Bed Plate Leak

[saline]

They do not need to take the body off to remove the motor. They can pull it out the front. Can you imagine Ford trying to take the body off of an ambulance chassis?

[stikine]

Boy thanks for all the advise guys. I will be calling Jay Mento and give Peter a call at SMB today.

Appreciate the help from Bettyford, but it is covered under warranty, if it was not from what I can tell I would be looking at around $7,000 for the labor, etc, but I will definitely use Auto Diesel up there in Jackson in the future (another great excuse to get to Snake River Brewing and tip a pint back).

As reported, I'm not too keen on Century Ford here in Pocatello. Right now, above all else I just want to get the SMB into the best Ford shop I can so that I have the highest potential for the least number of install related problems to haunt me down the road after the repair. I'm willing to drive just about any where in the west, so if you guys have any other good Ford shops that have done a bed plate, that you would recommend, sure would appreciate hearing from you.

Not sure how they get the cab off, or for that mater where it separates from the rest of the body- guess I need to get in there and pull my Kenwood receiver out and disconnect my HID lights that I just installed?

Thanks again - it is going to be a little stressful around here for a while, but from what I have gleaned no harm in driving her until I find a suitable shop, and at least one guy posted, he intends to just keep driving the SMB as he feels it is not worth the risk of pulling the engine and have all the other potential problems related to this haunt him down the road, but I'm going to get it fixed, just need to take my time and find the best Ford shop.

I will keep you posted.

Scott

[LeadDoggy]

What is a "Bed Plate"?

[Ford_6L_E350]

Originally Posted by LeadDoggy

What is a "Bed Plate"?

The 6.0 PSD has unusual construction. Under the block is the bed plate. This piece strengthens the crankshaft support and the oil pan mounts to it. So, it makes another possible leak.

Mike

[etbadger]

Just throwing out another option: If the leak is not very significant you may wish to consider not having it addressed. We have had our engine pulled once and it has taken about 40k miles, 4 ford shops, and finally my own wrenching to figure out and address all the resultant issues. We have a seep of oil, likely from the bed-plate or rear-main-seal, but after our prior experiences we will leave it be (ours is just a single drop on the bell-housing of the transmission that never seems to actually drop off)

For the downpipe that rubs the dog-house:
loosen the band-clamp holding the down-pipe to the turbo (pop the 3 flanges loose after loosening the nut),
loosen the 2 nuts holding the bottom end of the down-pipe to the catalytic converter.
The down-pipe will now be free to pivot a bit on the turbo connection, push the bottom toward the center of the vehicle (away from where it rubs on the dog-house.
Use a stick or 2nd person to hold it in place while tightening the turbo clamp
Tighten up the nuts at the catalytic converter
No more rubbing.

-e

[tskyhi]

I have, what I believe to be the same leak you speak of, and what seems to be quite common with these engines. I agree with etbadgers reasoning. The problems that could be created from pulling and replacing the engine, especially by people who don't care and don't want to do it in the first place, far outweigh a tiny bit of oil seepage.

I had noticed the seepage and asked my service adviser about it when I was in for some other warranty work(Jones-West in Reno). He said it is covered under the lengthier engine warranty, but they wouldn't touch it unless it was actually dripping. I have yet to notice an actual drip from this, so unless the seep progresses to something much worse I have no problem with it. If I had to guess, I first noticed the seepage when still under 20k, and am now at nearly 50k miles, with virtually no change.

As far as "pulling the cab", they are referring to pick up trucks and probably just say it out of habit. When pulling the engine on those they will pull the cab. We don't have a cab with the vans. They basically remove everything on the front of the van to access the engine.

If you do decide to go thru with this, one thing I know that can't hurt(as long as they partake after hours), is to put a 30 pack of some of America's finest brew on the passenger seat with a note thanking the techs for their good work and care of your baby.

Good luck.

Tim

[LeadDoggy]

Thanks for the reply. Now I see why the motor needs to be removed.

