Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) exhaust brake and white smoke

[Wyomingcowboy]

I'll try to keep this short and sweet - The other day while rowing through the gears pulling onto the interstate (engine and transmission were at operating temps as I was on mile 150 of my trip) I kinda missed a gear and heard a quick grind. That in and of itself is no problem, but now I hear a whine/whistle that seems to be turbp related. When I was accelerating I hit about 3k rpm. The whine sounds gear or bearing related but it is certainly turbo related as I can make it go in and out with boost. This could be normal and I am just now noticing it as my hearing is not good at all and in the last month has been in and out with congestion and is exacerbated with changes in elevation. (Like driving through SW Wyoming/ NE Utah. )

Anyway, today whilw driving down I-80 a short distance and through work areas I noticed a big ol' puff of white smoke whenever the exhaust brake clicked off. Whether I hit the button on andoff or I used the pedal, the result was the same. At first I thought it was cement dust from the road I saw in my mirror but I was able to reproduce it at will. It ONLY happens with the e-brake being switched on and off.

Any ideas as to what in the heck is going on? I have had really wacky readings from the boost gauge recently (from 0-60 with the e brake on) so I checked the coolant level just in case the boost gauge wasn't lying and I might be dealing with a blown head gasket, but the level is fine and there is no mess under the hood. I also did notice that my oil level is low. I'm desperate to try and find a culprit or problem before major damage is done to something again. Please help if you can!

 

[Sticks]

Fuel pressure?

White smoke on a 2nd gen 24v is most commonly a VP issue.

Any codes?

 

[NIsaacs]

Sounds like your turbo is going south. White smoke indicates raw engine oil seeping into the exhaust system. Not sure why the weird boost readings. With the exhaust brake on it should always read zero.



Nick

 

[Wyomingcowboy]

The fuel pressure is questionable, but with the air dog I am betting good. I am currently waiting on a new sending unit as the 4th one from quadzilla is toast. (readings all over the scale like the boost) There are no codes.

What can I do to detrermine if it's the turbo? Pull it off and inspect it somehow, I suppose? When a turbo bites the dust, I should still be able to get home, shouldn't I? My nightmare is to be stranded along I-80 or BFE and have to hitchhike.

 

[FourBarR]

White smoke is unburned fuel not oil. Oil smoke is blue. nothing to do with with turbo.

 

[Wyomingcowboy]

White smoke is unburned fuel not oil. Oil smoke is blue. nothing to do with with turbo.

So then why only after the E brake is clicked on and off? I do know that prior to the split injector tip I NEVER had white smoke. After the rebuild with new cam I now get a little white smoke when it's warming up, and even then only for a short while. Until yesterday I never had it after warm up.

 

[DSeamans]

Turbo

A year and a half ago, I had the same issue. I was losing oil and started leaving a huge white cloud. Got home and pulled the inlet tube off the turbo and found oil. Pulled the inlet to the intercooler and there was a lot of oil. These trucks will actually run on engine oil - I have seen runaway from blown turbo seal filling the intercooler. The jake closed greatly reduces air going through the turbo. If the seal is going, oil pressure is still pumping oil in the system. Open the jake and it's pulling a lot of oil through. And oil through the turbo-intake will make white smoke. I'd check the turbo real close.



Good luck,

Dave

 

[Sticks]

Now that i think about it, I had a piece of ewuipment at work that blew a turbo and all symptoms pointed at injection pump.

Ditto the above, take a real close look at the turbo. Should spin freely by hand and not have any side play.

 

[Wyomingcowboy]

thanks guys! i found some specs on alldata and I'll make it a priority. If you got any other ideas I'm still listenin!

 

[Wyomingcowboy]

I have also noticed that under boost, I am blowing ALOT more black smoke than even a few weeks ago. My K&N (I know how most of you feel about K&N) surely could not be that plugged already. Is that a symptom of a bad turbo as well?

 

[Wyomingcowboy]

I have oil on the charge side of the turbo :{ I also have it in the intake horn.

