Help, blue smoke...

[simon]

I have a 1987 Ford econoline E350 and have replaced the Crankcase vent, the fuel injectors, glow plugs. It was sitting for along time before I bought it, so I changed the oil right awayand have driven it for about 500 miles. It still is blowing blue smoke, but it only does it while going downe the road, when its started up in the morning there is minimal smoke to none. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Let me know if you need more info.

Simon

 

[Exekiel69]

Did You use the fuel on the tanks? Did You add any fuel additive? How many miles on the Injection pump? What oil did You use? Also, You can add Your location and maybe someone in the area could give You a hand with the timing.

 

[RLDSL]

How much oil is it consuming?
If it sat for a while, chances are the rings may be a bit sticky.

---------Robert

 

[simon]

Ya, what ever fuel was in the tanks at the time was used. i did the oil change and fuel filter change at the same time. When I replaced the fuel filter the local shop that sold me the injectors thru in a bottle of Stanedyne(?) fuel lubricant and suggested filling the filter with just the additive, so I did. They said it would help break free any stuck parts in the injector pump, since it had been sitting for some time.

During the same time as the oil/fuel filter change I did the injectors/glow plugs/return lines and fittings. A few of the return line fittings were leaking pretty bad after I replaced them and the fuel was collecting around and I assume leaking into the crankcase breather hole. So how much fuel might have gotten into the oil I am not sure, but some did and it could have thinned out the oil making it easier to get past the rings. So I need to replace the oil again. The oil I am using is Delo 15-40W.

How much oil, well it used about a quart on a 180 mile trip. How much oil should this engine take during an oil and filter change? I put in 10 1/2 qt.

As far as how long it had been sitting, I am not sure, but it did have grass and moss growing. It was driven from Eugene Or to Portland Or on that oil/fuel. The oil had some sludge in it, so I ran 1/2 qt of Marvel Mystery oil in the engine before I changed the oil.

I am not sure how many miles the injector pump had on it, i will look to see if I can find a rebuilt tag on it.

One thing I should mention is the vehicle has 82K on it and was owned by a school district, so preventative maintenance might have not been so good.

Thanks so much and hopefully this small history of the van will help better.

i live in downtown Portland OR, any suggestions on good shops would also be helpful.

Simon

 

[Diesel JD]

Well, they should use 9 quarts in the pan and 1 in the filter unless its a PSD filter you put on there in which case its 9 in the pan and 2 in the filter. The 1/2 quart overfill will burn off quickly, that's normal. Also it is common practice here to measure oil consumption by checking the oil level after the engine has been at operationg temperature and then had a chance to set 10-15 minutes on level ground. At least on my truck the dipstick shows full and add, and the add line is 2 quarts low. Which brings me to the second point, we normally wait until the oil falls to the "add" line to add oil. Fuel getting into teh crankcase from the valley pan? leaky injectors? I guess its possible...I haven't heard of it...but I will defer to someone else who is more confident of their answer. I have thought about it since that crankcase vent goes right to the crankcase, but other than that there's nowhere else for it to get in. It should be fairly fuel tight anyway back there. But maybe not, I'm just not sure.

 

[simon]

Thanks, I will do another oil change and see if the 9 plus the 1 qt for the fuel filter still brings me to the fill line. One question, i have read that the dip sticks on these 6.9 might be off a little bit and the add line is actually the full line? Do youknow anything about this?

Simon

 

[icanfixall]

Delo 400 15W40 is a fine oil and grade but... These motors will run just fine on a straight 30 WT oil as per the manual. What you added when you changed oil is really what these motors take for an oil change. Try using the PSD 1995 oil filter because it has a finer filter media in it because of the turbos on those motors. Most here will run the 1995 because of the better filtering even without a turbo. If the injection return lines are painted the same color as the motor (grey) they are probably the originals and need to be replaced. It the injection pump and injectors have around 100,000 to 150,000 miles on them they need to be replaced. Some have run theirs longer but most onlt see around 100,000 miles of good use on them. You may or may not have gotten fuel into the oil from the valley pan CDR gromet seal. The easiest way to know is did the oil level go up any.

 

[sle2115]

The oil I am using is Delo 15-40W.

That is what I run year round.

Also, remember to check it hot. That much oil will expand. The Ford manual is very specific about this as your oil at temp can expand and show almost a quart over. Overfilling would definetely cause oil burning. Other than that, I would run it and see if it clears up, I would watch using Marvel though as you may break loose more than you want to!

 

[RLDSL]

With 10 1/2 qts in there , that could definitely give you some blue smoke on that 180 mile run. On mine, 10 qt total fill will read about the half way down when cold ( so it looks a qt low ) and once up to temp, will read full after sitting about 15 minutes. If you add oil to the full mark when cold, it wil burn off the extra qt pretty quick.

--------Robert

 

[simon]

Good to know, all helpful information. Ya once I was up in seattle, after burning blue the whole way, i added another quart because i thought I was low. So i will take into account expansion next time. I will also use the PSD 1995 filter next filter change. Do any of you have any advice on replacement of valve stem seals? I heard they are known for leaking quite a bit. Are the seals just on the intake or are they also on the exhaust? Special tools? things to look for? Thanks so much.
Simon

 

[Diesel JD]

Well, personally I'd let the valve stem seals slide. I'd rather let it burn some oil than "upgrade" to the 7.3 style seals which sometimes have caused lack of lubrication and dropping valves. The amount of oil consumption it causes isn't excessive as long as the rings and pistons and crankcase vent are ok. Also fix as many leaks as you can. Even if the oil consumption is high, you probably still have many thousands of trouble free miles ahead as long as you don't run the thing out of oil. Probably nothing will break...as long as it has the power you need and its not bad enough that it bothers you, keep running it, in the meantime you can save up for a rebuild, a new engine, or another truck/van. My 2 bits

 

[simon]

Dropping valves? Yikes. I wish I could just continue to drive it and save some money, but I can't. I live in the city limits and there are local laws/codes that prohibit excessive smoke, i have already talked with a police officer once about it.

but i have some more evidence that might point to the problem. today i drove around on mostly flat ground and then went and hit a hill once it was up to operating temp. The thing smoked like crazy, black and blue mix. After that i put it in park and raised the rpms to about 2000, very little smoke. I am now wondering if it could be the injection pump. But blue smoke it oil, not fuel. Would blowby only produce blue smake while under load and not in park?

 

[Diesel JD]

Blue smoke might be fuel or oil. It could be a very poor fuel burn. Often these things will smoke like mad on a hill cause the transmission will downshift and you'll be at high rpms. How much blowby do you have when you pull the oil filler cap off? If its puffing light a freight train I'd say you have a problem, if its only lightly puffing like one puff for each cylinder and not especially aggressively on any one cylinder then I would say its not likely that oil blowby is your blue smoke. These engines can burn a lot of oil before you see a lot of smoke. But a bad fuel system or incorrect timing can make the thing into a mosquito fogger. Can you smell if the smoke smells like burnt oil or unburned fuel? Might be time for anew fuel injection system or at least having the injectors tested. Not sure. It must be a lot of smoke if the cops wanted to talk to you about it...maybe they are just picky in your area...good luck with it,
J.D.