03 E350 7.3 turbo
 

Ok guys, usually Im on here about my F150... I know many of you have experience with 7.3 diesels also. Here is my question.

I have a 2003 E350 7.3 Diesel Turbo... It is one of my ambulances on my fleet. It currently has 280,000 miles on it and had a rebuild about 120,000 miles ago. It DID NOT get a new turbo, just the engine rebuilt. Here recently, it has consuming MASSIVE amounts of oil. Im talkin 13 to 14 quarts in a matter of hours. We have been doing oil consumptions tests on it, and now we finally decided to park it. Today I decided to pull the doghouse to see if I could spot an oil leak. There is no oil dripping on the ground. However, when I pulled the doghouse to gain better access to the motor, I could see a little bit of oil down in the valley. I filled it up again with oil... Nearly 14 quarts again and started it up. I could NOT see any oil leaking like a steady stream, but when I ran my hand around the turbo where the exhaust hoses hook up, I had a good little bit of oil on my hand. Now, is it possible for the oil to be going through the turbo and burn out of the exhaust pipe? I ran my finger around the exhaust pipe and did not find any oil, but yet it is smoking like crazy. Where could all this oil be going? I still have oil pressure and it still runs like a champ when there is enough oil in it.

What do I need to check first in order to see where the oil is going? I checked with our local ford dealer and a turbo is 950 bucks with exchange. Me and one of the employees can install it ourselves, but before I start, I just want to know if that much oil can burn through the turbo???

We've checked the rear main seals which is leaking a drip or two but nothing like the amount it is using.

The other day, it ran great for about 8 hours and did not consume at all, running normal calls. Then they had to run one call pretty hard on the way to the ER and that is when it went down right after they left the ER coming back to their station. They checked the oil at the ER, added about 4 quarts which brought up the oil level to the bottom of the hash mark. Within ten miles of leaving the ER it had already consumed almost all the oil in the truck. Weird huh? As far as smoking, it NEVER smoked really before we started consuming oil. I have put almost a total of 10 gallons of oil trying to find the leak. The turbo is the only place I can think its going.. If the seals are bad, does the turbo have to replaced or can you just replace the seals and bearings? OR, would you replace the turbo with a new one (950 bucks with exchange from the dealer)



What are your thoughts on this? Thanks in advance for your input.


I originally posted this where I hang out in the 04-08 F150 section, but was advised to post this question here also.. :thumbup:

Your not getting any blue smoke?

No its not blue... Its white.. Smells like oil burning..