Which magic bottle?

[nitroguy]

I'm planning on having a mechanic do a compression check before I do anything, but to help my smoking problem (doc's been telling me for years...) I'd like to have a plan for moving forward. At walmart, I saw these. Which would you recommend? (let's number each bottle: 1-5 in order from left to right, to make it easier to make suggestions.)

You must be registered for see images attach

To recap: I've got a '93 IDIT with 195k miles on it, that has been smoking a bit, ever increasing to the point now where it's all but undriveable. I'm losing coolant at the rate of 1.5 gallons every 100 miles or so (it's getting expensive!!!). Color of the smoke is white, but it seems to be getting blue-er with time. Observations:
*There's oil in my coolant. Especially in the recovery tank. It's dry of coolant with a 1/4" thick sludge layer on the bottom.
*Coolant recovery bottle has a hose that drops down to the bottom of it. (Could that be the blue smoke? It's sucking up oil from there?)
*There's no coolant in my oil. In the 2,000 miles I've owned it, I haven't had to put a drop of oil in it. Dipstick reads maybe 1/2 quart low, but it's far from the "add" mark, so I left it until I change it (which will be soon, I think).
*Mechanic said there is significant blow-by coming up the dipstick tube when dipstick is removed.
*Injectors are OEM, pump replaced "5 years ago" (whatever that means)
*Glowplugs are unknown, but it starts like a champ no matter what. Worst start was in 15 degree weather after sitting for 2 days unplugged. WTS didn't come on, waited until the clicking, then took 2 seconds of cranking then it fired right up.

Any suggestions? I'll get the comp test done probably Wednesday, but until then, got any advice?

Thanks!!

 

['94IDITurbo7.3]

comp test really won't do much good. it will show that you are leaking somewhere(which you already know). would be much better to do a cylinder leak down test. that will narrow down what part of the engine is leaking.

i take it you don't have another vehicle to drive right now?

i personally don't like running these kinds of things. i would plan on a new oil cooler, new rad, new heater core if you run "block seal". some of those things are meant as a permanent fix, as in you dump a dose in a promptly sell the truck or find another engine.

 

[79jasper]

I would rather walk home than attempt using that ****. Cheap bandaid fix that'll cost you in the long run. Fix it right. Oil in your coolant is probably your oil cooler.

 

[Hydro-idi]

None of that stuff is going to work. You have a major headgasket problem and/or oil cooler seals are gone too. You can try and add those "fix all's" to your coolant if you would like and see if that helps, but prepare for a headgasket job in the near future. I would not continue to run the truck until the problems get fixed. It sounds like the engine may hydrolock soon.....which is no good. If you are mildly mechanically inclined and have the funds to do it, start tearing into it!
These engines are known to have lots of blowby, so that diagnosis of your engine isn't much of a concern in my opinion. Maybe a couple treatments of auto-rx will help your blow-by issues after the major problems are fixed. It helped my engine that's for sure.

 

[nitroguy]

Ok, that helps. Thanks guys. I'm in the weird spot of not wanting to throw dollar after dollar at my truck, but also not wanting to make it "perfect" (mechanic I took it to quoted TOP dollar, because he only makes things "perfect".) While I'd love to have it flawless, budget and time just won't allow.
That said, I also don't want to make things worse. The idea of a magic cure tempted me, but looks like I'll walk away from the temptation.

Blowby: good to know. I'll table that for now.

Head Gaskets: I know that it doesn't mean it's completely ruled out, but the reputable diesel mechanic I bought it from supposedly did them right before I bought it - within a thousand miles. I don't know the full story (did he check for warped heads? Did he do both sides? etc...) but I'd like to think he did a good job. He should have - he charged the Previous Owner $4800 for those new head gaskets!!

Oil Cooler - interesting thought, hasn't been suggested yet. That's the little radiator in front of the big radiator, right? (Sorry, that's my new-ness showing up).

Leak Down Test - what does that entail? (again, sorry, I'm new!). Local mechanic said he "pressurized the coolant system to see if he could see any on the floor, and didn't find any". That's not "leak down," is it?

And as far as doing it myself, you have no idea how much I'd love to!!! In fact, it kills me I can't do more. I'm an ex-mechanical engineer, so my diagnostic brain is going nuts. Unfortunately, I just took over a VERY large job (70+ hours a week), and my family and I just moved here. Any extra time is spent with the fam. That, and I'm not used to the bitter cold here. Seattle was just wet, here it's COLD (like, 6 degrees cold. I think my fingers fall off when it gets that cold!). All that said, if I were to dig in to see if it's the oil cooler, what's the best method of attack on that?

Lastly - I know, lots of questions in this - would a bad oil cooler cause the immense smoke I'm seeing?

Thanks all!

 

[79jasper]

The oil cooler is the tube on the drivers side of the block behind the exhaust manifold. Shouldn't cause smoking.
I believe a leak down test is pressurizing the cylinder and seeing how long it holds.

 

[79jasper]

And at that mileage, to me does sound like an improper install. Maybe missed a head bolt somewhere.

 

['94IDITurbo7.3]

he charged the Previous Owner $4800 for those new head gaskets!!

that is like 6.0L or 6.4L PSD, pull the cab and do head gaskets territory there. holy ****. that is insane.

leak down test pressurizes each cylinder(one at a time, threw the glow plug hole) with the piston at top dead center on compression stroke(so both valves are closed). you take the rad cap off, the oil fill cap off, the intake off, and also walk to the tail pipe and listen there. depending on where you hear air escaping from will tell you what part of the engine is leaking. the engine will naturally have some leak down, but like a comp test there is a limit. once you do a leak down test you will wonder how you ever got along without it and will almost NEVER go back to a comp test.

