Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Breather tube smoke

[BoeingDiesel]

I'm getting a lot of smoke out of the breather tube. With the truck idling I can look down and see a steady discharge of blue smoke coming out of it and now there is a cake of oil soaked dirt on the transmission lines. I've always kept the engine clean from top to bottom which leads me to believe that this is something that just happened. In reading the other posts on the subject this seems t be normal except for one thing. On my drive home this evening I could see a light haze of smoke in the persons headlights behind me. I've never seen this before and I'm wondering, (since this is a high mileage engine 244,800), if this could be the beginning of a serious problem; rings, bearings?? There isn't any coolant contamination in the oil and the truck runs as strong as usual. I've always changed oil @ 5000 mile intervals, etc. I've never had any major mechanical issues with the truck and to date I've replaced 2 lift pumps and a new turbo several years ago. The truck has spent probably 90% of it's life on the southern Cal. freeways and is averaging 20 mpg. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[GCULP]

you're gonna love this if it fixes it. check the large vacuum line from vacuum pump and make sure it is connected to the pump. it is right below the VP44. I knocked mine off one day fiddling around with the fuel line and had exactly the same symptoms.

 

[BlitzkriegSSII]

About 2 weeks ago i popped my head gasket, but it only leaked oil. Before i popped my head gasket my truck was putting out a lot of blue smoke out the tail pipe, i could see it in head lights and when i started it, the truck would put out a rather large cloud. When i pulled the head i found out that the valve stem seals were worn out, one was missing all the rubber off of it and it was just rolling around. If u pull the exhaust manifold u can look at the valve stems and see if there wet or not. Im not sure if u can replace the seals with the head on the truck or not. An upper gasket set from Cummins is just under $200. 00, not to bad. Good luck and if u want i can send some pics.

 

[BoeingDiesel]

Thanks guys. I'm relatively sure that it's not a head gasket or valve guide seals as there isn't any smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. Vacuum pump? That's interesting you mentioned that because a couple weeks ago the venting system defaulted to defroster only and I figured it was a vacuum leak on the tube going to the control switch. It seems like these 2 things happened about the same time. I'll check it out and post the results. Thanks for your help!

 

[BoeingDiesel]

Hey GCULP, your advice was right on the money. I have no idea how the hose popped off the pump, but it did. Seems to have cured the smoke issue and I got all the vent options back.

Thanks again!

 

[GCULP]

glad I could help and save you some time and $$$.

 

[Joe Mc]

Woo hoo!!! That's a good one to remember - outstanding and thanks for sharing the knowledge - gotta love this site!!!

 

[dsherman]

Hey GCULP, your advice was right on the money. I have no idea how the hose popped off the pump, but it did. Seems to have cured the smoke issue and I got all the vent options back.

Thanks again!

What year is your truck?

 

[BoeingDiesel]

I'm not sure why my truck profile isn't visible; will check that out. My truck is a 1999 2-WD SLT w/auto trans. I haven't done any mods to the truck, and to date, this has been the most trouble free truck I've ever owned. As I mentioned, the truck has been driven mostly on the freeways going to and from LAX or Ont airports and parked for 2-3 days and an occasional road trip. I'm sure that with the high miles something major is on the horizon. I'd buy a new Cummins but not real confident in the new Dodge and the posts I've read on TDR. Hopefully, the 08' trucks will show some improvements