Blue exhaust smoke afet getting the air out of injector system lines ?

[rkpatt]

Blue exhaust smoke after getting the air out of injector system lines ?

I am now getting a fair amount of blue exhaust smoke ( most noticeable at idle ) after dealing with a very hard to find air leak in the fuel injection system on my 1994 F240 7.3 IDI . It barely had any visible smoke prior to dealing with this problem . Could I have broken a ring with all that "dry" cranking or with very conservative use of starting fluid ? ( I also tried a <1 sec squirt of starting fluid in the air cleaner intake ( glow plugs cycles off ) once or twice or during this process ). It seems to run fine but just too much smoke and I am concerned . Any ideas on what is wrong ? What can I do to diagnose this further ? - Thanks

 

[akoldnav]

Do you have a turbo. If so, the turbo or the CDR valve could be your problem. Other than that I can't be of much help.

akoldnav

 

[rkpatt]

No it does not have a turbo .

Do you have a turbo. If so, the turbo or the CDR valve could be your problem. Other than that I can't be of much help.

akoldnav

 

[rkpatt]

I just checked the oil filler neck area for blow-by . There is light puffing of smoke inside the oil filler hole(or maybe just IP gear turning ). I did not feel any pressure ? Is that a good enouigh quickie test ? If it is not blow-by past the rings , what should I check next ?

I have attached a couple of pix that show the smoke at idle. It was more the camera picked up . Is this blue smoke ( form oil consumption) or white-blue ( fuel problem ) . The exhaust also has a very strong odor and burns my eyes .

Thanks

 

[rkpatt]

The engine seems to idle smoothly . The smoke does increase with RPM . It does get really bad at high RPM . I cracked the injector lines and each one made the engine run rough . The prior air leak was in a bad connection between the tank and the intake of my electric lift pump . I did not do anything with the injectors when troubleshooting the air leak leak except for cracking the lines and pulling one line loose to see if fuel was getting to them . The return line connections seem to be flowing ok . Wouldn't a problem with an injector make it run bad ? I even ran separate fuel and supply lines to an fuel can thinking maybe that it was slight air problem ( per cdn - Chassis fuel system air leaks may also cause continuous heavy blue-white smoke) . I am now beginning to think the worse case even though there is no crankcase blow by . It really is smoking badly at high rpm . If it is a cracked ring or heat etc why no blowby ? I am really lost on this one . If it were missing or something I would pull an injector and check compression and followup with leakdown tests on the bad ones but I don't know what to do next ?


another photo of smoke at around 1800 rpm
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d70/rkpatt/100_2472.jpg
Again, does that look like white-blue fuel type or blue real engine oil burning smoke ?

Thanks

 

[rkpatt]

I just spoke with a friend who is has a lot of experience with Stanadyne / Roosa Master injection pumps on industrial engines. He suggested that the advance section of the 200k mi pump might have been finally killed off from the air incident . He recommended that I get the timing and advance checked with a pulse sensor type timing meter or pulse sensor timing light before actually removing any parts .
__________________

 

[EvergreenRanch]

he may be quite right. only problem with that is those timing lights with all the specific attachments are few and far between, people who really know how to use them even sparser. That being said, prepare for a hefty bill. id put the money towards a new pump and injectors

 

[Agnem]

Where abouts are you located?

 

[rkpatt]

I removed the injectors today . They all looked about the same . The tips were pretty carbonized ( coking ?) but I didn't smell diesel on the tips . The had gray paint on them and were dated 3/93 so they are very likely the originals. I have now ordered a new set of E injectors . I will plump up a gutted old injector to my diesel compression gauge and chect the compression . I problably should replace the IP at this time but funds are short and I would like to see first if the new injectors address the smoking problem .

 

[rkpatt]

An update here . I removed the fuel injectors and had them tested at a local diesel shop ( Tubo Diesel and Electric , Marietta, GA) . One was real bad and the rest were way off according to gut who tested them . I puchased a new set of Delphi code E replacements (Delphi Part LJCK01101) installed them . It still smokes and maybe runs slightly rougher but maybe has little more power . Because of the slightly rougher running, I wonder if I screwed up an injector nozzle during installation ( physical damage or overtightening - the guy told me 55-60 ft lbs torque) although cracking lines show about the same drop in rpm for each cyl . Assuming that the injector install is OK , it is looking more like the pump is bad.

I have looked over Mels excellent injector servicing article after the fact http://oilburners.net/brian/idi/FuelInjectionServicing.htm ) saw the 35 ft lbs injector torque .
uhoh. Maybe I should pull the new injectors and have them tested before I pull the pump ?
If they test ok then I will pull the pump .

A couple of questions on pulling the injection pump ( IP ): Is the red plastic throttle cable piece attachment to the IP simply ball and socket that pulls apart from the throttle on the IP or is there a locking clip or something ? Also do I need to remove the fast idle
solenoid to access the lower IP mounting bolt on the passenger side .

Thanks

 

[Agnem]

Hmmm... I would pull one just to see if it is damaged. In all likelyhood, you really crushed the snot out of the copper washer. I don't think the injectors will be damaged, but it's possible. Pulling one would confirm it. If anything, you've made them harder to remove some time from now.

 

[Agnem]

Oh, and that throttle cable will just pop off with a little encouragement in the right direction.

 

[rkpatt]

Although my plan is to replace the 200k mile IP , I did notice something else while test driviing the yesterday . There is a puff of smoke when I take my foot off the throttle when after driving hard . I sure hope that is a sign of FI probems and not oil problems ( crackrd head or or rings )




I will remove the injection pump today . The local diesel shop quoted $350 for rebuilding . I have seen some slightly lower prices on the web but warranty is easier and I can get advice from a local guy if I have problems.

How do I get to those lower bolts as the access is too tight for a box end comination wrench. What tools do I use ? It is tempting to remove that gear cover but I do know better after reading Mels FI page .

 

[rkpatt]

OK I got the pump out. It was difficult to get all out of the engine bay ( clearing A/C line mailnly). I sure hope I can get the rebuilt pump in and lined up with the pin without too much difficulty . Also I disconnected the R&L line sets without marking the pum where on starts . I have good idea where to attach then but want to be sure . Can someone refer me to the proper reference points on the pump ( #1, firing order etc ) . - Thanks