2002 5.4L 230,000 miles. There is oil under the drivers side of the truck...sprayed back all over the place. When I changed the oil, I noticed it all over the front differential and a hanging drip on the oil filter. There is a sensor on the back side around the oil filter that is caked with oil/greasy mess. I was reading that this could be the oil filter adapter gasket? What are the odds of this being the case? Also, is there a write up on changing it out because it looks like a huge pain in the ***. Id like to find a step by step on replacing whatever is the problem here. Im pretty much at the point where I am confident I can fix anything on the truck, so Ive had my fill. On the other hand, id rather not pay 200 bucks to someone to fix it.

Ideas?

 

Get some sprayon cleaner and a brush.
Clean the filter area until you can see the plate and the oil pressure sensor.
After it's dry start the motor and look at the area to see where the oil is coming from.
You will have to do this anyway.
Good luck.

 

Also, another thing to check- Have you changed the filter lately? Maybe an extra oil filter gasket got left on the filter housing causing a double oil filter seal induced leak.

 

Its not the filter gasket. I looked at it. I see the comments about spraying it down and watching for the leak, but ill be honest, I can barely see the GD filter. How are you guys seeing this leak? How do you repair it? I can see one bolt and my fat hands are barely small enough to get in there to change the filter. What's the trick here? This looks like an all day kind of project?

 

You may have to take the wheel off and go through the inner fender for a better view.

 

pictures?

 

Its leaking frmo the gasket. I cleaned it off and verified. I got the wheel off and fluids drained. Ive f---ed with it for half a day now and I can't even get the first bolt out...I can't even see the other three. I have about 20 feet of extentions and ujoints and it ain't cutting it. Im out. Its going to the shop in a couple of weeks for repair. I am at least happy that if they charge less than 1000 bucks to fix it, Ill be more than happy to pay it. Seriously...i can barely see some of the bolts, but I cannot get any of my tools into it to get them out, and if I do, then I cant imagine what it will take to get it back together. Its going back together. She's leaking like a sieve but gonna have to make a 700 mile trip as it. Ill just keep it topped of.

Thanks anway.

 

Have you looked at trying to get at it from below under the truck?
I have an 02 super crew that I put a tee fitting in that location for the stock sensor switch to bring down a copper tube to an electric oil pressure sensor.
I know it' tight.
See if you can get some one to do it for you that has no skin in the game, for a few hundred dollars. Just kidding. Maybe some one else can do it.
Don't try to run 700 miles with a leak due to losing the motor from a loss of oil.
It's not worth it.
If it was a Dodge I wouldn't care.
Good luck.

 

Its necessary to remove the power stearing pump to get at that I thinks. Have to remove the power steering pulley to get the bolts off with that out of the way its all golden. Getting the pump off is a PITA..

 

Get the special pulley removal tool at auto zone. The pulley has to come off to get at the pump bolts when the pumps out of the way you can get at the oil filter adaptor bolts easy.