Injector problem or just OCD kicking in?

[Zoomschwortz]

Since I have only run 2 tanks of diesel in my 2006 5.9 Ram, that just turned 30,000 original miles, I consider myself as the newest of newbies for Cummins trucks, so I apologize in advance if this sounds stupid.

My truck is running great with no missing or what I would consider a lack of power, but then again, I’m new to these trucks.

I have been noticing a diesel smell in the when the truck is fully warmed up and I happen to be in stop and go traffic light traffic. At first I dismissed it as exhaust from semi trucks and diesel pickups that were also in traffic, but there has been few times that there were no other diesel trucks around, so, I start reading and reading and have found a whole bunch of information.

Looking under the hood and under the truck, I see no leaks. I thought I saw a leak on the rubber hose that is attached to what I believe is an oil cooler that is located on the drivers side near the firewall, but on closer inspection the very shiny portion of the rubber hose is dry and doesn’t discolor a white paper towel when rubbed. Just below the shiny area the same hose is dusty.

In reading different threads, it has been said that smells coming into the cab can be a leaky injector and that a leaky injector will cause white exhaust smoke upon start up. Our outside temperature like this morning is in the 20’s or has been in the 40’s and pouring rain and when I have started the cold engine, for 1-3 minutes there is a gray haze, but on these same days my gas engined vehicles are also blowing the usual expected whitish exhaust, so I don’t know if my trucks white smoke is from leaky injector or cold temps and lots of rain.

Yesterday when I got home and with the engine still running, it seemed to me that there was a much more pronounced smell on the passenger side of the engine, but no visual or audible sign of any exhaust leak.

Do these engines in good shape make white smoke on cold or rainy days whe temps are in the 40’s or lower?

Thanks for your time.
Ken

 

[AEdelheit]

I wouldn't be surprised if there is some carbon build up with that low of miles, Cummins like to be worked hard not just casual Sunday drives. I would start by hooking up a fairly heavy trailer , 10k or so, and work it hard like full throttle up a steep grade to get the engine hot for a few hours , burn off all the built up carbon and then see how it does, I bet it will be better.

 

[Prairie Dog]

30K?
Maybe paint is still burning off parts of the eng!

 

[Zoomschwortz]

I wouldn't be surprised if there is some carbon build up with that low of miles, Cummins like to be worked hard not just casual Sunday drives. I would start by hooking up a fairly heavy trailer , 10k or so, and work it hard like full throttle up a steep grade to get the engine hot for a few hours , burn off all the built up carbon and then see how it does, I bet it will be better.

The original owner passed away a few months ago. He was 90 when he died, but he used the truck to pull his 10,000 lb 5th wheel and the lie o meter said something like 13.4 mpg for the last 3,400+ miles, so while I don’t believe that he beat the truck, I do believe that a lot of the miles were with the 5th wheel in tow.

I would not be surprised that the first 7years saw more miles than the last 7 years, so it could have sat a lot more the last few years after his wife passed away.

 

[Zoomschwortz]

30K?
Maybe paint is still burning off parts of the eng!

Could be

 

[AEdelheit]

The original owner passed away a few months ago. He was 90 when he died, but he used the truck to pull his 10,000 lb 5th wheel and the lie o meter said something like 13.4 mpg for the last 3,400+ miles, so while I don’t believe that he beat the truck, I do believe that a lot of the miles were with the 5th wheel in tow.

I would not be surprised that the first 7years saw more miles than the last 7 years, so it could have sat a lot more the last few years after his wife passed away.

Well sorry to hear the original owner passed away but glad to hear the truck was used to tow, if its been a while since it had a load on it I would still work it hard for a few hours. My truck always runs a little smoother after a heavy load if its been a while.

 

[Zoomschwortz]

Yesterday I filled the tank and added 16oz of Diesel Kleen and drove around 25 miles before parking the truck. I know the original owner did a 400 mile round trip pulling his 5th wheel just a few weeks before he passed away, but I really have no idea how many miles he put on the truck these past 3-4 years and could have been driving with old diesel in the truck that could have made the fuels system a little dirty.

This morning when I fired up the truck, it was about 28 degrees outside and as soon as I fired it up (it starts easy without using the grid heater) and ran to the back of the truck. At first the exhaust was clear, but after a few seconds the exhaust became hazy white, but it was not hard to see through and it certainly was not a big long lasting cloud. The haze blows out horizontally about 10 feet and disappears.

I have read some opinions that there should be no smoke when starting a cold engine, but is this really true?

