What is this plug on 7.3L?

[ridgefire]

I got up to the river today and when I parked my truck I had s little smoke coming from the hood. I found a plug in the valley that had popped out and was blowing oil out onto the turbo and whatnot. It looks like a freeze plug or something similiar. I was able to put the plug in with finger pressure which didnt seem right. I drove it again tonight and checked when I got home and it had popped out again. It has a marking of 885 on it. Any ideas? Thanks.

[ridgefire]

Its not from the turbo. In the picture you can see there is a hole in the valley. The plug fit in the hole but was pretty loose and popped back out after one drive.

[jackelope]

What year is the truck?

[jackelope]

Assuming it’s newer than 1995 it’s the plug where the old school mechanical fuel pump used to be. It popped out for a reason. Really high crankcase pressure maybe. Possible internal engine issue. They don’t just pop out.

[LDennis24]

Yeah I would agree with Jackelope. It's a pressure issue although I'm not sure what that plug is meant for.

[ridgefire]

The plug was really easy to put back in. I figured I should have had to tap it back in with a hammer or something but I was able to basically drop it in. Not sure why it would have gone back in so easy. Maybe I should have tapped on it a little bit but the top of plug was flush with the valley surface as it was.

[syoungs]

Your inbox is full after my last message. Here is my reply to your pm!

Oh I saw your pics.
That's basically a dust seal plugging where a mechanical fuel pump would go with the earlier fuel system. It's basically a stainless freeze plug from Napa.
It's odd that it popped out. You may have some blow by developing, or it could have just vibrated up and out.
A new freeze plug will tap in with a hammer and probably stay sealed up for years, or a little red/black rtv on the plug and push it back it will fix you up good as new.

Feel free to call or text if you have more questions or want me to walk you through an easy check for excessive blowby.

[syoungs]

Assuming it’s newer than 1995 it’s the plug where the old school mechanical fuel pump used to be. It popped out for a reason. Really high crankcase pressure maybe. Possible internal engine issue. They don’t just pop out.

Engine is a 1996 international t444e that has been outfitted with the 99 turbo/intake etc.
The more I think about it, the more a serious case of crankcase pressure may be at fault here. It was a tight fit putting it together 5 years ago. I can't remember how the 7.3's regulated crankcase pressure to start to tell how to diagnose.

[ridgefire]

Thanks for the replies.

[syoungs]

Thanks for the replies.

Google "ccv filter 7.3", give ya a jumping off point to start fixing I bet.

[dyhardhuntr]

I would put the plug back in and do a simple blow by test. Take the oil fill cap off and flip it upside down. If it blows off or can hover above the fill you have excessive blow by( which could be a broken piston ring allowing compression into the crankcase). Diesel engines will produce a little anyway. Any white smoke issues or oil consumption? I would assume the 885 on the plug could be the diameter of it(.885”). Good luck. Hopefully it just rattled loose. You can buy loctite sleeve retainer for the plug after you’ve figured out what’s going on. It’ll never come back out. Lol


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[ridgefire]

No smoke and very minimal oil consumtion. I will have to try the oil cap trick once I get a replacement plug. Thanks.

[LDennis24]

Seems like I recall this freeze plug being removed for adding a T4 Turbo upgrade of some sort. I can't remember what it did to the turbo setup but remember hearing talk of removing it for something. For an oil return of some sort maybe?

[ridgefire]

I found the plug and put it back in and then took the oil cap off like recommended and very minimal to no hovering. I think I'm gonna just epoxy it in place and see if that works. I found a 3/4" marking on the plug as well.

[follow maggie]

I’d suggest a loctite type product instead. Most epoxies don’t like high heat, especially for long sustained times.

[jackelope]

It’s not supposed to need any sort of anything holding it in place, loctite or epoxy. It popped out for a reason.

[LDennis24]

It’s not supposed to need any sort of anything holding it in place, loctite or epoxy. It popped out for a reason.

 

I definitely would figure out what's going on with it and not just put it back, or glue it! The 7.3l deserves more than that! 

[Boss .300 winmag]

JB weld it in and trade it off for a Ram.👍

[syoungs]

Green loctite sleeve compound is what I would use, not sure why I didn't use it there in the first place honestly. Had a open tube of it on the bench when I did the injector cups 

[jackelope]

If you think of that plug as a fuse, and it popped out because something made it pop out(excessive crankcase pressure), why would you want to use anything to glue it in or epoxy it in place? What happens if there is a problem inside the engine causing that to push it's way out, and now it's loctite'd in place, what's going to break next when that plug won't push out?
 

[Timberstalker]

Fix Or Repair Daily

[ridgefire]

How much pressure is there? I was able to put the plug in with my finger. I have replaced freeze plugs before and I had to use a hammer and socket to get it to seat.

[jackelope]

How much pressure is there? I was able to put the plug in with my finger. I have replaced freeze plugs before and I had to use a hammer and socket to get it to seat.

