New Smoke - Page 4

JohnandMandi · 08-29-2014, 02:07 PM

Nowadays that's one semester not considering really good schools.

Sorry for the bad news.

-John

carringb · 08-29-2014, 06:27 PM

Fixing 6.0's is how I paid for a year of grad school

Had up to 3 in the shop at a time, and a contract with one dealer where they would swap me another bad for a just-fixed one, over and over again.

Anyways.... I can't conceive of a way the cylinder contribution test would show normal if an injector were bad. It could take some additional tweaks to get it to show however, like adding boost at idle or performing the test in gear. And for some conditions, shutting down cylinders may be necessary.

**daveb** · 08-29-2014, 10:43 PM

Our fleet 6.0's had some problems and were phased out over time but many worked fine though their lives. Maybe due to how hard they were worked, but the new 6.7's (?) have been nothing but trouble. Our company has now switched to gas engines & because of this is moving out of the diesel world on 1 tons. I had some issues with injectors on my 6.4, but after it was re-built it has not given me any problems to date. Still only under 100K but running. Like the 6.0s, they are started and ran non-stop from about 6AM till 4PM unless it's during a call period where they might run 24 hours. I know it's a bit off topic here but the V-10's have had a great record to date compared to any diesel engine other than the DuraMax. Most of the Chevy diesels have been worry free.

scatter · 10-10-2014, 08:24 AM

OK, I'm ready to finish off this thread. Got my van back last week. New engine, updated with all the latest "corrections", new turbo as the one year old one had some pitting from the bits and pieces that got sucked through it, EGR cooler, etc. Just got back from a thousand mile test drive. Runs great and is actually a little quieter.
And, no more smoke! What an expensive hassle, but I guess all's well that ends well??
Thanks guys for all the input on this.

**daveb** · 10-12-2014, 11:10 AM

Might consider shutting down the EGR. I'd like to have a custom tune built as well. Don't really want a bunch of HP maybe just a mild towing tune.
Glad you're back on the road.

scatter · 07-07-2015, 10:58 AM

and I sure wish it wasn't.
Well, I've got around 11k miles on my new engine and I've been getting black smoke again.

Doesn't do it when it's cold, but starts after the engine warms up. I only notice it when I accelerate from a stop or from low speed. It might do it at higher speeds, but can't see it in the side view mirror then. Also does it when parked and I rev it up while in neutral.
I've had the rig into a couple of shops for a full diagnostic and every time I'm told that everything, including injectors show OK. Besides really pissing me off, I'm worried as this was what was happening right before I cooked my last engine.

Anyone know of a good next step while I'm still under warranty???

**daveb** · 07-07-2015, 07:41 PM

Not really giving me a boost of confidence there Scatter. My engine smoked after I put in the Atlas 40 FICM tune but after the engine was rebuilt they installed a new turbo as well along with an 50HP SCT tune and no smoke at all. I only have about 7000 mile on her though.

Have you done an oil analysis? Wonder if that would point to anything.

JoeH · 07-08-2015, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scatter

Got a tow into Reno and there's no compression in #2 and that cylinder got really hot. Melted off the injector and glow plug. Top of piston looks like the surface of the moon. Bottom line, got a crate motor coming from Ford. This will not be cheap. Will put extra sealant at the bed plate, swap in my Bullet Proof EGR cooler, new radiator, hoses, etc. Might as well while the motor is on the floor.

Anyone have any thots on swapping the head bolts for the non-stretching studs? There's another $800 and I haven't heard of any stock vans stretching the head bolts. But, sure don't want to have it happen later. No plans on chipping the rig, I'm fine with the power it has. Actually, pretty much the only problems I've had are injectors.

Geez, same thing just happened to me after replacing 4 injectors. Made it 1000 miles and munched and melted piston #5 in Idaho. No warning signs, codes except for some smoke at idle that went away or was hard to see while running down the road. Not sure what killed the injector again but I'm going to replace the engine harness as well as the Injector wiring harness. Maybe the glow plug harness as well.

I went with a long block from Jasper that has ARP headstuds. Not sure if it's a good move or not but I don't have time to deal with a machine shop that far away from home. One year warranty and unlimited miles with the Jasper.

Good luck with the continued diagnosis Scatter. Consider replacing the injector harness. At least then you know the wiring and connectors are not compromised and theoretically any further issues are component related.

Ketcham · 07-08-2015, 08:46 PM

Ah, I was just going to write about this topic and my recent experience. I was driving for sometime with a blown head gasket. A blown head gasket that was not discovered until I *electively* pulled my motor for the head studs modification. With the Econoline series, particularly ambulance build (built heavy and used hard), they do not blow coolant in the way the F-series does. This could be in part due to the larger degas coolant bottle having increased capacity and pressure is released with gas and not fluid. In hindsight, this increased pressure would explain why I had such a difficult time stopping a slow coolant leak at one of the t-piece to the coolant filter. My leakage and blowing of head gasket was a chronic issue that went undetected for sometime and may even have been years given the rust that existed in three of four cylinders and even replaced on piston due to evidence of high heat in the chamber. This was the bank of cylinders where the head gasket commonly fails. I guess one side of the engine compartment is more prone to excessive heat.

My mechanic was discussing my issues in his forum and mechanics who work with ambulance fleets stated that this is very common.

I had my EGT set to alarm at 1250* and it would hit this mark more common than I would care to admit but be there for only a few minutes max. 1,221* is the melting point of aluminum. Pistons are aluminum. The chamber is hotter than my EGT. Recipe for failure. My EGT have decreased 300-400* and no longer hit 1000* pulling grade with the following modifications recommended by others on this forum

:

1. ceramic coating and wrap the up pipes (to turbo) and down pipe.
2. billet wheel replacement for turbo
3. fender vents. When the auxiliary fan kicks on, it pulls air in from driver's side across the custom air intake and pushes heat out passenger side with force. Hotter than a hair dryer.

My Coolant temps are still 210-220. So I am in the process with Jody Tipton to re-task the auxiliary fan to engage at lower temperature.

Any other thoughts on how best to decrease heat? Hood louvers I have decided to avoid because of the damp winter rain in the Pacific NW.

With the previous posts, I believe more of us are driving with a blown head gasket than we realize and without triggering codes. If a cylinder becomes so hot to melt an injector, replacing the injector is fixing the symptom. Ask yourself why is this occurring.

JoeH · 07-08-2015, 09:00 PM

It is quite possible I also had a weakened head gasket from my first injector failure. That one was a cracked tip. The 2nd one quite possibly could be water.

I'm not sold yet on the ceramic coated Y-pipe and down-pipe. Seems counter-intuitive but need to research it some more. On the other hand, a 300-400F reduction in EGT is astounding.