ford 7.3

coxy · January 08, 2015, 08:27:34 AM

how come only when is real cold like this am that when my truck starts It will leak oil out of oil cooler then after about a min or so it stops when it warms up ???

sprucebunny · January 08, 2015, 08:44:35 AM

Things shrink when it's cold ???

RunningRoot · January 08, 2015, 10:13:21 AM

When it's this cold a 15-40 oil is extremely thick, so thick it will build excess pressure in the oil galleys and such. ..
Ever watch the oil pressure on your skidder or other equipment ?
First few minutes it will run up to 35% higher pressures than at normal operating temps...

Metel expands with heat as well, so as the engine warms, the flanges swell a tad and helps close up the gap while at the same time the oil warms and thins out reducing its pressure...
Its a combination of both it sounds,plus a faulty gasket of course.

ohiowoodchuck · January 08, 2015, 10:52:59 AM

there's two o rings on each end of it that seals the oil from the water. It's probably about time for some new ones as this is a common problem on the 7.3's. the cold weather does take a role in it. If i remember the o-rings are about 8 dollars each and the gaskets about 20 each.

roger 4400 · January 08, 2015, 10:55:11 AM

Sprucebunny, what do you mean when you say that things shrinks when it is cold? :D

coxy · January 08, 2015, 12:34:54 PM

Quote from: roger 4400 on January 08, 2015, 10:55:11 AM
Sprucebunny, what do you mean when you say that things shrinks when it is cold? :D

:D :D :D :D :D :D

sprucebunny · January 08, 2015, 02:29:23 PM

:D I knew there had to be a more technical explanation...
It just can't be good for machinery to start when it's below zero F, so I guess I would ignore a small protest.
I've decided to use my block heaters this winter even if I have to drag a generator out to the machine . That will keep me warm !!

Jeff · January 08, 2015, 03:40:40 PM

We had a policy at the sawmill where we did not start equipment if colder that -5. Not sure who decided on the temp, but it was most likely we would have something seriously break if we disregarded it.

snowstorm · January 08, 2015, 05:07:34 PM

the oil cooler is steel so it rusts and leaks. the end caps are aluminum and they corrode. i changed mine several yrs ago. its not that hard to do. the plastic inner fender is in the way so i drilled a small hole to get the extension thru. you should drain the coolant and change the oil

FayettesFinest · January 09, 2015, 02:57:08 PM

The O-rings in the oil cooler shrink and let's it puke oil. Once it warms up, it will be fine. I have a 7.3 with well over 450K on it and it does this.....along with leak oil from about 12 other places, lol. To my understanding, it's not that big of a deal, just makes a mess.

coxy · January 09, 2015, 03:45:14 PM

one nice thing oil gets changed once a week :D oh how many gal of oil does yours hold mine is 5 gal on the nose a few guys tell me that's impossible :-\ should be 3gal ???

brendonv · January 09, 2015, 03:58:11 PM

7.3 uses 15qts.

Brian_Rhoad · January 09, 2015, 04:02:09 PM

My 96 7.3 Power Stroke takes 16 quarts with the filter. Fills it right to the full mark on the dipstick.

Southside · January 09, 2015, 10:08:51 PM

Of course it could just be the fact that it is a Ford..... :D

ScottAR · January 10, 2015, 06:01:42 PM

Factory is 15qts. I run a bigger filter so it's 4gal even. There's 1-2 qts up in the oil galleys of the heads for the high pressure oil to fire the fuel injectors. Some folks change that some don't. 235k I never could tell the difference so I don't.

ohiowoodchuck · January 10, 2015, 06:43:09 PM

When my block cracked and I put another engine in. I put all new gaskets etc in it. It took about 20 quarts to get the high pressure system primed up and it was almost full on the dipstick.

jmouton · January 11, 2015, 10:36:00 PM

hey cozy my truck is doin the same thing its the oil cooler seals ,, and it takes 15 qts and there is not 1-2 qts in the heads , very little in the heads until the hpop starts to pump oil into the injectors and fire at about 3000 psi , there is about a quarter of a quart in the hpop resovior , if you put oil in till the dipstick says ok , it may not be right , if the dipstick was or has been moved in height out of the oilpan you oil level will change and you put too much oil in and it will blow seals out , sometimes , try running 5/40 rotella syn, its more expensive but way easier to start in winter and you dont have to change it that often so it kinda offsets the cost ,,its a noticeable difference , sorry for the rant but i know alot about the 7.3 powerstroke ,,,,

jim

Windy_Acres · January 11, 2015, 10:52:00 PM

OP stated "Ford 7.3", nothing more, just curious, how come everyone assumes he is speaking of the DIT motor (as most of you call it the powerstroke) and how do you know that he is not making reference to the IDI motor used from 83-94.5 ? When you start throwing oil capacitys around, you stand to confuse readers that either blow in via google, or other board members. Dont think youd want to put 15-20qts of oil in an IDI motor...

As far as the oil cooler, if Im not mistaken, they are very similar from the IDI to the DIT, so that much does not matter, but the oil capacity does.

Thought that needed to be "thrown" out there.