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Fighting with dealer over oil leak....

10K views 106 replies 8 participants last post by  stutz 
#1 ·
I bought my 08 f350 manual with 68000 miles from a ford dealer back in early June. I found a sticking front brake caliper when test driving it and they agreed to fix it before I bought it. So I get it home two weeks later and notice the fan it staying engaged when it shouldn’t and also seeing oil drips in drive way. I inspect it and see the hydro booster is leaking fluid and there is oil drops on bell housing. I take it to the dealer they replace fan clutch, hydro booster and lower oil pan gasket. I get the truck back six weeks later and the truck is still leaving oil spots in drive way along with oil spots all over underside on drive side all the way back to the axle. I call them talk to them and they look at it and tell me they can’t see a leak and that it was probably residual oil from former leak. I stop by dealer a week later and look at the truck with then on the life telling them I think it way be coming from the dip stick o ring. ( oil has dye in it and iv looked at it with my black light). They clean underside and flame they drove it 60 miles and it’s not leaking. So I pick it up a week later(today). I drive it 50 miles home look it over power wash it better because they did a piss poor job and drive it back to the dealer ship to get my car and come home(100 miles round trip) . I look under it after all this and there is defiantly oil drops on bell housing and oil spots all over under side on the driver side back to the axle again. I look at it with black light again and you can see very small amounts of dye where the bed plate meats the block but no trail all the way down to ledge where the dip stick goes in. But that ledge is covered in dye so with that and the oil spots all down the driver side it seems like it would be the dip stick o ring. At this point I’m going to replace that o ring because a 5$ oring isn’t worth making the trip to dealer with two vehicles to drop it off then the same to pick it up. To many miles.... but I fear the upper oil pan gasket or bed plate may be the prob and that’s something I can’t fix and very expensive to have someone to fix. It seems with all the oil spots under it the upper oil pan gasket and the bed plate wouldn’t be the cause but idk. The o ring is easy enough and cheap enough that it’s worth a try. It’s obviously leaking and I have no Faith in this dealer ship at this point. By the way all these repaired have been at there cost and iv put less than 750 miles on it. My question is does it should more likely to be a dip stick oring and what can I do with this dealer ship if the oring doesn’t fix it and they refuse to fix the upper oil pan or bed plate or just refuse to Knowledge that it’s even leaking. ?
 
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#2 ·
Update I was going to a dealer about 30 miles away from my house to pick up that oring and the truck starts shaking about 15 miles from the dealer ship. Not to bad but def shaking. Thinking maybe rock or something. Well get the the dealer and it’s doing it much worse right before I get there. Get out to walk in and 5 of my wheel studs broke off and the other three were loose on the front left wheel. The dealer ship I bought it from did the front brakes on May when they took the truck in on trade in. Then they replaced both front calipers in June when I bought it. This is all in less than 1000 miles. We were doing 75 on interstate(wife and daughter) this could have been much worse. But really this dealer ship just keeps impressing me more by the day. Needless to say I won’t be replacing the dip stick oring today.
 
#3 ·
Damn man sorry to hear of all your troubles with poor service. As to the leak the bed plate and upper oil pan are far more common than the dipstick tube seal. Honesty I have yet to see one leak. Thebed plate leaks run down the plate to the back of the engine and the rear cover and bell housing will look soaked. The engine has to come out for the bed plate.
 
#6 ·
Not that I’ve seen. I can see in the dye the very small amounts at the bed plate but no trail to the upper oil pan. And there is large amounts of dye on the upper oil pan where the dip stick tube is. But that could very easily be the upper oil pan leaking because all the oil would pool in the same spot.
 
#8 ·
But I don’t mind fixing a cheep oil leak that I can fix. I trust my self more than them at this point. But I don’t have the means to do an upper oil pan or bed plate. And with just buying it and putting less than 1000 miles on it and only really having it for two and a half weeks that I’ve owned it since June I think they should be responsible for that repair anyway.
 
#10 ·
No the dye covers the entire area where the dip stick goes in( the entire upper oil pan) in that area. After driving say 150 miles and I park it in the drive way it only leaves a few drops on ground but the under side has oil spots all over from that area all the way back to rear axle.
 
