quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
Lots of potential places for oil leaks on the 6.7 Powerstroke...

Yeah, I’ve read all about them in the last few months.

As long as it’s not the rear main seal, I’m going to make the trip with the truck and just check the oil at every stop. I have no clue, which is why I’m asking, but I’m worried that if it is the rear main seal which actually seals a moving part that it could fail completely and leave my truck and boat stranded.

Any significant oil leak, large enough to materially lose oil, would have rustproofed most or all of the underside of the truck. Frankly, for the time and miles, it looks very clean.

I agree with the top post on this page, that it might be a valve cover gasket. Because of all the oil flying around under them, they are a common source of leaks on any but a flathead engine.

As mentioned in the first video posted, it is most likely the upper oil pan gasket inside the bell housing, this video shows excessive crank case pressure. If your crankcase pressure is high, I would not tow with it.

So not the rear main seal.

It’s a joy to work on our Florida cars:



Much better that the ones I worked on in Wisconsin as a young adult.

Never had a problem with high crankcase pressure that I know of. The YouTube videos show the oil fill cap popping of from excess pressure. I’ve checked many times and have never had that happen. Before I replace the oil separator yesterday, I stopped the truck at home after picking up the new oil separator, 40 miles round trip, had my son rev up the engine and took the fill cap off. No pop and I could feel any pressure when I covered the fill tube with my hand.

Be careful with oil leaks on those. If it does a REGEN (exhaust clean out), it will get hot enough to burn things.

Personally I'd have it professionally assessed. Not sure that would be a dealership. Being a diesel you could be talking thousands to try to resolve. I hope not.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: old rugged cross,

Buy a case of your favorite brand/viscosity diesel engine oil in Michigan along with a funnel if it's needed for adding oil to the engine.
And several rolls of the shop paper towels.
Stop every couple hours at the beginning of your trip heading back to Florida.
Pull over, go take a piss at the rest area, walk around a bit and let that hot oil drain back into the oil pan. Check the engine oil level, add as needed.
Also look under your truck when you first stop, and check that you haven't parked directly over somebody else's fresh oil drippings on the blacktop. Move the rig to dry pavement if needed.
By the time you drive 500 or so miles, you'll know what the status of the leakage rate actually is.

If it is pissing oil on the ground, just keep the oil level between full and down a quart.
If it isn't pissing on the ground, by the time you have stopped and checked twice, you'll know that also.

If you can drive it back to Florida, and you can, if you keep it between full and add a quart, the smart move is getting it repaired in Florida where you live (if it is even in need of a repair)

If you get a repair in Michigan, and something goes wrong with the repair, how in the hell are you going to get it looked at by the place in Michigan with you and the truck being in Florida?
Avoid that scenario at all costs!
If it needs repairs, get them done in Florida so you aren't on the road with family, trailer and watercraft.
If it uses ten quarts on the way home, who cares. All you will do is prevent rust on the bottom of the truck.
Keep the engine oil level on the dipstick between the lines or dots, and drive the truck!

1200 to 1300 miles trip? It used ten quarts? That's 130 miles to a quart of oil. Again, who cares. Get it home under it's own power to the repair shop of your choice, at home, not out on the road.

I've seen trucks that leaked a quart in 130 miles. The first place you look for the oil leak is at the bottom of the rear bumper and the tailgate.
If it isn't sloppy wet on the rear differential, rear bunper, and tailgate, it's not leaking bad enough not to drive it.

^^^^^^^
You do realize that it's leaking oil on the exhaust pipe? if it goes into REGEN, bad things could happen.

AI Overview:

An oil or fuel-related fire during a DPF regeneration on a 2015 Ford F-250 6.7L Powerstroke is typically caused by extreme exhaust temperatures (exceeding 1,200°F) igniting pooled oil leaks, a severely soot-clogged DPF, or excessive post-injection fuel dilution leaking onto hot exhaust components

.Common Causes of Regen FiresCrashed/Clogged DPF Thermal Overload: Forcing a regeneration when a diesel particulate filter is completely blocked can cause runaway thermal events, melting the substrate and igniting trapped soot or nearby lines.Active

Oil Leaks: Valve cover gaskets, degraded lower/upper oil pan seals, or CCV system failures can drip engine oil directly onto the hot downpipe or exhaust manifold during the high-heat regen cycle.