I decided to take they truck for a 150 mile round trip that included a bunch of long and fairly steep hills. I was empty, but on the hills I tried to have 50%-80% load on the truck per the Edge CTS2 Monitor. The truck ran flawlessly and tomorrow I’ll see if the Diesel Kleen made any difference in cold engine start up white haze.

Is it really true that there should be no white smoke when starting a cold engine, even if the temperature is below freezing or in the 40’s and raining?

Thanks again.
Ken

 

[Killer223]

double post. sorry.

 

[Killer223]

get aftermarket fuel filtration on it ASAP.
the white you're seeing is likely steam from hot exhaust. at those temps you shouldn't even need to wait to start it, jump in a start cranking. it should fire off in a second or two.

 

[Zoomschwortz]

get aftermarket fuel filtration on it ASAP.
the white you're seeing is likely steam from hot exhaust. at those temps you shouldn't even need to wait to start it, jump in a start cranking. it should fire off in a second or two.

I added a Glacier Bay fuel filter a few weeks ago.

I used the grid heater for a few weeks until I started reading that it wasn’t needed and only drained the batteries. It does start up with no problems and runs smoothly without using the grid heater.

Do you get white haze from your truck on cold mornings? If you do, at what outside temperature does the white haze go away?

I’m guessing if it’s 70 and I’m getting startup smoke, I have problems.
Sorry about the questions, but I plan on taking some long trips in a few months and I sure don’t want to wash down a cylinder, but on the other hand, I don’t want to start tearing into the engine and find nothing is wrong.

Thanks
Ken

 

[Mschuman88]

Hey Ken,

Don’t know if this helps but I bought an ‘07 a year ago with only 40k on it. I have 60k on it now.

Mostly stock with a straight through exhaust. I live in Wisconsin.

Yesterday was in the teens. Had my truck plugged in all night before I started. It was definitely showing a white, hazy exhaust like what you normally see from other vehicles on cold mornings. I use Howe’s and power service additive.

It’s 20 now, and I forgot to plug it in last night. I’ll let you know what I find this morning.

Also, I do get a blue haze sometimes on start up from my truck that goes away. At first I was worried that it was valve seals, rings, injectors, maybe turbo etc. but the truck doesn’t use any oil and the performance has been great so far so I’m just keeping an eye on it.

 

[Zoomschwortz]

Hey Ken,

Don’t know if this helps but I bought an ‘07 a year ago with only 40k on it. I have 60k on it now.

Mostly stock with a straight through exhaust. I live in Wisconsin.

Yesterday was in the teens. Had my truck plugged in all night before I started. It was definitely showing a white, hazy exhaust like what you normally see from other vehicles on cold mornings. I use Howe’s and power service additive.

It’s 20 now, and I forgot to plug it in last night. I’ll let you know what I find this morning.

Also, I do get a blue haze sometimes on start up from my truck that goes away. At first I was worried that it was valve seals, rings, injectors, maybe turbo etc. but the truck doesn’t use any oil and the performance has been great so far so I’m just keeping an eye on it.

Thank you for this information.

I haven’t timed it, but I’m guessing that it stops within 3-5 minutes and I don’t see the haze when I start driving.

After spending a few days searching for and reading white smoke threads, they make it sound like it is always a kiss of death and should never be seen on a diesel truck under any circumstances.

It didn’t help the matter that I installed the Glacier Bay Fuel filter a few weeks ago. I used Teflon tape on the threads and kept it off the first 2-3 threads to make sure it didn’t get into the pump and injectors, but after reading the threads, I began 2nd guessing myself and wondering if I screwed up.

Thanks again
Ken

 

[Mschuman88]

Enjoy your new truck, congrats!

Thank you for this information.

I haven’t timed it, but I’m guessing that it stops within 3-5 minutes and I don’t see the haze when I start driving.

After spending a few days searching for and reading white smoke threads, they make it sound like it is always a kiss of death and should never be seen on a diesel truck under any circumstances.

It didn’t help the matter that I installed the Glacier Bay Fuel filter a few weeks ago. I used Teflon tape on the threads and kept it off the first 2-3 threads to make sure it didn’t get into the pump and injectors, but after reading the threads, I began 2nd guessing myself and wondering if I screwed up.

Thanks again
Ken

 

[AEdelheit]

All my 5.9s have smoked a little on cold start, I would not be the least bit worried with what you are describing. One of the problems with fourms is they make everything sound like the end of the world - oh you have a little bit of white smoke on cold start? - the world is ending! Oh you run 50psi in stead of 60 psi in the rear? - the world is ending..... and so on.....

