i'm blowin too much smoke...WAY too much

[studdy05]

Had to switch to gear reduction starter on my 83 6.9 because when it got really hot, cranking it was about impossible...had to find a chair for 30 minutes and just sit down. While the starter fixed that cranking issue, when I pulled my camper this weekend in the Ozarks, I noticed I was just burning way too much smoke. (People were offended I think.) Can I just assume its all fuel injector pump related. My power stinks lately, too. Anything besides my pump need to be replaced?

[LMJD]

Could be time for a pump rebuild and new injectors. It also could be something simple like badly clogged air filter, closed off intake ducting or previous owner screwing up the IJ pump. (See the above thread JUST KIDDING)

[studdy05]

Well if the IP has to come off and the injectors, I might as well clean up all the leaky gaskets.

But i have noticed my oil consumption has went through the roof. It is speed dependant, too. If I stay 55 and below, it's not too bad. But over 65 or so and I go through a quart every 250 miles or so.

I am ready to spend some money fixing the oil leaks, get some power back with a new IP, but dont know which gasket set I will need to do the job.

Is the basic $150 felpro gasket set going to do me?

Do I need intake manifold gaskets with it?

Do I need to replace the head bolts?

Do I need to consider ring job, too, now that I am blowing smoke and burning oil?

Looking for guidance and direction before I blow my cash - but mainly I want to do it right the first go around.

[ken wilhelm]

hello, if your gonna do a ring job, you will probably need oversize pistons as well .they are around 350 a set of 8 rings are around 175 -210 a set the intake gasket is a steel one piece vally pan, also the cylindres will have to be bored over to fit new rings ,pistons the cost to bore is around 40.00 per bore 320.00 total for bore /hone job doing just rings are fine if you wont own it long ,but the piston bore clearance must be maintained for optimum performance and longevity might as well get a valve job too ,the guides are probably loose which will contribute to your oil consumption issue ,after that you should put new rod bearings in about 185 a set as well as main journal bearings 250 a set its not cheap to rebuild one of these motors but it will out live you thistime!!! if you do it do it right !!!

[LMJD]

you will probably need oversize pistons as well ...cylindres will have to be bored over to fit new rings

Don't discourage the guy moneywise by making that kind of judgement looking at a computer screen. For years and years now engine blocks are of such improved quality that before I retired mine and our truck shop's ridge reamers sat gathering dust. Unless a wall is scored from foreign material, broken ring, etc, he could very well have about zero cylinder wall wear.

[ken wilhelm]

hello althou i do agree with you i worked for impact high performance machining for 7 years before moving on, ive never seen a motor with more than 100.000 miles that the bore was not tapered, or out of round, yes it is possible to just rering it, but what do you gain by that, if the piston bore clearance is not tight you will end up with piston slap, which is caused by excessive clearance on the up stroke , you can just rering and add new gaskets and it will run ok i do agree there, i just wanted them to know that to have it last long term and have the performance that is what is needed sorry to have offended

[Kaliburz]

Okay, lets get some info first.

History of truck/engine..... How many miles on the truck vs the engine? Has the engine been opened up before (previous owner mabye???) What kind of axle ratio are you running (to see the kind of RPMs this has ran during it's life)? I dont' know what axle ratio was available back then. Before getting the truck, what did the truck do (if you know)? Was it a work truck or was it a toy truck- towing a trailer or hauling a camper?

Also, are you leaking engine oil or are you burning it? What kind of pressure are you getting out of the crank case breather? When running, does it 'puff' a lot at idle?

I have a 3208 NA Cat (in a C8000 ten wheeler) that burns oil fast also, but it's cheaper to feed it oil then to replace/open the engine. If running hard and loaded, I can add a half gallon to a gallon of oil mid season of use (and it's only six weeks, under 700 miles of use total). I don't use it much, never go through a full tank of fuel......at least lately.... during harvest. And the breather has a lot of 'blow' coming out of it too after running hard. (Beats the old gasser C750... it had to be fueled every 3rd day....)

[studdy05]

I think you raise a good point about just adding oil vs. spending huge $$$ .

The truck was a farm truck for the last 8 to 10 years in the delta cotton farm land that hauled diesel to the tractors via a 500 gallon tank that sat in the bed. (It has 1 to 2 inches of thick sandy soil accumulated to anything that leaked oil.) Prior to that, it was a well maintained race horse hauler pulling gooseneck trailers all over the midwest. I guess...purely gussing...its got to have 300K to 400K on it. It's not leaking more than one or two drips of oil an hour based on what I see on the concrete so its burning the oil...and generally the higher the RPM's the faster it goes. It's got the stock T19 4 speed and the stock diff but they probably have been went through at least once and I am sure the engine has been into at least once. Not much to go on there.

Am going to compression test the engine this weekend using info gleaned off of here by taking the GP's out and killing off the fuel at the IP. Will post what I find on here and see where it heads.

[Kaliburz]

Okay, so we know the engine was 'working' pulling the goose neck, be it on road or off road. I'm going to assume a 4.11 ratio (could be a 3.55- I doubt it's a 3.73 since I don't think they were avail. back then).

A quart of oil every 250 miles doesn't seem that bad for a beast that's 1983. That would be what, a quart every fill up or so (if dual tanked).

Let us know what you find out.....

[Joe Mc]

What brand of oil are you using?

I read a post a while back where someone switched from delo to rotella, or the other way around, and their oil consumption dropped a lot. Might be something to try.

[studdy05]

In fact I did recently switch off of Delo to a low name brand oil and have been wondering if it was more than a coincidence because the timing on oil usage was exactly when i switched...is this a no no or is it just rumor?

[Kaliburz]

Well, I don't know if it has been 'scientifically' proved to be true (or not true), but some folks 'swear' it has happened to them.

I've been runing 15W-40 in just about all my rigs. But I've stayed w/ one brand MOST of the time, Delo. Just recently, I buy what is on sale- Valvoline, Delo, Shell, etc. Heck, even used that Walmart stuff! And that stuff I used in the class 8 semi (Big Cam I NTC 350). Not sure how much oil it uses, as they say some is normal..... but I also add a gallon of Power Punch too at the oil change.

[Mr_Roboto]

Since it was used as a farm truck, maybe the piston rings are gummed up and not sealing.

Stay away from cheap oil!!