Bed Plate Leak

[Ford_6L_E350]

I believe it takes a special piece of equipment to pull the engine out the front. Some sort of a jig that will hold the engine from the front since there is so little room above the engine. Only a dealer that frequently works on vans will want to buy that jig. The alternative is to lift the body to remove the engine using conventional equipment.

Mike

[pjpvi]

Before the first bed plate fix, my service advisor took me into the shop to explain the repair. They had an Excursion that was getting the same repair and they simply unbolt the body from the frame and hoist it up. They then can quickly remove the engine for the work. They would probably do the same for a non-conversion van, but he said that with most conversion vans, there are too many connection from the body to the frame to mess with, so they pull the engine out the front.

Phil

[bettyford]

I have had really good service from Broadway Ford in Idaho Falls. You might want to contact them. in fact im going to be in IF tomorrow having my tranny tweaked. by the Airport if your going to be around PM me and we can get lunch.

Ron

[Burklin]

etbadger, thanks for the down pipe advice. Sounds like an easy project, even for me, who is seriously mechanically challenged.
Ralph

[jage]

I spent 3 years not fixing the same leak for fear of the resulting engine problems. I finally got a recommendation on mechanics at a dealer- not the dealer, not anything else- just good mechanics.

Bed plate, pull the engine, yadda-yadda, only when I called to have them do some stuff on my dime (as the engine would be out and the labor would be nada), suddenly they were pulling the transmission to get to it, and oh they had just noticed the leak was in a different place actually, one they could fix by going through the transmission. I got a different yarn each time I asked about that, but the mechanic was good and the van doesn't drip, drip, drip and make me worry anymore.

[BroncoHauler]

For those of you who choose to hold off having this addresses, and I do see some merit to that, make sure that Ford documents the situation EVERY time you bring you van in for service. That will go a long way towards having it taken care of should you make that decision down the road.


Herb

[Switchfoot]

I thought ours had the dreaded bed plate leak as well. However, Sunset Ford (selling dealer) diagnosed the leak as coming from the rear main seal. The tranny and transfer case were dropped and the repair took less than a week. No cost to me even with the Quigley conversion. All was good for a while.

The van has started "marking its turf" again with a few drops of oil on the drive. I'll be taking in to the dealer again to see what's up before my 3 yr/36K mile warranty expires in a few months.

I've read on the web where people actually use a disposable diaper over the engine leak area to prevent soiling their driveway... If you can't potty train (i.e., get the leak fixed properly), that's one way to go. Might humiliate the big, macho, diesel beast enough to stop wetting itself.

[stikine]

Here is a drawing I found illustrating the bed plate on a 6.0l:

[Roonie]

wow this bed plate leak seems to be widespread and it sounds like one fix doesn't actually solve the problem sometimes. What are you all going to do when the van is out of warranty and it is leaking a fair amount? It sounds like it is expensive! Makes me wonder if I should be looking for a V-10 instead of a diesel?

[jage]

Roonie, it's a scary prospect. It will be the same issue in my mind (get fixed vs. possibly cause more problems), however the cost to me goes on one side of the issue and the opportunity to take it to a trusted diesel mechanic over a dealer goes on the other.