Oil Pan / Sump Leak

[Tyleryac]

I seem to have a leak coming from the oil pan / lower sump that is dropping a decent amount of oil. It's a few drops about the size of a quarter and I have a larger accumulation of oil from when I left the car parked last weekend.

Is this something as simple as an oil pan gasket?

I wonder if Ford took the oil pan apart when the preformed the timing chain repair?

 

[boominXplorer]

Yeah that's from when they did your shotty timing chain job, you need to pull it to get to the balance shaft tensioner. I'm sure they didn't clean all the old gasket from around the rear cap.

 

[Tyleryac]

I got in touch with the service manager. He is taking the truck Tuesday to get looked at.

 

[Exproblems]

I got in touch with the service manager. He is taking the truck Tuesday to get looked at.

Just pray the leak is from the "lower oil pan gasket" and not the "upper oil pan/ engine housing gasket". The lower oil pan gasket is no big deal to change, just a cover plate/bolts and gasket all in easy reach. The upper is a whole different story. These Explorers have a 2 part oil pan as opposed to the old school 1 piece oil pans of the past. Some will say the engine needs to come out to repair the gasket on the upper, not true, the tranny and front diff axle need to come out according to Ford's way of doing this repair. My new, reman engine had a leaky upper oil pan gasket and this is how Ford told me they had to repair the seal/gasket, from under the vehicle. I've had no new leaks since they repaired it. BTW, the rear main seal and upper oil pan gaskets can leak in close proximity to each other so it is tough to diagnose which one is leaking for sure. I hope for you it is just the lower pan gasket. Good luck!

 

[Tech By Trade]

Actually, you can get the upper pan without pulling the transmission or motor. you just need to pull the front axel to create room for to pull the pan if you have a 4x4. Either that or you need to lift the engine about 5 inches. if you have the 2wd it will clear it without removing anything. The rear bolts on the pan are long torx bolts that can be reached with a small torx socket and an extension. Rear main you have to either pull the engine or transmission, because the flex plate needs to come off to get at it.

 

[Tyleryac]

This should all be under warranty from the timing chain repair. I'll see what the manager says on Tuesday.

 

[Tyleryac]

Yesterday along with my "Check Charging System" fiasco I had Ford look at the oil leak.

They were unable to determine where the oil was coming from so they put UV dye in the oil and will check it again next Tuesday.

 

[Tyleryac]

The leak is coming from the oil pan. Ford wants to charge me...get ready for this one...$336 + tax for a silicone patch! That's right! Good ole Ford really gave me a helluva deal this time.

 

[Exproblems]

The leak is coming from the oil pan. Ford wants to charge me...get ready for this one...$336 + tax for a silicone patch! That's right! Good ole Ford really gave me a helluva deal this time.

Try and stay out of Ford Dealerships for repairs, just too damn expensive there and you never really know if they are being straight and honest with you and about the repairs and costs involved. Was it the lower oil pan seal that was leaking? I'm assuming so. Sounds awful pricey and a lot of labor time estimated for removing what I think is 12 small bolts that are fairly easy to reach, especially for a highly trained and equipped Ford mechanic to do. When Ford did the "upper" oil pan seal on my reman engine warranty work, they did use a Ford Silicone sealant on the upper pan and the product was listed on the work order they gave me when the job was done. I also spoke directly to the mechanic who worked on my truck and he also stated he used a sealant to form the gasket seal on the upper pan. Did you have Ford do the repair or are you taking it some where else?

 

[boominXplorer]

Well if they did your balance shaft tensioner then the upper oil pan HAD to been taken off. You got hosed on your timing chain job at the dealer. I could of done all the work they did right the first time for a 1/4 of the price.

People get blinded by the Ford logo and think its the best place to go. After working in a dealership for many of years I noticed all the "old heads" are gone and have been replaced by 21-25 year old fresh out of tech school kids. Very few actually know what they are doing but they all seem to "know it all". I no longer work at a ford dealer now because I opened my own shop. Honestly all the comebacks and screwed over customers without knowing is what gave me the drive to open up my own shop and provide honest repair work.

 

[Tyleryac]

Try and stay out of Ford Dealerships for repairs, just too damn expensive there and you never really know if they are being straight and honest with you and about the repairs and costs involved.

Was it the lower oil pan seal that was leaking? I'm assuming so. Sounds awful pricey and a lot of labor time estimated for removing what I think is 12 small bolts that are fairly easy to reach, especially for a highly trained and equipped Ford mechanic to do.

When Ford did the "upper" oil pan seal on my reman engine warranty work, they did use a Ford Silicone sealant on the upper pan and the product was listed on the work order they gave me when the job was done. I also spoke directly to the mechanic who worked on my truck and he also stated he used a sealant to form the gasket seal on the upper pan.

Did you have Ford do the repair or are you taking it some where else?

1) I do try to stay out of the dealer especially after the chain repair. The only reason I went back is because I thought they would fix it because of the timing chain and maybe they took the pan apart.

2) I wasn't told specifically which pan was leaking. I was only told it was the oil pan gasket.

3) My shop estimate has "sealant" listed as well. It seems like the same repair you had. It's probably listed in the workshop manual.

4) I am trying to work out a deal with them...right no nobody has preformed a repair.

 

[Tyleryac]

Well if they did your balance shaft tensioner then the upper oil pan HAD to been taken off. You got hosed on your timing chain job at the dealer. I could of done all the work they did right the first time for a 1/4 of the price.

People get blinded by the Ford logo and think its the best place to go. After working in a dealership for many of years I noticed all the "old heads" are gone and have been replaced by 21-25 year old fresh out of tech school kids. Very few actually know what they are doing but they all seem to "know it all". I no longer work at a ford dealer now because I opened my own shop. Honestly all the comebacks and screwed over customers without knowing is what gave me the drive to open up my own shop and provide honest repair work.

To be honest I wish I put in a new engine at this point. Though it was another $2,500 + tax...

You are absolutely right by saying that all of the good dealer mechanics are gone. One of the service managers (who I actually like) invited me into the shop and most of the mechanics were younger guys. I wish the dealer service was what it used to be...half decent.

 

[Tech By Trade]

Its probably the upper pan, and its probably the rubber on the 4 part gasket. If you don't install it properly and don't silicone the crap out of the joints it will leak. The lower pan should be a 150 dollar fix. 5 bucks for the gasket, 20 for oil and 125 for stealerships ridiculous shop rates on 30 minutes of labour.
I second that you shouldn't have to pay, this is totally part of the timing chain replacement and they botched it. I used jobber gaskets and they didn't fit properly so I had to shave some rubber off the side to get it to fit right. I am counting my stars it hasn't started leaking yet.

 

[Tyleryac]

Update: Ford is doing the repair for free.

 

[Tyleryac]

Picked up the truck from Ford today...

They replaced the oil pan gasket, changed the oil, and changed the PCV valve for FREE.