Originally Posted by Ford_6L_E350

The 6.0 PSD has unusual construction. Under the block is the bed plate. This piece strengthens the crankshaft support and the oil pan mounts to it. So, it makes another possible leak.

Mike

[daveb]

I had Freedom Ford of Fresno (who does all of SMBW warrantee work) do the work because they are familiar with all the extra equipment such as the Starcool, bumper, winch and that sort of stuff. But I'm only 90 miles away. I'll still say that I don't have a clue how good they are when it comes to engine work. So my fingers are crossed. One thing they did tell me is they have seen a few of the 6.0's that had defective blocks that cause the leak. Thats a $12K + job. But most of the problems are with a poor gasket...at least that is what they told me was wrong with mine. It has leaked since day one and I decided to wait until 1 year before the Ford warantee was up. That still gives me some time to make sure it's done right. I still plan to pick up the extended warrantee Jay is offering

[stikine]

Thanks daveb for the information on Ford of Fresno. It would be comforting to know that the mechanics had worked on SMB's before as the job is so darn invasive. Was just curious if they lifted the body off the frame? Seems to be some confusion, at least on my part as it appears that in some cases they are able to pull the engine out the front? I'm not getting terribly hung up on paying for additional labor to remove the SMB modifications, I would think it more important to have mechanics who have specific experience with the SMB who are competent and honest. Was also wondering how long ago you had the work done?

Tskyhi & etbadgers advice is not falling on deaf ears; just leaving the leak alone may be the best course of action, as who wants to be plagued by a whole bunch of other problems that rear their ugly head later in time as a result of disconnecting all the engine accessories, all the electrical connections, fuel lines and all the SMB mods (ie coolant to flat plate line, Espar fuel and related connections, etc), then imagine trying to get all this back together, adjusted and within tolerance, to say nothing of forgetting something or stripping, cross threading, etc.

I'm seriously considering the option of letting her leak, but I think my engine is leaking a bit on the heavy side. It is kinda strange, but after driving it, and checking the next morning, I have roughly about 4 tablespoons of oil on the garage floor. The interesting part is that after leaving it for a week, I end up with the same 4 tablespoons of oil, that is to say no more oil leaks out.

So now I'm still in a quandary about what to do - if it was only a single drip that rarely if ever made it to the garage floor, there is no doubt I would probably do nothing. I guess I will keep monitoring the situation and see if the leak gets worse and then decide. Another thing that is a bit strange is just where my drops are. They drip from the tip of the little screw, on the very bottom of the plastic housing that encloses the radiator propeller, where as others have the drip back by the bell housing. Of course while driving winds can blow the oil drips around, but it does seem my is not in the usual place. I will try and get a picture of the drip.

The tech. at Courtesy Ford was real nice this morning when I went to pick up the SMB. He said they would knock off $200 (would still cost me $500) that I would have to pay, because they mis-diagnosed the leak to begin with, and took me into the shop to meet their diesel mechanic, who is roughly my age (57) and been their for years. I did talk to a friend who has a 7.3l worked on there several times with some turbo problems, and said that the mechanic is good. The mechanic said the whole body has to be lifted off the frame to get the engine out. Another mechanic there showed me a picture on his smart phone of a E-350 hosted off and hanging above the frame that they had previously worked on. Maybe they still didn't take a good look at what it takes to lift the body off the frame with all the SMB stuff, etc. I also found it kinda reveiling that the diesel mechanic said if it was off warranty and I didn't mind a little puddle of oil in the garage to leave it alone, as it really isn't going to hurt anything, other than having to top it off with oil every now and then.

Tried to talk to Alan Feld at SMB about the situation and what he might recommend, but he is gone for the week, so I will report back with his advise.

[stikine]

Just talked to Peter at SMB, and he said they defiantly pull the engine out the front - no way do they lift the whole van body off the frame, that would be a big mistake, and that is what my local Ford dealer was recommending, so I'm surely not letting them touch the SMB. He stated that Freedom Ford in Fresno has experience in this area and has done some, as others have mentioned.