#13 ·
That’s what I was thinking and I’ll inspect the dip stick for cracking. I’ve herd others talk about the splatter from dip stick tube that’s why I was thinking that. This is the first 6.4 iv ever messed with. Love the truck. All the probs I see as being the dealers fault.
 
#14 ·
The truck is at a different dealer ( one I was getting oring from where noticed lose and broke studs) because they are fixing it and billing the dealer I bought it from. That’s how the dealer I bought it from wanted to handle it. So it will be a week before I can change oring. Hope I don’t run out of time with the oil leak thing.
 
#15 ·
It's probably a bed plate. Super common for those to leak, though usually not as bad as you're saying, but I have seen them leak that bad. Also, there is no upper oil pan. There's the lower pan, and the bed plate.

The chances of them fixing a bed plate leak are slim to none. Not under warranty anyway.
 
#17 ·
The dipstick tube should be stainless steel. And yes technically there is no “upper” oil pan but there is a plate between the oil pan and the bed plate that is commonly called the upper pan.

If it is the bed plate leaking, see if they will fix it for you and bill the other dealer
 
#18 ·
I’m not sure I can get that luck because the original dealer will have to agree to it and at this point they clame it’s not leaking. Because it’s not pouring out on the ground. Idk if it’s worse at higher speeds or what. Most of the driving I’ve done with is ramp far is high way so 70-75. So while the other dealer has it is ears up another week that I could be proving to them it leaks. Idk how else to do it other than drive the truck up there after taking it on a long drive, them putting it on lift and me pointing to them where it’s leaking. If they can’t tighten a wheel I’m sure they can’t find an oil leak. Love the truck I do t even blame it it’s more the fact these people couldn’t fix a one person election.
 
#19 ·
It probably doesn't leak unless there's blow-by, so it isn't going to leak while idling on a lift. I'm sure they know it's leaking, they just don't want to do it.

I hope it's the o ring to, That would be awesome. I've never found dye to be worth a damn.
 
#20 ·
Now hang on a tick. I think I get it now. By upper pan, you mean the windage tray thingy? If that's where the oil is then it's probably not a bed plate. Look above the windage tray, is it wet above that? If not, then it's not a bed plate. It's probably just that tray or "upper pan" if you wanna call it that. Possibly the tube o ring, I don't know.

You could try some of that spray foot powder stuff. I've heard that works for finding leaks. Never tried it myself.
 
#33 ·
This is the "upper pan" and I have heard it called a windage tray as well, kinda like a valley pan across the top of some v-block gassers.



When I recently did my alcohol related oil pan destruction I took this out as well for inspection, cleaning, and the gasket / o-ring kit I got from ford for the lower pan had the upper o-ring in it too so I figured why not. It also came with the dip stick o-ring, the oil sump or pickup tube o-ring that bolts into that very fun to reach hole with the two bolt holes above and below it in the upper left of the pic. The dipstick hole is in the lower left - count three lower pan bolts from the left - the other side of that is where the tube o-ring goes and here's a million dollar headache preventer... When you change that o-ring and start to tighten down the bracket that holds the tube in that plate / pan / tray have a buddy up top with the dipstick like an inch from fully seated. This puts the plastic end of the dipstick pretty much dead center in that hole. Have your buddy spin the yellow top of the dipstick so it wobbles and centers itself in that small passage. I've been cooned already where I just stuck it in and tightened away only to find it ain't lined up right and the friggin dipstick wouldn't seat fully in the tube.

Anyway, diagnosing a leaks origin being the upper tray's o-ring and the lower real 'pan' is kinda difficult... the lower (real) pan bolts to and thru that upper nuisance tray, which is at best 1/4" thick and oil has a funny habit of migrating upwards too.

That said, bed plates on 6.4's are an almost guaranteed leak spot. Check your service records tho and see if it hasn't already been fixed under warranty... A lot leak within the first 5,000 miles of it's life, they're that prone to chaos.

Let me add some more useless confusion - that dipstick hole leaking would leak down right where leaking bed plates like to bleed too.
 
#21 ·
Ya that’s where it’s wet. Where the bed plate is there was a very very small amount of dye. But could find no trail down to where the play wedge is. Also they had he cab up and the engine lifted a little to do oil pan. I don’t know if it’s worth threatening and possibly even going the better business bureau route if they don’t agree to fix it. I mean they did just put me and my family in danger by leaving a wheel loose.... I would think they would want to keep that quiet
 
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