I have a 95 ford f350 crew cab 7.3 L diesel truck. it has 266K miles on it. actually just bought it a few months ago, it is a great truck, runs strong, but since the cold weather all of a sudden it is leaking a clear oily fluid, the leak is on the bottom of the transmission, there looks to be something like a starter on the side of the transmission, the leak seems to be coming from where this starter looking thing is and the transmission, but higher up where I cannot see. the leak drips down to the cover with a little opening (tiny air vent?) on the bottom of the tranny the cover is right after the oil pan. what is the clear oily fluid? any guesses? just want to have an idea before I bring it in to get looked at and hosed for $$$. thanks for any input
was thinking that at first, but cannot think of where it would come from, unless the feul line runs above the trannyon the right side. doesnot smell like feul or taste like it. I am collecting it in a tray, thanks for the input. other than this it is a great truck!
Sounds like brake or clutch fluid. There would be a pretty noticeable smell if it were. The starter-like thing on the side of the tranny, slave cylinder by any chance? You didn't mention whether the truck was auto or manual.
the truck is automatic, given the fact I bought the truck from texas, and there is hardly any rust anywhere, from what I can see with the brake lines there is no problem. At first I thought maybe water collected somewhere and iced up and was melting, but I dont think that is it. I am inclined to agree with CJB embalming fluid, hahaha.
I think I found the problem, there is a rubber hose going to the feul filter on the top of the engine, it seems to have a slow drip, it drips on the engine and runs down the side of the tranny, I guess it was diesel after all. now changing that little hose is going to be a challenge, thanks for the input.
Take a look at the hose and the clamp where it is clamped onto the fuel filter. It may not be in that bad of shape, depending on the year of your truck. Firstly, what kind of clamp is holding it on? If it is the spring type that you use linesmans pliers or vise grips to squeeze together and then pull the clamp back to release it, I would throw it away and put a normal hose clamp on it. But before you put the hose back on, if you have a few extra inches of hose to play with, cut an inch or two off the end of the hose. That way, if there were any cracks or pinholes right at the end of the hose, you just eliminated them.
The reason I don't like those spring type clamps very much is because on the way home one night on the highway, in my 1984 F-150, I suddenly noticed steam coming out from under the hood. Realizing something was obviously wrong, I pulled off to the side, popped the hood and was greeted by pressurized antifreeze spraying from what I thought was a worn out heater core hose where it goes into the water pump. I had no choice but to call a flatbed to come get me, the hose and coolant were way too hot to try and do anything with them, plus I had no tools with me at the time. That and it was getting dark and I didn't feel like walking 25 km home. When I opened the hood the next morning with the truck in my driveway, I immediately prepared to change both heater core lines. But once I grabbed the heater core line and pulled it straight off without even touching the spring clamp, I knew what had happened. The clamp fell to the ground and broke into two pieces, obviously worn out. I replaced it with the same size hose clamp and no leaks since then.
Just something you may want to try before you go to all the trouble of replacing the entire line. Unless it is noticeably brittle, cracked or just in bad shape visually, I would try my suggestion first.
regular hose clamp, screw type, it is not an easy one to get at, as that filter unit and the turbo charger are close together, and I have to use a long screw driver just to reach the clamp, I think the feul filter houseing has to come off along with all the lines to get at the hose. we will see. thanks for the input, and I know what you mean about the other clamps. Lou
Had the problem fixed at the local garage, it was a diesel feul switch that was leaking, or should I say malfunctioning, just figuered I would post this incase you wanted to know....no more leaks for...now
Lou, Are you sure that that little hose wasnt draining the water off of the fuel filter? I know quite a few fuel filters have water seperators included, and sometimes they are set up so that they automatically drain the water off when it is sensed..
the hose was connected at both ends so I would assume it would not be a drain, since it was fixed the problem is gone, i find no leaks, so I am assuming the repair was correct for the situation. thanks for the insite though
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