1. Describe the problem you are having in detail:
Sudden loss of power and lots of white smoke even at idle. Obvious miss on at least one cylinder when warm, runs smoother when cold. Oil level was at full yesterday and is overfull now. Oil is not milky, coolant doesn't appear to have oil in it.
The more complete story is I've had this truck since it was new (well, originally it was my dad's truck, and now it's mine). The only issue it's ever had was the IP PMD failed and the whole pump was replaced under warranty. The PMD failed again after the warranty was up, and my dad bought a kit to remote mount the PMD behind the bumper. I don't use the truck a lot, only when I need a truck for something (maybe 2 to 4 times a month now - some months more, some months less, but very little use). Only issue I've noticed lately was the temp gauge would stay quite low, and never come up to proper temperature, so I figured the thermostat must've been stuck open. I always kept an eye on the gauge and it was always staying low - just a little off the bottom of the gauge. I've been meaning to fix it, but because it isn't used much, hadn't gotten around to it yet. So yesterday my neighbor comes and asks me if he can borrow my truck to pick up some large stuff from work. Sure, whatever, let me just check the oil to make sure it isn't low (I hadn't checked it in a few weeks, wanted to check it before someone else is borrowing it). Hmm, the oil level was at full, and I would've expected it to be down at least a little. Possibly the first clue
So he uses it today, and when he brings it back, big issue. Temp gauge is up close to 100C, coolant has obviously come out of the overflow of the coolant bottle. When I cranked it, one of the cylinders definitely cranked harder than the rest, but it started. It's blowing white smoke, missing on at least one cylinder, and has very little power. Smoke smells to me like raw diesel. Oil level is now substantially higher than it was yesterday (fuel in the oil??) Let it sit in his driveway for a few hours, and went back to restart it and drive it back to my driveway. Before attempting to start it again, I wanted to remove the coolant cap to check for exhaust coming out of the coolant bottle, but the cap wouldn't open (maybe it was still too warm even though it was a lot cooler than it was earlier). Again, one cylinder took more effort to crank than the others, but it started and ran, but rather poorly and rough, and still plenty of white smoke. Pulled it into my driveway, and it was running better, smooth, not missing, almost normal, little to no smoke. Shut it off, and restarted it within a minute - normal crank (no extra effort on any cylinder), running pretty smooth. Pulled dip stick, no blow-by. Then after a minute or so, it got rough again and the smoke came back. Shut it off after that and haven't done anything further.
Is it an injector that failed and is just dumping fuel into one of the cylinders? The injectors are original and have never been changed. How to check for that vs something worse? Just check coolant bottle for pressure right after starting wen cold? What are my next steps?
2. Year of truck/engine. 1995
3. Odometer reading (indicate miles or kilometers). 253,000 km
4. Indicate the model number on the Injection pump (starts DS4 or DB2......).
5. Indicate if you know if it’s a 1500, 2500, 2500HD, 3500, 3500HD. 1500
6. Do you have an EGR on the engine? (An F or an S engine code 8th VIN digit) yes, but the egr valve has been disconnected for years
7. Air Filter condition (visual check). Checked within the last couple of months - Fine
8. Fuel filter condition (freshly changed, mileage since changed). - Hasn't been changed in who knows how long, but no issues with power previously
9. Location of PMD/FSD? (ex. on pump/remote over intake, behind bumper). Behind bumper
9a. If remote mounted, describe wiring harness (homemade or purchased from which vendor). Purchased from vendor
9b. Indicate the location and condition of the FSD/IP grounding wire. ?
10. Outside Temperature (C or F). It was low 80's °F today
11. Service Engine Light while running?- on/off/intermittent (because of disconnected EGR)
11a. Service Engine light does glow during start/cranking/bulb check: Yes/No
12.Have you scanned for engine codes? Yes/No
12a. List exact results on engine codes.
