engine missing bad

[gushaman]

Well, I thought I had either a bad torque converter or bad trans (e4od) and took the truck to a trans shop. the guy drove it.....He said He can replace the converter but it wont fix it. I have an engine miss. possibly injector(s), IP, or valve spring(s).

There is some diesel leaking, i just replaced return lines and caps but it was doing this miss before that. Is there any way to diagnose between the ip and injectors?

if I knew it was one or the other, i buy higher quality parts, but if I have to replace all I will be forced to go cheap.

if its a valve spring how difficult is that? I know I need new valve cover gaskets, but they are further down on the list ya know?

 

[flareside_thun]

Start it up and feel the injector lines. If the fire rings (the little copper washers that seal the injector bore from the combustion chamber) are leaking, then your injector line will feel a bit warmer than the others. Another way to check for a miss is to crack the injector lines at the injectors one at a time. If the miss gets worse then move onto the next, if there is no change then you've most likely found the culprit. Also, you said you had a fuel leak....from where?

 

[gushaman]

fuel is leaking from the caps for the return line. it was all the time, now it is intermittant??? also yesterday I had "surging" except it felt like the miss was gone, but it could have just been runnin away on oil. im about to put a used cdr in to see if that helps

all the lines are warm, and i cant really notice the miss at idle

 

[flareside_thun]

So it only misses under load?

 

[gushaman]

i guess so. Its my first diesel, and im not familiar with these symptoms.

What lead me to think TC was it shifts fine when its too cold for the converter to engage, then when it does it bucks and jumps all over the place in O/D, so i turn it off and it happens less, I can still feel it in 1st and second gear, but its not so bad as to knock my glasses off my face like in 3rd and 4th. I was told the miss gets exagerated when the engine is locked to the trans

 

[icanfixall]

Actually sounds like you have more than one problem.... This is how to check if an injector is bad. Use a 5/8 inch wrench and loosen the line nut at the injector about 1/2 turn. Be careful because the diesel fuel is under around 1800 lbs of pressure. The slight leak will cause the injector to stop working and cause the engine to miss so you will see, hear and feel it. Tighten up that injector nut and move to the next injector. On the side of the injection pump there is an electrical switch. Its on the drivers side of the pump. Its called tps switch. It tells the trans computer (cpu) what kind of line pressure the trans needs to shift properly. You have to have between .96 volts and 1.2 volts at idle settings with the engine off. Just turn on the ignition switch to the run position and check the voltage at the middle wire on the tps connection. Use a digital voltmeter thats accurate. Sears sells a fair voltmeter. Check it by using your batterys. You should see around 12.4 volts and not running the engine. A running engine will have around 14.2 volts. How many miles are on the fuel system. Usually the pump and injectors last around 125,000 miles and the tps needs to be replaced around 50,000 to 60,000 miles. They are a simple reostst where a piece of metal slides over a coil. That coil wears out. Every movement of the throttle peddle makes this tps move so think how much wear its getting.

 

[gushaman]

could it be my timing? the local diesel shop wants $84 per hour for diagnosis and work.....

 

[gushaman]

In the past 2 months I have replaced batts., alt, regulator, TPS, cleaned vss, tach sensor is new, brake booster and master, power steering gear and pump and one hose.
I have adjusted the tps as well because it gave absolutely no change at all upon replacement

 

[gushaman]

i will try loosening the ijectors, but I did that when I replaced the return lines to bleed it and there was no change on any of them. the thing runs so it cant bo all the injectors, right???

 

[icanfixall]

All the injectors "could" be bad if they have lots of miles on them. Cracking one at a time will hopefully tell you something.

 

[towcat]

here's a simple Q&A for you to try. You seem like you know more than the avg mech or at least you give yourself credit for.
all these checks are to be done with the trans in park or neutral so you can take it out of the equation.
1) miss at idle by clears up when revving up to 2-3k rpm...bad injectors.
2) smooth idle but when you rev up to 2-3k rpm the motor starts missing. bad pump.
3) popping through the intake. bad intake valve/rocker/spring.
4) popping through the exhaust. bad exhaust valve/rocker/spring.

these motors are incredibly easy to diagnose. there's mechanical and fuel. that's it. gassers have spark added to the equation.

if you need additional walk-through, pm me a callback number and I can work with you for a little bit.

 

[gushaman]

not sure if it matters but I have diesel in the oil. quite a bit actually more than doubles the oil level on the dipstick. Also the past few days when I am idling and rolling the oil gauge needle drops all the way down and ounces. p m sent

 

[towcat]

not sure if it matters but I have diesel in the oil. quite a bit actually more than doubles the oil level on the dipstick. Also the past few days when I am idling and rolling the oil gauge needle drops all the way down and ounces. p m sent

pm responded.
change out lift pump asap. you will wipe out main and rod bearings in short order.

 

[haligen]

Still a mechanical lift pump? If so probably shot. That will fill your crankcase with diesel when it goes.

 

[gushaman]

will a bad pump cause any of my other symptoms?