When I got home Wed. night, I got a whiff of that dreaded burning oil on motor smell. A visual check in darkness yielded nothing so I took the L to have the oil changed on thursday and told them to look closely underneath for what might be a leak. Well the changer pooked his head out and motioned for me to come under and I had this sinking feeling when he did that. There was a significant amount of oil underneath and up the right side of the engine. Not being an expert on these things, I had to rely on what he claimed was a leak around the rear engine seal. Called my dealer and he skeded a repair for Monday.

So my question for ya'll who are more well versed on these issues is, what might have caused this and could one of the few things I have done to the truck be the problem. I am running Mike's chip and Mobile One synthetic 5W-30. No towing.

Thanks,

Phil

 

Phil,

Don't sweat it yet. Could be the oil pan gasket needs tightened a little. If either needs replaced, it shouldn't be too big a deal and I doubt anything you did caused it.

Also, I read where synthetic oils are supposed to prolong the life of engine seals better than conventional oils. That's one reason I run synthetic.

------------------
Jim
Black '00
#1,757 of 4,966
Built 3/30/00 (a Thursday!)
Clear corners
J.L. Enhanced R9
J.L. Stage II Ram-Air
FMS oval T/B next
HP booster of my own
G-Tech 13.72 stock

 

Thanks Jim,

I hope that is all there is to it. There was quite a bit of oil in an area behind the oil pan, where I think the trans is connected. so i do not think it was coming from around the oil pan itself. Keeping my fingers crossed till monday.

Phil

 

BEARIT,

Be sure to remove your chip before you go to dealer. Disconnect your battery first so your PCM can reset.



[This message has been edited by jarmstro (edited 12-01-2000).]

 

Phil,
I have read that overfilling the crankcase with oil can potentially cause too high of oil pressure that could blow out the rear seal.
Ford has had a history of weak rear seals with the old SB engines-289,302,351. I'm not sure about the the track record on these new modular engines. Let us know.
Kent

------------------
99 White Lightning
#2277, built 6-11-99
52 F2 Street Rod built from scratch-yes by me!

 

Kent,

Thanks,

I will post all the particulars about what they find and how they fix it ASAP.

Phil

 

It is the problem with the passenger side head. The block probably has a casting flaw in it. The same thing happends on regular f150's with the 5.4. The oild drips down onto the passenger side exhaust. That is the smell of burning oil you.

 

Hey BEARIT,
I hate to tell you but forsfed is right. There is a flew with the right (passenger side head). I just had the same problem exact problem.
I really hate to tell you this: They changed my motor. If this is the problem don't let them replace the head gasket, you will be back within a month. Hope this is'nt the problem but I think it is. I said the same thing as you, main rear seal. The only thing good is you'll get a 01' motor, I did.
Good Luck
ck sig.

------------------
00' White Lightning
Clear Corners
PSP filter kit
PSP chip
2\2 Chamber Flowmasters
MT ET streets 26-10.5-16
Bedrug
best 1/8: 8.419 @ 83.48
best 1/4: 13.174 @ 102.57
New intercooler @ 8750 miles
New motor @ 12,100 miles

 

thanks forsfed and auto,

i think ya'll are right cause the man at super lube thought that it might be leaking up high and running down and thanks for the advice on the motor . i will insist on a new one. wonder how long that will take.

Phil

 

BEARIT: Check out www.f150online.com/f150board/Forum10/HTML/000738.html
Good Luck.

------------------
White'00 #2006
soft tonneau,22% tint
performance mods soon.

 

Thanks guys for the diagnosis, I guess. Now two leaks to look for that are of a MAJOR concern. Should I have kept my Corvette? This is crazy.

Bearit,

When was your engine built? Left head has a sticker. After reading the thread BOSTONL put up, apparently there was a 4 month run that was bad.

------------------
Jim
Black '00
#1,757 of 4,966
Built 3/30/00 (a Thursday!)
Clear corners
J.L. Enhanced R9
J.L. Stage II Ram-Air
FMS oval T/B next
HP booster of my own
G-Tech 13.72 stock

 

I think I was the first to get a replacement engine on the Lightning board for the "oil leak" (believe me, I'm not bragging). Was a long process, but professionally done and no returns for leaking this or thats.

Really burns my *** that I didn't press it a little further, because I don't believe a limited edition vehicle should have to suffer the loss of value with a non-original motor. Replaced the tranny as well, and now the intercooler is leaking.

Guess that's why I ordered an '01 today .

------------------
2000 Red Lightning - #835 of 4966 Born 3-8-00 / Delivered 3-22-00
22% Window Tint, Clear Corners, MPulse LoPro Tonneau, AIM 2" Drop Shackles, Bed Rug, PSP Filter Kit, Other Goodies, Group Buy Floor Mats
Best time: 13.45 sec. @ 101.99 mph

2000 Red Trans Am Ram Air WS6, 6 Speed - Delivered 2-15-00 - Awesome Looking Car

My Zing.com Album Click Here

 

Hey BEARIT,
When I took mine in they told me to drive it until the new motor arrived. I took about a week for the motor and should of been about 2 days for the swap but the cherry picker broke. So it took 5 days for the swap so all in all about 2 weeks.
The good thing is I did'nt have any lose at the track and might of picked up a little

WHAT04,
Man the just sucks, sorry to hear about the L. I'm right there with you I've also been thinking of trading for a 01 because of the samething...............

------------------
00' White Lightning
Clear Corners
PSP filter kit
PSP chip
2\2 Chamber Flowmasters
MT ET streets 26-10.5-16
Bedrug
best 1/8: 8.419 @ 83.48
best 1/4: 13.174 @ 102.57
New intercooler @ 8750 miles
New motor @ 12,100 miles