[dzill]

2002 E350 7.3 diesel will blow blue smoke only within the first 5 minutes of driving. I always let the engine warm up about 5-10 minutes before driving but as soon as i get on the road and give it throttle the trandmission will wind out in first gear, the engine sounds as if it is flooding out and blue smoke pours out the tail pipe. This happens twice within the first 5 minutes of driving then the van drives fine until the next day. No engine codes. Within the last year I have repaired the high pressure oil pump and replaced the ICP sensor and last week I had the transmission rebuilt and replaced the glow plug relay. Any help with this will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance- dave

 

[RT]

Are you burning any oil? Could be injector O-rings.

 

[dzill]

Haven't noticed any differnce in oil but i change it religiously every 3k miles and trans fluid every 15k. Wondering if you may be right about the injector o-rings. One heck of a pain in the rear if its not though.

 

[RT]

I'd watch your dipstick over the next oil change to verify. If its burning oil, you should be several quarts down over the oil change interval. You can also pull your fuel filter to see if it is discolored. It will be black from the oil pushing back into the fuel rail.

 

[dzill]

I'd watch your dipstick over the next oil change to verify. If its burning oil, you should be several quarts down over the oil change interval. You can also pull your fuel filter to see if it is discolored. It will be black from the oil pushing back into the fuel rail.

Ok, that sounds interesting. So if the o-rings are the problem, the fuel filter should show black staining?

 

[RT]

If the leak is substantial enough to back oil into the fuel rail, the filter will be discolored by the oil. Its a well established test. If you are burning enough oil to affect how it runs, you definitely will have a blackened filter.

 

[dzill]

I'm going to see about checking that fuel filter this weekend. Been doing a little research on the web about 7.3 diesel injectors and alot of people mention a tapping sound that usually is caused by injector #8, which is the last injector to get fuel, that goes bad. Mine is making a constant similar tapping sound plus add the loss of power within the first 5 minutes however; unlike everyone else, mine blows the blue smoke. Assuming it is either a bad injector or o-rings what type of problems am I looking at if I can't get it repaired quickly. I'm praying nothing too serious because after the money I've dished out the last 2 weeks, I'm tapped out for a while.

 

[RT]

People run with bad orings for years so I wouldn't panic about getting it done quick. The orings run about $9 per injector.

 

[dzill]

Thank god. That puts my mind at ease. I was worried that the tapping sound would eventually turn to severe engine damage. I figured the o-rings wouldn't be so expensive but getting those valve covers off seem like an impossibility. It took me 3.5 hours just to change out the glow plug relay. These vans are impossible to work on. It only took about 4 hours to change out the transmission and thats without a lift. Hireing a mechanic around here starts at $1000 for them to do anything on diesels. Thank you so much for your input.