PS, make sure you don't have a wrench down on the crank pulley when you hook the air hose up to the leak down gauges......if you are a bit off on piston location and put air to it the the crank goes 'round(pretty fast i might add).

 

['94IDITurbo7.3]

provided it is just bad head gaskets and the block is fine and the heads are fine it can be a very affordable job and can be done in a decent amount of time. since you have a turbo i would HIGHLY recommend going with some head studs. they can be had for $400, with studs, washer, and nuts.

 

[nitroguy]

that is like 6.0L or 6.4L PSD, pull the cab and do head gaskets territory there. holy ****. that is insane.

I know! I'm just glad the PO had to foot that bill! But it also makes me think he knew what he was doing. Then again, we know what assuming does...

provided it is just bad head gaskets and the block is fine and the heads are fine it can be a very affordable job

Here's hoping!!

So consensus is bad head gasket install? Shouldn't I have noticed that when I bought the truck, drove it over three mountain passes towing a car and all my belongings? Didn't notice a lack of power, just poor fuel mileage (10mpg).

HIGHLY recommend going with some head studs. they can be had for $400, with studs, washer, and nuts.

Hmm. Hadn't thought about that. I thought those were only necessary on the 6.9's. No?

Thanks!

 

[79jasper]

Head studs are recommended for the 7.3 also. Maybe he didn't really do new headgaskets and just wrote up a bill saying he did. Maybe he used one of those sealants you posted from Walmart. Are you 100% positive it's oil in the overflow tank?

 

[nitroguy]

Are you 100% positive it's oil in the overflow tank?

No, not 100%. But it's dark, black, thick goo. And it floats on top of coolant with an oily sheen. That brings me to 90%, unless you have info for that remaining 10%.

Also, I don't think he just used the sealant. The engine was pulled before I bought it, painted, all new hoses installed, and in great (looking) condition. Here's a photo of it:

You must be registered for see images attach

Here's one of the whole engine compartment:

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[79jasper]

The left one in the picture can look like oil. It has these pellets in it that break when you shake it up. Could easily be mistaken for oil in coolant. Had a family member that used it. They kept wandering why the whole cooling system needed replaced piece after piece.

 

[Wyreth]

hmmm, something else you really want to try before condemning the head gaskets. Test your coolant for combustion gasses. While you're at it, how is your SCA level? When was it last checked? What coolant are you running? Go ahead and read over the cavitation sticky, it has some tests for the block worm.

With oil in the water, it does sound likely that your oil cooler has let go.

I also would like a little more info. What does your exhaust smell like? Is it sweet? Does it smell like diesel and make your eyes burn? Or does it smell like burning oil?

Another thing, with 195k on your original injectors... they're done. No really... they're done. Also the unknown pump is pretty suspect too. You may also be looking at a fuel system replacement.

 

[nitroguy]

hmmm, something else you really want to try before condemning the head gaskets. Test your coolant for combustion gasses. While you're at it, how is your SCA level? When was it last checked? What coolant are you running? Go ahead and read over the cavitation sticky, it has some tests for the block worm.

Good advice. I'll do some reading. I know that the mechanic I bought it from handed me a bottle of Napa Coolant Additive stuff (purply in color, I believe) and said to always add it to the coolant at every oil change. I didn't add it this last gallon and a half of coolant, but did the previous two times. Is that what SCA's are? (nevermind, I'll do some reading, then ask again if I still have questions). I do know that for the previous 5 years the guy I'm sure used the additive. No telling prior to that, but 5 years of good coolant.

With oil in the water, it does sound likely that your oil cooler has let go.

Cool. I'll look into that. Are those expensive or hard to replace?

I also would like a little more info. What does your exhaust smell like? Is it sweet? Does it smell like diesel and make your eyes burn? Or does it smell like burning oil?

This is harder for me, as this is my first diesel truck. Yeah, I think it smells a bit sweet and coolant like (definitely know the smell from hard-worked dirt bikes). But it does have a VERY definite following-an-old-school-bus smell to it too. Sorry I can't be more help here. :-/

Another thing, with 195k on your original injectors... they're done. No really... they're done. Also the unknown pump is pretty suspect too. You may also be looking at a fuel system replacement.

Yeah, this much I pretty well figured out. In fact, I took it to a mechanic here in town to get them replaced, in hopes that was my smoking problem. He was originally VERY impressed with the cleanliness and orderliness of the truck and engine bay. Then after a day, he called back and said "not good". He thought either cracked block or warped heads, and that I should be looking for minimally a new engine, or better yet a new truck; and that a new fuel system was a waste of $1500. I guess I didn't like that answer, so I came on here looking for a better one.

Thanks for all the advice! Keep it coming, I'm going to go check into the "tech articles" library for a few...


[edit] SCA= System Coolant Additive. I just learned me a whole bunch over at http://www.oilburners.net/articles/cavitationartic.html
I'm now officially scared of what I think I have. Perhaps my black sludge is coolant (don't remember it saying "low silicate") and I didn't measure out my SCA's, just dumped in a bottle.

The one thing that has me grasping hope is I have no indications of hydrolock. I get that it's a pretty binary thing, but it starts quickly and easily, and the smoke upon starting is puffs of dark sooty stuff, then it turns white after it's started to get a bit warm. Then bluish at and slightly before operating temp. Then it just stays at the "excessive white and blue" phase.