13. Condition of Battery terminals (removed, cleaned and tightened). Not recently
14. Known condition and age of Batteries. New 2 or 3 years ago
14a. Are batteries a matched set of same age? Yes
15. Condition of Major Grounds (removed, cleaned and tightened) Not recently
15a Have the batteries been individually load tested? No
16. Does engine crank, or "turn over"? Yes
16a. Does engine start and run? Yes - varies from running poorly to well
17. If engine does not start- Crack injector line: do you have fuel? Yes/No Engine starts
18. Does your Wait To Start light come on? Glow Plug light? Yes
18a.Number of seconds WTS light is lit. Probably 10 or so seconds - seems the same as it's always been
19. Engine Cranking speed (if you have an accurate tachometer). ?
20. Are you experiencing Stalling? No, but if I ran it longer, maybe?
20a. Describe the event (upon startup only, down the road, hit a bump, etc...) Pretty well described above
20b. Do you notice loss of dash or instruments? No
21. Check turbo inlet and air filter for obstructions. Naturally Aspirated - no turbo
22. In a no-hot start, pour a bottle of room-temp water on the injection pump. Does it start now? Issue isn't hot start / cold start related
23. Lift pump test - Describe results. Not done
24. Upon cold start, does the radiator hose get hard quickly? Yes (presumably from stuck open thermostat)
25. Upon cold start, do you have excessive white smoke? Yes
26. Do you have excessive cranking time before the engine starts? No
27. Have you used the block heater? Does it affect engine starting? (only try for starting problems).
28. Are all glow plugs in proper working order? Unsure - doesn't seem in any way related to glow plugs
29. During hard acceleration, do you have excessive black smoke? No
30. Do you have any unusual exhaust smoke issues? Yes, excessive white smoke
31. Turbo check out - No Turbo - Naturally Aspirated
32. Indicate fuel that you are using: #2 Diesel (pretty sure it has some bio diesel in it - whatever's at the pump labeled #2 Diesel)
33. Are you using any fuel additives? If so, please list. Stanadyne additive used in the past, but not recently
34. Upon unscrewing fuel cap, do you have a large vacuum formed in the tank? Yes
35. Do you have any service history available that might pertain to the problem you are having? If so, it's above
36. Please indicate any modifications to the vehicle that might help us diagnose better. Basically as stock as it gets - PMD mounted behind the bumper is the only modification since new
Sudden loss of power and lots of white smoke even at idle. Obvious miss on at least one cylinder when warm, runs smoother when cold. Oil level was at full yesterday and is overfull now. Oil is not milky, coolant doesn't appear to have oil in it.
The more complete story is I've had this truck since it was new (well, originally it was my dad's truck, and now it's mine). The only issue it's ever had was the IP PMD failed and the whole pump was replaced under warranty. The PMD failed again after the warranty was up, and my dad bought a kit to remote mount the PMD behind the bumper. I don't use the truck a lot, only when I need a truck for something (maybe 2 to 4 times a month now - some months more, some months less, but very little use). Only issue I've noticed lately was the temp gauge would stay quite low, and never come up to proper temperature, so I figured the thermostat must've been stuck open. I always kept an eye on the gauge and it was always staying low - just a little off the bottom of the gauge. I've been meaning to fix it, but because it isn't used much, hadn't gotten around to it yet. So yesterday my neighbor comes and asks me if he can borrow my truck to pick up some large stuff from work. Sure, whatever, let me just check the oil to make sure it isn't low (I hadn't checked it in a few weeks, wanted to check it before someone else is borrowing it). Hmm, the oil level was at full, and I would've expected it to be down at least a little. Possibly the first clue
So he uses it today, and when he brings it back, big issue. Temp gauge is up close to 100C, coolant has obviously come out of the overflow of the coolant bottle. When I cranked it, one of the cylinders definitely cranked harder than the rest, but it started. It's blowing white smoke, missing on at least one cylinder, and has very little power. Smoke smells to me like raw diesel. Oil level is now substantially higher than it was yesterday (fuel in the oil??) Let it sit in his driveway for a few hours, and went back to restart it and drive it back to my driveway. Before attempting to start it again, I wanted to remove the coolant cap to check for exhaust coming out of the coolant bottle, but the cap wouldn't open (maybe it was still too warm even though it was a lot cooler than it was earlier). Again, one cylinder took more effort to crank than the others, but it started and ran, but rather poorly and rough, and still plenty of white smoke. Pulled it into my driveway, and it was running better, smooth, not missing, almost normal, little to no smoke. Shut it off, and restarted it within a minute - normal crank (no extra effort on any cylinder), running pretty smooth. Pulled dip stick, no blow-by. Then after a minute or so, it got rough again and the smoke came back. Shut it off after that and haven't done anything further.
