Hey Guys,
I've been hunting a "1qt every 100 miles" on my '92 12V for a bit now, and unfortunately the problem remains. The problem is the entire drivers side of the block is wet with oil starting from the tappet cover down and from the injection pump back. That saga was over on cumminsforum, but there doesn't seem to be much 1st gen traffic there.
Here's what I've done so far:
1. Removed and re-sealed vacuum pump. It had drips on the bottom of it.
2. Removed and checked injection pump. It was bone dry; no oil/diesel anywhere upon removal.
3. Removed and replaced tappet cover with a nice o-ringed billet unit from Kenny's Pulling Parts believing that the oil leak was the cover. (I now have a big breather up top on a valve cover).
Post-work, here's what I'm seeing. Oil is puddling at the upper lip of the tappet cover and cascading over the face of it, and all down the side of the engine. Same area. Injection-pump back, and tappet cover down.
So, the question remains...where is this oil coming from? After studying the head gasket and finding there's an oil passage cross-over up in that area along that edge of the head gasket, I'm guessing that this could be the source of the leak.
Anything else in this area I'm missing? Any suggestions for me prior to pulling the head off? What gasket should I be using? Cummins? Cometic? Other? Whose head bolts should I use? This is an RV that will never see more than 30lbs of boost; studding it seems like a waste of money to me.
Thanks for any help,
Byron