[bogger]

i just bought a 98 12 valve cummins and it has an oil leak around the timing cover i'm guessing. i've asked a few other's that have stated there's have done the same thing. was this ever a recall? is there a means of fixing it besides silicone?

also the truck has a rear locker and i can't tell whether or not it's factory or aftermarket. would it matter what i use in it for fluid? i'd more than likely add lucas treatment to it anyway. it chatters going around corners so i know it's a very potent locker.

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

The factory limited slips will chatter SEVERELY going through turns if you don't run the limited slip additive. As for your oil leak, the front crank seals on them would normally leak after a few miles, but not real bad. First thing to check is to make sure the timing cover bolts are tight. I've seen more than one with loose cover bolts, and they would leak ALOT of oil. Also alot of times the oil your seeing is simply from the crankcase vent and is normal.

 

[bogger]

what do you suggest for me to put in the rear end and how much fluid does it take?

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

I wanna say it's right around 3-3.5 quarts of fluid. I would run a decent grade of 80W90 for normal driving, if you tow with it all the time or run it real hard run 90W140 in it. Make sure and add in 10-12 ounces of limited slip additive and take it out and drive it and get it good and hot, then go into a large parking lot and start doing fairly tight turns as fast as you can. This will work the additive into the clutch packs and stop the chattering.

 

[bogger]

how about a throttle position sensor? i'm almost positive i need one but the prices are astronomical. where can i get one at a decent buy? my tranny is built so i can rule that out.

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

The TPS on the 12 valve shouldn't be that bad, the 24V is out of this world though. I believe there is a way to clean the TPS on them though, don't recall off the top of my head though. Maybe try dieseltruckresource .com for some info on the TPS.

Try this thread, they have some links on cleaning the TPS.

http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/dev/showthread.php?t=121533

 

[knuckledrager]

on your timing cover oil leak if it is on the right hand side you might want to do some research on the (killer dowel pin). a pin can vibrate loose under the timing cover and crack the timing cover as it strikes the gears on the front of the engine and can cause other problems.

 

[bogger]

thank you so much fermanator for your help.

 

[bogger]

on your timing cover oil leak if it is on the right hand side you might want to do some research on the (killer dowel pin). a pin can vibrate loose under the timing cover and crack the timing cover as it strikes the gears on the front of the engine and can cause other problems.

cleaned it up and put some gasket sealer on it. good to go now but thank-you for your help

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

I for got all about the killer dowel pin. It is simple to stop it from backing out before it does, but once it does it gets expensive and time consuming to fix it.