Is it an injector that failed and is just dumping fuel into one of the cylinders? The injectors are original and have never been changed. How to check for that vs something worse? Just check coolant bottle for pressure right after starting wen cold? What are my next steps?
2. Year of truck/engine. 1995
3. Odometer reading (indicate miles or kilometers). 253,000 km
4. Indicate the model number on the Injection pump (starts DS4 or DB2......).
5. Indicate if you know if it’s a 1500, 2500, 2500HD, 3500, 3500HD. 1500
6. Do you have an EGR on the engine? (An F or an S engine code 8th VIN digit) yes, but the egr valve has been disconnected for years
7. Air Filter condition (visual check). Checked within the last couple of months - Fine
8. Fuel filter condition (freshly changed, mileage since changed). - Hasn't been changed in who knows how long, but no issues with power previously
9. Location of PMD/FSD? (ex. on pump/remote over intake, behind bumper). Behind bumper
9a. If remote mounted, describe wiring harness (homemade or purchased from which vendor). Purchased from vendor
9b. Indicate the location and condition of the FSD/IP grounding wire. ?
10. Outside Temperature (C or F). It was low 80's °F today
11. Service Engine Light while running?- on/off/intermittent (because of disconnected EGR)
11a. Service Engine light does glow during start/cranking/bulb check: Yes/No
12.Have you scanned for engine codes? Yes/No
12a. List exact results on engine codes.
13. Condition of Battery terminals (removed, cleaned and tightened). Not recently
14. Known condition and age of Batteries. New 2 or 3 years ago
14a. Are batteries a matched set of same age? Yes
15. Condition of Major Grounds (removed, cleaned and tightened) Not recently
15a Have the batteries been individually load tested? No
16. Does engine crank, or "turn over"? Yes
16a. Does engine start and run? Yes - varies from running poorly to well
17. If engine does not start- Crack injector line: do you have fuel? Yes/No Engine starts
18. Does your Wait To Start light come on? Glow Plug light? Yes
18a.Number of seconds WTS light is lit. Probably 10 or so seconds - seems the same as it's always been
19. Engine Cranking speed (if you have an accurate tachometer). ?
20. Are you experiencing Stalling? No, but if I ran it longer, maybe?
20a. Describe the event (upon startup only, down the road, hit a bump, etc...) Pretty well described above
20b. Do you notice loss of dash or instruments? No
21. Check turbo inlet and air filter for obstructions. Naturally Aspirated - no turbo
22. In a no-hot start, pour a bottle of room-temp water on the injection pump. Does it start now? Issue isn't hot start / cold start related
23. Lift pump test - Describe results. Not done
24. Upon cold start, does the radiator hose get hard quickly? Yes (presumably from stuck open thermostat)
25. Upon cold start, do you have excessive white smoke? Yes
26. Do you have excessive cranking time before the engine starts? No
27. Have you used the block heater? Does it affect engine starting? (only try for starting problems).
28. Are all glow plugs in proper working order? Unsure - doesn't seem in any way related to glow plugs
29. During hard acceleration, do you have excessive black smoke? No
30. Do you have any unusual exhaust smoke issues? Yes, excessive white smoke
31. Turbo check out - No Turbo - Naturally Aspirated
32. Indicate fuel that you are using: #2 Diesel (pretty sure it has some bio diesel in it - whatever's at the pump labeled #2 Diesel)
33. Are you using any fuel additives? If so, please list. Stanadyne additive used in the past, but not recently
34. Upon unscrewing fuel cap, do you have a large vacuum formed in the tank? Yes
35. Do you have any service history available that might pertain to the problem you are having? If so, it's above
36. Please indicate any modifications to the vehicle that might help us diagnose better. Basically as stock as it gets - PMD mounted behind the bumper is the only modification since new
