GEN 2 Plastic Oil pan #3 leaking. 70k miles. New pan every other oil change. Help?

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Traffic22

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I picked mine up from the dealer today for the oil pan leak fix, trans firmware update and to investigate a clunking in the drivers side front. I was beyond shocked when I got there.

Looking over the service order they pretty much went through step by step what they did which pretty much matched the new TSB IE "Added dye to locate leak, Removed pan and let it drain overnight, Surface prep and clean, New pan and sealant, let cure for 24 hours, And so on". The paperwork I have from the previous owners dealership that did the pan 4 times prior idn;t list any of that. Just noted "resealed pan". Service tech also listed the TSB's that were done for the pan and the trans firmware update.

The cherry on top was the clunking noise, well the shop said most of the nuts/bolts for the suspension were all loose .... o_O My guess is the previous owner had aftermarket shocks and took them off before he surrendered it to Ford and didn;t both to reinstall anything properly. The went through and checked it all and retorqued it all properly and didn't me at all, wrote it off as previous dealership mis-repair. "Suspension is no longer in warranty".

With all of that I feel very confident that this dealership did everything the correct way and this is how things are done right. I had all intentions of paying out of pocket for any suspension related repairs prior to dropping it off so them doing that was just showing off... LOL

So time will tell if the new TSB fix Ford put out does actually correct the issue. If not I'm not faulting this service center for it as I know they did it the correct way as instructed by Ford.
My work order said the same, pretty much word for word what was in the TSB. Only thing questionable with mine was they said they added dye and drove it 5 miles. When I got it back the odometer was only 2 miles different from drop off. Unless they Ferris Beullered 3 miles off of it, I suspect the tech drove it around the block twice and said, good enough.

Glad to hear they fixed your suspension clink.

I guess time will tell.


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Solidred

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My work order said the same, pretty much word for word what was in the TSB. Only thing questionable with mine was they said they added dye and drove it 5 miles. When I got it back the odometer was only 2 miles different from drop off. Unless they Ferris Beullered 3 miles off of it, I suspect the tech drove it around the block twice and said, good enough.

Glad to hear they fixed your suspension clink.

I guess time will tell.


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you two are lucky,‘can’t even get into a dealer for a month to get my oil pan leak fixed…two different dealers both backed up that bad…nuts
 

Halo Raptor

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So has anyone figured out what the exact problem causing the leak is? Is it because the plastic pan and metal lower engine dont flex the same and causes the seal to break. Is it because the plastic pan warps and breaks the seal? Is it because the seal from the factory sucks and fails ? Mine just went in for oil leak yesterday, and it appears its coming from the rear of the oil pan area. This is pan repair #2 for me if thats the case. I just want to understand why its not working. Thanks
 

nikhsub1

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So has anyone figured out what the exact problem causing the leak is? Is it because the plastic pan and metal lower engine dont flex the same and causes the seal to break. Is it because the plastic pan warps and breaks the seal? Is it because the seal from the factory sucks and fails ? Mine just went in for oil leak yesterday, and it appears its coming from the rear of the oil pan area. This is pan repair #2 for me if thats the case. I just want to understand why its not working. Thanks
Because they aren't sealed properly, has nothing to do with flex. The block does not flex.
 

FordTechOne

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So has anyone figured out what the exact problem causing the leak is? Is it because the plastic pan and metal lower engine dont flex the same and causes the seal to break. Is it because the plastic pan warps and breaks the seal? Is it because the seal from the factory sucks and fails ? Mine just went in for oil leak yesterday, and it appears its coming from the rear of the oil pan area. This is pan repair #2 for me if thats the case. I just want to understand why its not working. Thanks
The root cause has been known for a while, hence why a TSB was published early last year with a revised sealing procedure. The RTV sealant was not properly adhering to the pan and block during engine assembly as well as during subsequent resulting repairs, causing a leak between the two components. The TSB procedure is very specific, and involves special procedures, tools, and chemicals to ensure that proper RTV adhesion. If the repair is done properly per the TSB, you will not have a repeat leak issue.
 

GCATX

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The root cause has been known for a while, hence why a TSB was published early last year with a revised sealing procedure. The RTV sealant was not properly adhering to the pan and block during engine assembly as well as during subsequent resulting repairs, causing a leak between the two components. The TSB procedure is very specific, and involves special procedures, tools, and chemicals to ensure that proper RTV adhesion. If the repair is done properly per the TSB, you will not have a repeat leak issue.
Guessing the TSB doesn't say spray brake cleaner on a dirty shop rag and wipe the block and pan sealing surface?:(
 

KAH 24

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The root cause has been known for a while, hence why a TSB was published early last year with a revised sealing procedure. The RTV sealant was not properly adhering to the pan and block during engine assembly as well as during subsequent resulting repairs, causing a leak between the two components. The TSB procedure is very specific, and involves special procedures, tools, and chemicals to ensure that proper RTV adhesion. If the repair is done properly per the TSB, you will not have a repeat leak issue.
@FordTechOne ,

You hit the nail on the head. my OEM had a similar nagging issue for a quite a few years (timing cover oil leak which sometimes occurred when timing chain/belt was replaced). It was labor & procedure intensive. If done correctly, problem solved. Same situation here. Composite oil pans and covers are common place—personally from an engineering standpoint I love them. In some applications, composites help with NVH and weight (and are significantly stronger than aluminum). All great things.

Assembly issues do occur—as do incorrect repair processes. Candidly, anyone in the OEM business knows that this has occurred with metal as well (anywhere there is a gasket or surface mating).

This is why I haven’t commented on the issue previously.

Given the number of F150s produced in a year, it is what it is. My company makes no where near the number of SUVs (or pickups if I tallied the parent company)—yet we have things occur on occasion as well.

Have a good day sir.
 
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