I don't think there should be any pressure pushing out. If I was going to try something, I might get a new plug and put that in the way you're supposed to and see what happens. I definitely wouldn't use any kind of loctite or other adhesive just in case there is something wrong with the engine. If it does have excessive blow-by, it's probably too late anyway I guess.

[ridgefire]

Do you think there should be enough pressure to blow oil out of the hole? I will buy a new plug to see if it fits in a little more snug. Thanks for all the replies.

[Skillet]

How much pressure is there? I was able to put the plug in with my finger. I have replaced freeze plugs before and I had to use a hammer and socket to get it to seat.

I don't think there should be any pressure pushing out. If I was going to try something, I might get a new plug and put that in the way you're supposed to and see what happens. I definitely wouldn't use any kind of loctite or other adhesive just in case there is something wrong with the engine. If it does have excessive blow-by, it's probably too late anyway I guess.

Could be boost getting by the pressure-side bearing, through the drain-back tube and into the crankcase.  That would mean lots of oil in the intake tract under no-boost situations, though.  And a remaining turbo life measured in hours, not days.

Just a thought, but that could be a non-catastrophic reason why the plug popped out and isn't showing a lot of blowby at idle.  If that's the case, I'd not be cementing that plug in and getting a new turbo pronto.

 

[jackelope]

I asked my lead diesel tech what he thought. He’s been a Ford diesel tech for 20 years and works on anything from the old 7.3’s to the new 6.7’s.  Obviously tough to diagnose stuff over the internet.

[Dan-o]

No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[NRA4LIFE]

Just weld it back in and pray.

[deerlick]

It would blow out a valve cover gasket or crank seal before it would evee blow that plug if it was excessive crankcase pressure. Most likely plug has been removed and reinstalled at some point and no longer fits correctly. Get a new plug installed in that hole.

[syoungs]

It would blow out a valve cover gasket or crank seal before it would evee blow that plug if it was excessive crankcase pressure. Most likely plug has been removed and reinstalled at some point and no longer fits correctly. Get a new plug installed in that hole.

Plug has been removed and reinstalled years ago.
I dont think it's a burned piston, the engine that this one replaced burned a piston, and the blow by was atrocious at idle.

[huntnphool]

I asked my lead diesel tech what he thought. He’s been a Ford diesel tech for 20 years and works on anything from the old 7.3’s to the new 6.7’s.  Obviously tough to diagnose stuff over the internet.

  Ford service advisor at one of the busiest dealerships in the state, with a expert 7.3 mechanic giving his best guess, and yet internet experts know more than both!

 Can’t wait to see how this turns out! My guess is the OP figures out that the engine is toast, Jackelope and the mechanic were correct, and the thread disappears without acknowledgement..  

[syoungs]

I asked my lead diesel tech what he thought. He’s been a Ford diesel tech for 20 years and works on anything from the old 7.3’s to the new 6.7’s.  Obviously tough to diagnose stuff over the internet.

  Ford service advisor at one of the busiest dealerships in the state, with a expert 7.3 mechanic giving his best guess, and yet internet experts know more than both!

 Can’t wait to see how this turns out! My guess is the OP figures out that the engine is toast, Jackelope and the mechanic were correct, and the thread disappears without acknowledgement..  

My guess is the aftermarket freeze plug I installed in that motor years ago has fatigued due to vibration, and either couldn't take the typical amount of blow by that a 7.3 has, or the turbo seals are shot and leaking boost down the oil galleys causing it to blow out. Ive been down the burned 7.3 piston route w few times, and the blow by is amazing. no way that the simple cap test would have passed imo.

Like jackelope said though, tough to diagnose over the internet.

[jackelope]

Definitely 200% not trying to tell you what’s wrong with it. Just saying I wouldn’t use epoxy or loctite or bust out the Miller to reinstall it. Get a new one and put it in the way it’s supposed to be installed. Monitor it.
Also it’s interesting to do the oil filler cap test with a ping pong ball rather than the oil filler cap. You can see a lot more.

[ridgefire]

I put a real small amount of blue threadlocker on the plug yesterday and took it forva drive last night and it did not pop out. I figured with the amount I put on it and it being a smooth surface it would easily pop out if there was any pressure in there. I will try a ping pong ball tonight. I am starting to think the plug was just old and time for replacement. I hope so anyways.

[deerlick]

I asked my lead diesel tech what he thought. He’s been a Ford diesel tech for 20 years and works on anything from the old 7.3’s to the new 6.7’s.  Obviously tough to diagnose stuff over the internet.

  Ford service advisor at one of the busiest dealerships in the state, with a expert 7.3 mechanic giving his best guess, and yet internet experts know more than both!

 Can’t wait to see how this turns out! My guess is the OP figures out that the engine is toast, Jackelope and the mechanic were correct, and the thread disappears without acknowledgement..  

clearly service advisors know everything, just ask mine, lol.

[syoungs]

I put a real small amount of blue threadlocker on the plug yesterday and took it forva drive last night and it did not pop out. I figured with the amount I put on it and it being a smooth surface it would easily pop out if there was any pressure in there. I will try a ping pong ball tonight. I am starting to think the plug was just old and time for replacement. I hope so anyways.

