Oil leak on your diesel? When a reseal makes sense

Most diesels start leaking somewhere eventually. Gaskets and seals harden with heat and age, and once one starts seeping it rarely stops on its own.

Signs you have a leak

• Spots under the truck after it sits overnight
• A burning smell after a drive, from oil landing on the exhaust
• Oil or coolant on the belly pan, the frame or the transmission
• An oil or coolant level that drops between services

Why it's worth fixing

Oil dripping on a hot exhaust smokes and is a fire risk. It also soaks belts, hoses and wiring and wears them out early. A coolant leak is worse: let the level run low and the engine can overheat, and on a diesel that's how head gaskets go.

Find the source first

Oil runs downhill, and air blows it back along the truck as you drive, so a leak often shows up well below or behind where it starts. A wet oil pan doesn't always mean a bad oil pan gasket. The area gets cleaned and the real source found before anyone quotes the job.

What a reseal is

A reseal replaces the tired gaskets and seals in one area of the engine or transmission in a single job. When parts have to come off to reach one seal, it makes sense to replace the others they expose at the same time, so you don't pay for the same teardown twice.

Leaks these engines are known for

• 7.3 and 6.0 Power Stroke: high-pressure oil leaks, which can cause hard starts or no-starts when the engine is hot.
• 6.7 Power Stroke, 2013 and newer: oil pan gasket leaks.
• Any diesel with some age on it: valve cover gaskets, front and rear main seals, and transmission pan gaskets.