Bed Plate Leak? - Diesel Forum

Dukes · 03-09-2005, 12:04 PM

Just purchased a 2004 250 6.0 4x4 from an individual and will pick it up this weekend. The current owner found oil under the truck yesterday and took it to the dealer this morning. They said it was a bed plate leak and would take two weeks to fix?

Anyone know what this is? He said there was very little oil and the dealer said it wasn't a serious problem but did require the engine to be pulled? I would prefer to pick the truck up and have my local dealer do the fix, service the truck, pull the Oasis but wanted to see if anyone had already been down the BP fix road?

Mike

AutoJim · 03-09-2005, 12:43 PM

The bedplate is the lower part of the crankcase that contains all the main bearing caps. So yes, you do have to pull the engine to get to it. There are some elastomeric "rope" seals on each side of it, and a few "T" joints where those rope seals mate to the front cover seal and the rear cover seal, which are done with a dab of RTV at the factory.

Dukes · 03-09-2005, 01:42 PM

OK, thanks. I am at a loss since I can't look at the truck right now but since there are so many other reported leaks, rear mains ect, pulling the motor at 23K just to fix a small leak seems a bit extreme?

I am just wondering how many peope have seen this and if they took the truck in did they learn anything? Dealerships are famous for starting jobs without all the parts to finish or damaging a vehicle in the process. I just want to have a complete discussion with the tech writer before I start down the path of giving up the truck for 2+ weeks if the job can be done in a shorter period of time.

If this is covered under the warrenty should I expect a loaner vehicle? I am the second owner and there is a lot of bad press in forum so my dealer expectations are very low at this point.

m1a2d3 · 03-09-2005, 05:58 PM

dont know if its to late but i would not buy the truck.this is a huge job to fix bedplate leak. and unless the mechanic is very good there are 1000s of things that could go wrong. dont know what your paying for truck but it would have to be half of sticker for me to take the chance. and if leak wasnt bad i would leave it. i hope everything works out good for you whatever you decide

Dukes · 03-10-2005, 07:06 AM

I definately thought about not buying it and going with a 2002 7.3 instead but I did get a really good deal on the truck. Apparently the leak isn't bad enough to drip but there is evidence of oil so the Ford dealer thought it was the Bed Plate.

The leak wasn't there this weekend because my Dad looked at the truck for me and it was clean. The guy who owns it is offering to cancel the deal if I'm not happy with the oil leak.

I am surprised no one replied to this post? For all the bashing that goes on in here I would have expected more negative responses? Maybe that is a good thing.

cec · 03-10-2005, 07:13 AM

Bed plate leaks have been frequently misdiagnosed as rear main seal leaks, so I would question how the dealer is sure that it is the bed pan. To properly diagnose a rear main seal leak or bed plate leak, the transmission would have to be dropped after the truck had been driven with dye added to the engine oil. Make sure that you know exactly where the leak is comeing from, to avoid disappointment. To fix the bedplate leak, the engine has to be pulled, which is no small task. Find out if the dealer has done this before. To do it properly, the entire front body should be removed. Lotsa parts to come off and go back on again.
I would not buy the truck until the repair is done.

Dukes · 03-10-2005, 03:37 PM

Having the dealer look at it again to make sure it really is a Bed Plate leak since apparently this is fairly rare. Totally concur with not doing this fix unless absolutely necessary.

I will get a chance to see the truck myself this weekend to make a final decision about the buy. In the meantime I should here back today about the leak and the result of the Oasis.

I was hoping someone in here would see this that had a bed plate leak fixed? It looks like the more common failure is the rear main but without having the truck to look at...

djshum · 03-10-2005, 08:00 PM

I have resealed one bedplate. The machining on the bedplate and block wasn't up to par, making channels for oil to seep to outside. I replaced gaskets and added very small amount of anerobic sealer to seal the imperfections in machining. It is a very big job, but with qualified tech, should not take 2 weeks. Other sources of leaks to check are the cam sensor o-ring. If this leaks, it will run down block and toward rear of engine at the block/bedplate seam, appearing as though bedplate is leaking. Before attempting any repair on this, I would clean all oil residue and add dye to verify source of leak.

Dukes · 03-10-2005, 08:55 PM

Well folks I'm having the truck delivered tomorrow so it's mine. Nothing definate on the leak. There is so little oil that the dealer won't say one way on another where it may or may not be from.

I'm going to sample all the fluids and send them to Blackstone then once I get back home I have an appointment at the local Ford Dealer. I'll do my best to document the whole process and post all the results here with photos. I told the dealer the whole story and he said not worry, either way they would fix it, we'll see. It's going to have to be a big leak for me to OK a full engine pull

Hey, it's definately a risk but it was a good deal and since I already have a Landrover leaks are nothing new. My 69 Bronco doesn't leak a drop but that's a whole different story!

Thanks for all the post!