If your going to replace it with another plug, maybe contact ford or international to try and buy their version, instead of the stainless freeze plug I used. That stainless could have fatigued for some reason, or ford may actually use some sort of retaining compound when those plugs are installed from the factory.

[dyhardhuntr]

I asked my lead diesel tech what he thought. He’s been a Ford diesel tech for 20 years and works on anything from the old 7.3’s to the new 6.7’s.  Obviously tough to diagnose stuff over the internet.

  Ford service advisor at one of the busiest dealerships in the state, with a expert 7.3 mechanic giving his best guess, and yet internet experts know more than both!

 Can’t wait to see how this turns out! My guess is the OP figures out that the engine is toast, Jackelope and the mechanic were correct, and the thread disappears without acknowledgement..  

I’ve been a diesel tech for 20+ years and seen ALOT of things. I can tell you there will always be something out there a guy hasn’t seen. You just have to use the skills you have acquired throughout your career to diagnose. Anyone that has been in the field knows that diagnosing over the phone or internet is extremely tough. In my opinion the OP needs to find the root cause of why the plug came out. If the plug has been out from a previous repair and was reused that’s definitely an eyebrow raiser. The plug has already been compromised. Those plugs are made to be slightly bigger than the hole diameter. If someone had it out already the plug is at the same diameter as the hole. It’s not going to stay in place. If it had burned a piston you would be getting major blowby plus raw fuel out of the tail pipe and or fuel in the oil from Unburnt fuel plus a miss. Unless it’s a small hole. I agree with deerlick. Excessive crankcase psi will blow a seal long before a plug.


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[ridgefire]

I started the truck and put ping pong ball on the oil fill tube and it moved a little bit and may have been slightly hovering but it did not blow off on in the minute or two I had it on it. I hope that's a good sign.

[LDennis24]

There seems to be a back story of someone selling this rig to someone on here and someone did some work on something somewhere...

Stainless steel stretches and does become fatigued. I would buy original Motorcraft.

[ridgefire]

Yeah, I bought it a few years back off this sight.

[syoungs]

yep. I sold the truck after replacing the engine and transmission.

[LDennis24]

What brand of CPS sensor is in it? Any other aftermarket sensors installed before you sold it? What else did you have to do to the engine you installed before selling it?

[syoungs]

I'm pretty sure it went with a oem cps, but its been a few years so I'm not 100% sure. Other sensors were oem.
Engine got ne injector cups, injectors were resealed, new water pump, oil pump, rebuilt the oil cooler, rebuilt turbo... Basically if a part could be rebuilt or resealed, it was. Went together with new valve cover harnesses, new glow plugs etc...

[ridgefire]

It has a OEM CPS in it. I drove the truck from Monroe to Reiter Ponds today and the plug did not come out and the truck ran great. I bought a new plug today and now got to figure out how to get the old one out. I could not imagine the blue threadlock will hold to much.

[LDennis24]

Well good luck! Hopefully it's nothing but a loose plug. I was wondering if someone had changed a bunch of stuff and you changed it back syoungs. That's why I was curious about the sensors. Some guys just buy a bunch of garbage and throw it on the motor and think it's gonna travel thru time.

[syoungs]

Well good luck! Hopefully it's nothing but a loose plug. I was wondering if someone had changed a bunch of stuff and you changed it back syoungs. That's why I was curious about the sensors. Some guys just buy a bunch of garbage and throw it on the motor and think it's gonna travel thru time.

Nope. This is a T444E that had ~115k miles on it when I got it. I replaced every soft part I could think of building the truck for the future, then sold my trailer and wanted something a bit newer. Ive regreted selling this thing since ive sold it. 

[LDennis24]

Well good luck! Hopefully it's nothing but a loose plug. I was wondering if someone had changed a bunch of stuff and you changed it back syoungs. That's why I was curious about the sensors. Some guys just buy a bunch of garbage and throw it on the motor and think it's gonna travel thru time.

Nope. This is a T444E that had ~115k miles on it when I got it. I replaced every soft part I could think of building the truck for the future, then sold my trailer and wanted something a bit newer. Ive regreted selling this thing since ive sold it. 

Yeah I have 2 of them. An Excursion with the 7.3l and a 4-door 1999 F350. My babies. My wife drives the Excursion on the daily. Fits my big ass and all the kids with her when we hit the town too!

[huntnphool]

Well good luck! Hopefully it's nothing but a loose plug. I was wondering if someone had changed a bunch of stuff and you changed it back syoungs. That's why I was curious about the sensors. Some guys just buy a bunch of garbage and throw it on the motor and think it's gonna travel thru time.

Nope. This is a T444E that had ~115k miles on it when I got it. I replaced every soft part I could think of building the truck for the future, then sold my trailer and wanted something a bit newer. Ive regreted selling this thing since ive sold it. 

Yeah I have 2 of them.