It sounds like you found a great truck and will have years of trouble free use out of it!

 

[Jim W]

Yesterday I filled the tank and added 16oz of Diesel Kleen and drove around 25 miles before parking the truck. I know the original owner did a 400 mile round trip pulling his 5th wheel just a few weeks before he passed away, but I really have no idea how many miles he put on the truck these past 3-4 years and could have been driving with old diesel in the truck that could have made the fuels system a little dirty.

Ken,
One thing I think you are adding to much fuel additive to your fuel. I add just 1oz to every 5 gallons of fuel. Or per the formula on the Power service page you can use 1oz for every 3 gallons of fuel. So, a 35-gallon tank should only need between 7oz to 11oz of Power Service treatment for 35 gallons. Not the 16oz’z that you are adding. You would than add only the required amount of treatment per fuel added. An example would be if you add 21 gallons of diesel fuel, you would than add 7oz at a 1:400 treatment ratio.

I use my grid heater all of the time on my 2008 truck, ever since new. I also use the glow plugs on my wife's 2011 VW Jetta TDI. I have been around diesel engines for 50+ years and the only time I have seen diesel engines have white smoke is upon start-up, is due to the lack of starting aids. Pre-Combustion chamber “Cat” engines always had white smoke, if Ether was not used to help aid in starting them in the winter. Once the engine was warmed up and you had complete burn of the fuel no white smoke would occur.

You can also see if you are over fueling and leaking fuel into the oil by doing an oil analysis of the engine oil. When the oil sample is sent in you will get a report back telling you how much fuel dilution of the engine oil has occurred. On my 6.7L engine I have always been less than1% fuel dilution in three gallons of oil at 7,500 miles.

 

[Mschuman88]

Great point. That's one of the reasons I like this forum so much vs. some of the others I've posted in. There's a lot of clarifying questions asked before posting a response.

All my 5.9s have smoked a little on cold start, I would not be the least bit worried with what you are describing. One of the problems with fourms is they make everything sound like the end of the world - oh you have a little bit of white smoke on cold start? - the world is ending! Oh you run 50psi in stead of 60 psi in the rear? - the world is ending..... and so on.....

It sounds like you found a great truck and will have years of trouble free use out of it!

 

[Killer223]

no need for fuel additives, just good quality diesel from a high turnover place. good oil, changed about every 500 engine hours. stop worrying. enjoy the truck.

 

[Ozymandias]

Mine makes also a little white at cold start, nothing to worry about.

If your truck has the Oxi Cat still in it, that collects moisture for the first moments after start and then releases it as it heats up. Like a Gasser.

 

[Zoomschwortz]

Thank you Everyone for all of your information, it puts my mind at ease.

Diesel Kleen:
I don’t know if the previous owner had ever used a fuel additives, so I figured I would give it a try. The directions say for fast cleaning add 32oz to 50gal, so I figured 16oz for 35gal would be a compromise between fast clean and regular. I have 16oz left and will add it as recommended until the bottle is empty.

The exhaust system is all stock and includes the catalytic converter. I may be the only person that has put the throttle at or near full throttle to see what the boost and fuel rail pressures are. I have only done it a few times, but maybe it has been enough to get the CAT hot and that could possibly be part of what I have been smelling.
As I have been driving, I have noticed that if someone is burning brush or leaves, within a second or two I smell it in the truck, so I could be smelling my CAT or another truck that had been at the light 30 seconds before me.

Well, today is fluid flush day for the radiator, transmission, power steering and brake system and then all of the fluids and filters will be fresh.

Smoke:
For those that have white smoke on start up, do you still have the smoke in the summer when temperatures are 60 degrees and above?

Thanks again to everyone for your help.
Ken

 

[AEdelheit]

My truck has 175k on it and there will be a light haze on start up in the summer, im sure my injectors are worn but not at the point of doing any damage. If you have only ever put the truck full throttle a few times then put a load on it and do it some more, going near full throttle with an unloaded truck will not create enough heat to do much. If you have any long grades you could hit with your foot atleast 1/2 - 3/4 throttle to maintain speed that will create the heat you need to burn off carbon.

I should add if you can tow a load up hill and really load the engine turn overdrive off so it is in 3rd gear lock up to prevent transmission damage and keep trans temp down, RPMs around 2400-2800 RPM and it will pull that grade all day long.