Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Blue exhaust smoke, Turbo?

[tmacc]

So, in the one mile from a neighborhood jobsite to the house, when I pulled into the carport, there was a ton of blue smoke coming out of the exhaust. The engine doesn't have a miss and I couldn't tell if there was any loss of power since I was only going 20-25 MPH, but it seemed normal. I'm looking for suggestions on where to start to trouble shoot this thing. The truck now has 251k miles on it. No external oil leakage. Thanks in advance.

Tom

 

[tmacc]

Minor update.

It was almost 7 and down around 10* when I pulled in last night. When I started the truck this morning, (at 2*) there wasn't any visible smoke. Don't know if that means anything, but thought I'd throw it out there. I'll get it fully warmed up later and see what happens.

 

[JerryNelson]

I get some blue smoke at first start up then it goes a way

 

[tmacc]

OK. You guys are probably tired of this thread by now, but here's the latest update... ..... The truck smoke most when at low boost situations like idle and starting from a stop. It's really bad at idle after it's warmed up to normal operating temps. Smells like asphalt.

 

[WestTN]

Check to see if oil is seeping from the turbo inlet. If it is, the turbo will need repair very soon as a total oil seal failure will cause engine killing runaway.

 

[tmacc]

Thanks Dennis. D*mn, that was one of the easiest trouble shooting tips I've ever had! But... ... yup, turbo's gone. Oil running out of the turbo inlet. Got a local (SLC) quote of about $1000 for a rebuilt turbo and installation. Any suggestions out there for another source for a rebuilt turbo? Problem is we're right in the heart of winter in Northern Utah and I don't have access to an indoor garage. I'm not sure I'd want to mess with the bolts on 10 year old truck w/ 250K on it either. I have some research to do.

 

[jhoughton]

If you are still running stock turbo. Do a search on ebay for an HX35W, I believe it is the correct one for your application. There are many listed on there starting at $299 and change. 1K seems high for a rebuild and labor to remove and replace. Just a thought if you decide to take on by yourself or a friend that may have a shop. It could be done in the weather but it would be a miserable task.

 

[S.Morris]

Just what exactly is winter weather like in Northern Utah?





Been to Moab in summer.....

 

[tmacc]

jhoughton, Good tip on checking ebay. The shop that quoted $1000 said it took about two hours to do the job, so I figured it couldn't be too bad. Ive done my own injectors and replaced the VP$$ a few years ago. The only thing that worries me is 10 year old nuts and bolts. I'll check around. That shop advertises in TDR, so they were the first ones I called, but there are plenty of diesel repair shop in and around the Salt Lake Valley.

S. Morris
Northern Utah is a beautiful place pretty much year round. We live at 7000' in the pines and as long as you ski, snowboard, or ride snowmobiles, winters are just incredible. Although this winter has been colder than ones in the recent past. Many mornings with the temps hovering one side of zero or the other. We've gotten about 200'' of snowfall this winter so far and 300 to 400" is normal. We're remodeling contractors, so if we have outside construction in the winter, it can be a challenge. Summers are dry and no bugs, at least were we are. We have about 350 miles of mountain bike and hiking trails in the Park City area. Moose wander through the yard regularly and that's pretty cool to see. Moab is only about 4-5 hours away and we go down there several times a year. BTW it may be hard to believe if you've been there in the Summer, but Moab regularly gets into the single and minus single digit temps in the winter. We're only a days drive from most of the places we like recreate in, like Central Idaho or Southern Utah/Northern Arizona or Western Colorado. When we moved here 6 years ago, we figured it could be a jump off place for somewhere else if we didn't like it , but it's a cool place to live. Guess we here for the duration

When I lived back east, I took many trips up into Ontario and Quebec to whitewater kayak. It's a beautiful place as well. My Great-Grandfather was from MacCallum, Ontario. (Maybe that's McCallum, Ont. )

 

[tmacc]

SO... ... I got another quote from a shop that wanted $1600 to replace the turbo charger. When I mentioned that there are HX35 on ebay for $3-350, he seemed surprised and then said if I want to buy one, he'd install it for a "couple hundred bucks".

I talked to a very helpful guy a BAE Turbo Systems who said it sounds like a seal kit, $70, would probably take care of the problem. They also have service manuels online. He said it was fairly easy to do the rebuild myself. I'm going to explore this option. There is a difference between the HX35 and HY35 seal kits, so if you go this route, make sure you have the right serial number off the turbo. Not an easy thing to see after 10 years of use.



There's oil dripping out of the intercooler. What a mess. I guess that will be fun to try and clean.

 

[KKlingbeil]

There's oil dripping out of the intercooler. What a mess. I guess that will be fun to try and clean.

As far as the oil in the intercooler goes, I would recommend pulling it out and washing with lots of hot water and dawn dish soap. Soaking it may be the best to start with to help get the oil broke down. Either way it doesn't sound like a very fun job.

I talked to a very helpful guy a BAE Turbo Systems who said it sounds like a seal kit, $70, would probably take care of the problem.

As I'm sure you may know, generally when the seal goes out, the bearing/bushing usually has something to do with it. I agree I dont think it would be that hard to rebuild, but if your tearing it apart to put seals in, you might as well put all the bushings in as well! Good luck!

 

[tmacc]

Good point on the bearings, Kevin. I thought I had seen something along those lines, but I went and looked at the exploded diagram that is on the Ebay listing and the first item is (2) Journal bearings

Turbo Rebuild Kit for Holset HY35W 4027964 by BAE - eBay (item 180521824432 end time Feb-11-11 20:46:33 PST)

They appear to be the only bearing/bushings in the turbo, so I assume I'm covered. Still haven't decided whether to tackle this, but I prolly will.

It seems that I recall that a special wrench may be required to get at one of the nuts to get the turbo off. I think I have a turbo manifold gasket kicking around somewhere, but..... and then I guess there's some kind of gasket between the turbo and the exhaust down pipe.