define “gushing…”” The leak was greatest at start up with a cold engine, so we leaned towards oil coming from a pressure source. In warmer climates, the leak slowed helping to confirm the oil under pressure theory. I was also dealing with the glow plugs at the time and didn’t want to dig into too many things at once. By February I had pushed my serpentine belt as far as my nerves would allow (over 200,000 miles), and the van was having trouble shifting, so I arranged the shop visit at Hoekstra’s in Grand Rapids. Going in from the top of the engine compartment without belts and pulleys the leak was easier to find.

Photo shows the only thing dripping off the van is melting, month old ice. Next I’ll talk about the events leading to the turbocharger going bad.

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