I didn't take it all the way off and I couldn't get a dial indicater mounted to measure the specs but I can move the compressor wheel up and down and visibly see it move. The bearing radial clearance specs are . 0128" - . 0195" and I've gotta be way outside that if I can see it move with my eyes.

SO, I guess this means my turbo is shot? Anyone have used one for sale? I guess I have an HX35 with my nv5600 manual trans? I couldn't find one on ebay but I'll keep looking. What is a Banks Quick Turbo Assembly? Is it a turbo or something that adds to an existing turbo?



Can I still drive the truck as long as I watch the oil level?

 

[DSeamans]

Oil

What happens is that most of the oil ends up in the intercooler. It builds up so far and then dumps a lot to the engine. Its like adding extra fuel. The higher it revs the more it sucks the oil out of the intercooler. Then comes the runaway. The one I saw ran for over 30 secs after turned off and the computer showed it turned over 8000 rpm! Last I heard the truck still runs, But that can't be good for it.



Dave

 

[NIsaacs]

I would not drive it. If it completely gunny sacks you will loose oil faster than you can put it in. Also the impellers will hit the housings and destroy them selves. My guess is the oil is leaking out the exhaust side as bad as the charge side. Check all the exhaust connections from the turbo back, oil will showup when exhaust soot won't.



Nick

 

[Wyomingcowboy]

Thanks for the advice, fellas. I've rented a car to go to SLC and am gonna buy a used turbo from a yard in GA, hopefully tomorrow. I've also got a rebuild kit on the way. I figue that way I can sell the two used ones and buy a new one from Piers!

 

[hsmith]

And be real careful about the info from Alldata, or as we call "somedata". Often the case will be bad info. Those folks have never had their hands on a hood latch.

 

[Wyomingcowboy]

And be real careful about the info from Alldata, or as we call "somedata". Often the case will be bad info. Those folks have never had their hands on a hood latch.

That's funny - I call it "Somedata" quite often, too. Seems that 90% of the time when you really need something they don't have it.

 

[Wyomingcowboy]

Update: I put a used turbo on that was in seemingly good shape and now I have new problems - I get a crazy sound under heavy acceleration at about 1800-2300+ rpm. It sounds like a plastic bag blowing in the wind and in fact I thought it was my wal mart trash bag attached to the shift lever until I held it still and it is definitely not that. It sounds alomost like air is being sucked into something.

Also, my egt's are CRAZY high! cruising at regular hwy speeds, right where I always am with cruise set, same little stretch of hwy, outside temp, etc. where I used to be around 850-900, I can now easily hit 1300+. WTF?!?!?! I am about to yank my hair out and bash my head on the motor!

It is entirely possible that my quad pyro is f'd but it was no way like this with the old turbo... . even when it was leaking oil so bad.

Any ideas?

 

[Sticks]

Time to take a real good look at all your intake connections. Start at the air filter and work you way down the line to the intake manifold. Look for tears in the boots between the pipes and the intercooler at the bottom, fender side, make sure your clamps are tight.

Verify that your exhaust brake is not stuck in the closed position, and that it is not "flapping in the wind" so to speak. READ - make sure the actuation arm is still connected and there is no way it can open/close by itself.

Inspect your exhaust system for any dents that have pinched off the flow.

I presume that the turbo that you took off still has the turbine wheel attached?

EDITED TO ADD - I'd also take off your valve cover and check all your rocker arms, valve springs and stems. Check the injector hold down clamps as well. I'd even go as far as to pull all the injectors and give them a good looking over (broken tips).

You are starting to get into issues that are going to be real hard to diagnose w/o being able to see and hear what is going on.

 

[NIsaacs]

Since the only thing that you have changed is the turbo, it has to be related to it. You did not give boost numbers during your test drive. I would say you have a bad boost leak, they can make all kinds of weird sounds. With your high egt. you must be low on boost.



Nick

 

[Wyomingcowboy]

My map sensor is bad as my boost gauge throws wacky numbers