Blowby smell in cab

[Randy DeBaillie]

I have a 2006 dodge 3500 srw quadcab with 82000 mi. I started smelling blowby in the cab and noticed a slight miss in the eng @startup. The symptoms appeared all of a sudden. With the truck 6 months out of warranty, I took it to Hesse Automotive in Calamus, Ia to be diagnosed. Dick Hesse uses a super flow dyno to test, monitor, and diagnose virtually any problem with diesel pickups. When he installed his test sender for turbo boost he found dust on the end of the intake plug. Further inspection revealed dirt in the intake tube before the turbo and evidence of dirt getting past the gasket of my amsoil nanofilter air filter. I am very dilligent when servicing my truck, I know the lid was properly closed and locked down on the stock air filter box. The gasket on the air filter is the same thickness as a fleetguard filter but the density of the amsoil gasket seems firmer. I"m not sure if the integrity of the stock housing was compromised because of this. Chrysler has no answers for me but did inform me that an engine damaged by dusting is not covered under warranty. Information like that should be made known to owners of turbo dieses at time of purchase.

 

[SierraRam]

So what is the actual damage to engine, what kind of tests did the mechanic perform? Did you noticed dust in the intake when you did the last filter maintenance?

 

[rscurtis]

I saw an Amsoil filter for this application several years ago where the pleats were not sealed at the end. IMO, that filter was not up to their usual quality standards. It looked like something I made in my basement.

 

[mwilson]

Did they perform a manometer test????



Poached the info below from another forum...



Good Engine

63 liters per minute(2. 5" water rise = 5" of water) @ 2200rpm,

76 L/Min (3. 5" rise) @ 2500rpm

85 L/Min (4. 5" rise) @ 2800rpm.



Worn engine that needs rebuilding are roughly double i. e.

126 L/Min(10. 5"rise) @ 2200rpm

152 L/Min(14. 5"rise) @ 2500rpm

170 L/Min(17"rise) @ 2800 rpm



Mike.

 

[NIsaacs]

Just a thought, but did you change brands of engine oil? Rotella stinks when new. The miss might not be related.



Nick

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Could it be the crank case engine filter under the valve cover? Mine was gunked up and spitting a lilttle bit of oil down the engine block, therefore making the blowby stench in the cab.

 

[Bob4x4]

There has never been any warranty from an engine

Builder covering damage from things outside their control

Overheating,no oil changing,and an aftermarket air

Filter that allowed dirt to pass would fit

Right into this category

 

[LNaugle]

pull the oil fill cap when running and observe... . let me know what you see.

 

[Randy DeBaillie]

I had the eng oil analized before I took it to the shop. The results came back high in silicon, aluminum, iron, and chromium. I have always used FS brand suprex gold 15w 40 oil, the same as I use in all my tractors. Nick, your right about the smell emitted after an oil change. Mine would alway smell for about 500 miles and then go away. But this was different, it never went away. Whenever idling the truck, the smell came right in the cab. Dick diagnosed the truck on the dyno. He measured the amount of blowby, it was excessive. Hp numbers were virtually the same as when he worked on the truck 5 years ago and installed a custom program for power. . 380 rwhp and 750 torque. With all the testing Dick found #1 and #6 cylinders to be weak. With no intention of trading the truck, he pulled the eng. #1 cylinder had a broken to ring and that ring groove was very worn. #6 cylinder had very worn piston rings and ring grooves. The bore on all cylinders was worn excessivly near the top of the ring travel. I live in Illinois and farm with this truck. I have many mods installed and am very proud of my truck. After harvest the truck is stored for the winter so it is completely rust free. I,ve been reading the tdr for 15 years and always made notes as to what I'd like to change on my truck. Here's what we did with the engine. cummins recon short block and head, no additional changes to the programming, dynomite diesel custom turbo for heavy pulling- 30,000 lb plus gross, dynomite diesel 25 hp injectors and also their custom camshaft, arp head studs, afe proguard 7 air filter and cold air box. Mods that I have installed over the 5 years inc ats 5 star tc and valve body, billet flywheel, 1 piece rear driveshaft, dynatrack lockout front hubs, 4. 56 gears, 3 gauge a pillar pod, traction bars on rear axle, 285 75 17 nitto durra grappler load range e tires. Dick put the truck back on the dyno for a complete test and break in period. He checked all temps, pressures, and was very satisfied with the results, especially the turbo, which is extremely efficient and quick to spool up. The final number came in at 515 rwhp and 955 rw torque

 

[SierraRam]

Very nice.

 

[Nyoest]

What air filter are you using now?

 

[NIsaacs]

Wow, you don't mess around and I like your loyalty to your truck! Sounds like an awesome, off highway towing rig, built for farm/ranch use. I don't know what the afe Proguard 7 is, but with all your farm equipment I am sure you know how important air filtration is in a dusty farm environment. Some equipment has better than others in this department. Thanks for the update, good reading info!



Nick

 

[Bob4x4]

What air filter are you using now?

AFE Pro Guard 7

 

[Nyoest]

It sounds like you have a very well equipped and knowledgable repair shop!
Since you have such good documentation of horsepower/tq numbers it would be interesting to fit the stock airbox & filter and see what the loss is.

I toured the cummins plant at Columbus and I rember them making a fair sized stink about air filters on the 6. 7s and to only use OEM. . It seemed that they had gone so far as testing aftermarket filters to determine the mode of failure. It was of the few lectures that they used definitive terms.

 

[TGVET]

Could it be the crank case engine filter under the valve cover? Mine was gunked up and spitting a lilttle bit of oil down the engine block, therefore making the blowby stench in the cab.

First, I took the plastic (vanity cover) off long ago. I too had blow-by weeping from the breather tube. I cured that with a hose clamp, no more weeping oil on the valve cover. I was told though that the "filter" should not need to be replaced. I am doing mine soon.



However, roughly 10K ago, when I serviced my transmission, afterward I noticed odor into the cab, check my stick and I did have more than should be in the pan but not what I though was that much so I left it.

 

[TGVET]

It sounds like you have a very well equipped and knowledgable repair shop!

Since you have such good documentation of horsepower/tq numbers it would be interesting to fit the stock airbox & filter and see what the loss is.



I toured the cummins plant at Columbus and I rember them making a fair sized stink about air filters on the 6. 7s and to only use OEM. . It seemed that they had gone so far as testing aftermarket filters to determine the mode of failure. It was of the few lectures that they used definitive terms.

I've used the AFE PG7 since almost new, with a slip-on pre-filter, I have two of them so when I'm ready to swap one to clean I have the other one oiled stored in a plastic bag ready to go. I'd like to know what Cummin's results were of "their testing"??

 

[Nyoest]

They didn't show any data values, they just talked about the failures and short comings of other air filters.

 

[TGVET]

They didn't show any data values, they just talked about the failures and short comings of other air filters.

I thought about the Amsoil filter (as a dealer) and other dry filters, for now I'm sticking to the AFE and regular maintenance.