Engine rattle and white smoke

[Sorro71]

I was driving at highway speed and suddenly the engine started to make a loud ticking noise, lose some power, running rough and produciing a hell of a lot of white smoke. I was luckily not to far from home and was able to limp back. I'm guessing the valve train but are there other things I should I look for, before I go tearing off the covers?

 

[Macrobb]

Check for a stuck injector? Crack each line in turn and see if the engine tone/noise changes?

 

[Sorro71]

Thanks I'll give that a try.

 

[Antigrav1117]

Stupid question but gotta ask- has anyone been messing around with the IP timing/mounting bolts? What you are saying sure looks like a slip in timing and a suddenly retarded engine.

 

[Macrobb]

Stupid question but gotta ask- has anyone been messing around with the IP timing/mounting bolts? What you are saying sure looks like a slip in timing and a suddenly retarded engine.

The timing bolts only have a few degree range(more than that you have to physically skip the IP gear a tooth), and generally the IP lines will more or less hold the IP in place, even with loose nuts. It'll vary, yes, but not enough to cause this.

What is much more likely is going from 'somewhat retarded' due to worn IP, to having the timing advance piston(in the IP) stick in the 'retarded' position. This will cause the same sort of issue, because the effects are the same.

 

[Sorro71]

I haven't touched the IP since it was timed. It's a junior moose with not many miles on it.
The ticking noise has gone, but it still has a miss and is puffing white smoke.
I didn't get a chance to crack the lines yesterday, had to get a roast going on the Weber for Mothers day. Gotta keep in the good books with the minister for finance.

 

[nostrokes]

Check your oil and antifreeze could be a blown head gasket too..

 

[laserjock]

The real question is what does the smoke smell like (not from the roast although I’m sure it was more pleasant). If it’s diesel look at the injectors. A bad injector will make a lot of noise and smoke. If it smells like coolant.... well.... that’s a less pleasant situation most likely.

 

[Thewespaul]

The timing bolts only have a few degree range(more than that you have to physically skip the IP gear a tooth), and generally the IP lines will more or less hold the IP in place, even with loose nuts. It'll vary, yes, but not enough to cause this.

What is much more likely is going from 'somewhat retarded' due to worn IP, to having the timing advance piston(in the IP) stick in the 'retarded' position. This will cause the same sort of issue, because the effects are the same.

Exactly right, lots of pumps come in with stuck advance pistons, usually from sitting or just bad fuel. With it on the truck it’s pretty simple to check to see if this is the issue, with the engine running you depress the arm on the driver side of the pump, you sure hear a dramatic tone in the engine and the rpms will drop. If nothing happens, your advance piston is stuck. Fill your fuel filter with atf, start the truck and run for a minute then kill it and let it sit overnight. Fire it up the next day and run it hard, you need to get the rpms high for an extended period of time to keep the transfer pressure up to try and unstick the piston. Get it good and hot then let it sit for awhile and do the test on the arm again. If you can’t get it to unstick you can pull the pump off and I can instruct you on how to remove the piston and clean the bore.

 

[smithman]

+1 on the atf.
In the fuel filter...
In your fuel tank... Put a couple quarts.
Give it an Italian tune up for several days in a row with some long drives to get everything nice and hot, and some acceleration runs mixed in.
It seems more likely a fuel system issue due to the sudden nature.

 

[Sorro71]

Got a chance to look at the engine today. The oil and coolant look ok. I pushed the advance in and the engine changed tone and slowed down so that seems ok The exhaust definitely smells of diesel. I cracked each injector and they seemed to have the same effect on the engine, it just seemed to make it run rougher. I did notice that there wasn't much smoke at start up while the engine was cold at idle but when the engine was revved their was plenty. Is the atf still worth trying. I also have a good spare injector would it be wiser just to swap it out one injector at a time to see if it fixes the problem...also notice the engine was quieter today, no ticking it just had a miss in it.

 

[Sorro71]

I've changed out the injectors one at a time and there's still no difference. So ATF in the fuel filter it is. Can I leave it in for more than a day?

 

[Thewespaul]

Sure can

 

[Sorro71]

Tried the ATF and gave the truck a good hard run
, it hasn't made by difference. The advance piston seems to be working, when I push it in the engine quite sure and drops revs a little. So back to the drawing board. One thing I have noticed though is that the crankcase seems to have a lot more pressure than I remember.

 

[Thewespaul]

Time for a compression test