Hi folks,

just picked up this truck and it ran great for about 2 days. All of a sudden sitting in the driveway idling it is putting out a ton of white/grey smoke that smells horrible. Think my neighbors were about to vote me off the block as the street was all smokey.. but at least i killed any mosquitos. Drove it around the block to see if warming it up would help but it did not and seemed to be getting worse with no power and running rough.

I didn't touch anything on the motor to cause this.

seraching forums i see anything from injectors to bad fuel to head gaskets...

wondering if any 6.9 or general diesel experts can throw out an opinion?

.. i cannot imagine it's related but i'll add in case somehow it is.... but also suddenly the tranny doesn't want to shift up into 2nd... lots of vacuum.. ordered a new modulator...

thanks for any help

 

Welcome to the site..
Was it fueled up just prior?

How many miles on the clock? Any prior work done to it?

6.8/7.3 IDI had issues with injection pump fails, more so if not an upgraded pump. Head gaskets as well, but generally if a gasket failure it will over pressurize the cooling system, coolant levels will drop as coolant is ‘spent’,, and they generally don’t fail suddenly. Often if a pump failure, cavitation- air will circulate causing running issues. Installing a clear fuel line can help verify a pump gone south. Injector/s, possible, but again an instant failure (?), not likely. If stuck/hung open, over fueling would be present, severed enough could lock the engine. If coolant, smoke exiting the pipe would have a sweet smell, dense white smoke and may include tailpipe droplets. Excessive/raw fuel, will burn your eyes. If a HG failure, good chance you’d see bubbles in the coolant, level loses, or evidence in the oil. HG failures if severe, can leak back coolant into the cylinder bore/s after a hot/cold soak and on a restart hydro lock the engine, with a risk of bending a rod. Or, if a failing HG, coolant buildup, puddling in the cylinder will raise compression pressures (PSI) aiding or speeding up the failure process. HG/s if failing can be checked removing the glow plugs and if severe enough, witnessed cranking the engine over with coolant exiting the GP hole/s. Or, if more minor, a leak down test done there. Exhaust gases would be in and could be checked for in the coolant mix..

 

thanks for the reply.

i'm on the same tank of fuel i have used 1/2 a tank of without issue. about 85 000 miles or 137 000 km on it (that's why i bought it for the low mileage!).

Drove fine Friday (but i would say i thought i noticed a weird smell) but last night it was the smoke show. i'd say yes it's a bit hard on the eyes, it's a very strong chemical smell rather than a "sweet" smell.

i can't really say much about recent work as I just bought it, i know it has had the glow plug system upgraded to the 90's version and has been well maintained as the guy that owned it was a H duty mechanic.

he has graciously offered to swing by tonight to have a look so hopefully he can provide a bit of direction.

sounds like i better check the coolant.

 

If it’s truly 85k, I’d change out the injection pump anyway if OE (doubtful) . A ticking time bomb if original. The OE didn’t like blended/LSD fuels...

Good that he’s helping out.

 

ya i was pretty skeptical of the mileage until i had a good look at the truck.... floor mat is orig but not very worn, gas/brake pedal rubber almost like new, etc.... apparently spent most of it's mid- life sitting when the original owner got sick & passed away.... roll the dice and decide if you believe the story...

i'll check with him on the pump to see if he already replaced.

i just finished stripping it all down to metal and repainted it myself... first paint job in about 30 years and i'm super happy with it. no bondo anywhere on the truck... i left any little marks for character! it'll be a daily driver for me, not a show piece.

 

Consensus is that the cloud is unburnt diesel. Cracking the injectors while running produced very little spray... so thoughts are that you are correct and the injector pump is likely faulty. He felt that the engine was starving for fuel.

Will also swap out the fuel filter on the off chance it's a disaster inside.

Good news is that a free replacement pump is available to me.

i'll update after the next steps

 

Nice old iron..

Free is always good

 

Follow up on this—-IP swapped out and truck is running great Smoke is gone.

that is quite a job to swap that out.

 

Thanks for the update