I've been dealing with what eventually turned out to be several head cracks since last Fall. I have a 300 Tdi with 28,000 miles since its rebuild and install in 2010. In the process of troubleshooting through several parts catalogs I've been thru 2 head gaskets, 2 exhaust gaskets, a set of head bolts, a turbo (upgraded to a VNT unit) 2 water temp senders, a thermostat, a VDO water temp gage, 2 oil changes, a coolant flush, and finally a head (upgraded to a TE unit) and radiator service.
I got the truck back on the road the day before Rovers on Wintergreen and drove the truck 6 hours each way and about 8 hours on the trail. On the trip up I went through almost 2 quarts of oil and only .5 quart on the way home. Upon my return I pressure washed the underside to pinpoint the leak. From all indications it was coming from the left side of the engine (facing the truck) forward and low. My diesel mechanic thought it was seeping through the oil pan as it appeared to be wet all around the seam between the pan and block. To rule out the Timing Cover area I installed a fording plug.
The leak eventually subsided until yesterday when I was doing some routine fluid level checks and removed the fording plug. At first I thought I pulled the wrong plug because close to a half quart of oil poured from the timing cover drain hole. So apparently I have either a camshaft seal leak, crankshaft seal leak or both.
My questions; since the timing belt has been exposed to (more like bathing in) engine oil for a couple of weeks can I let the oil drain out and drive the truck, spray brake/carb cleaner into the drain hole until it comes clean and drive the truck, or have it flatbedded to a local diesel mechanic who hasn't fixed anything right the first time yet?
In the morning I'll be ordering:
Cover Seal (ERR 4576)
Crankshaft O Ring (ERR 4710)
Camshaft Seal (ERR 3356)
Crankshaft Seal (ERR 4575)
Timing Belt Kit (STC 4096)
Am I forgetting anything?
I got the truck back on the road the day before Rovers on Wintergreen and drove the truck 6 hours each way and about 8 hours on the trail. On the trip up I went through almost 2 quarts of oil and only .5 quart on the way home. Upon my return I pressure washed the underside to pinpoint the leak. From all indications it was coming from the left side of the engine (facing the truck) forward and low. My diesel mechanic thought it was seeping through the oil pan as it appeared to be wet all around the seam between the pan and block. To rule out the Timing Cover area I installed a fording plug.
The leak eventually subsided until yesterday when I was doing some routine fluid level checks and removed the fording plug. At first I thought I pulled the wrong plug because close to a half quart of oil poured from the timing cover drain hole. So apparently I have either a camshaft seal leak, crankshaft seal leak or both.
My questions; since the timing belt has been exposed to (more like bathing in) engine oil for a couple of weeks can I let the oil drain out and drive the truck, spray brake/carb cleaner into the drain hole until it comes clean and drive the truck, or have it flatbedded to a local diesel mechanic who hasn't fixed anything right the first time yet?
In the morning I'll be ordering:
Cover Seal (ERR 4576)
Crankshaft O Ring (ERR 4710)
Camshaft Seal (ERR 3356)
Crankshaft Seal (ERR 4575)
Timing Belt Kit (STC 4096)
Am I forgetting anything?