Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Increasing Blow by?

[David_VT]

My 99 seems to have it's own rust prevention program...



The underside of my truck is getting increasingly coated with oil from the blow by tube.



That is the extent of the good news. .



So , am I to assume that I am likely seeing engine wear in the form of increased blow by? Yes, oil consumption is increasing... 150K on the engine. Always Amsoil since 2nd oil change but probably not enough filter changes if I am going to be totally honest with myself.



Any thoughts on other causes of increased blowby?



Thanks,

David

 

[CumminsPower98]

Vacuum leaks and bad turbo seals can cause crankcase pressurization leading to more vapors leaving the vent although those wouldn't explain increasing oil consumption unless the turbo was dumping oil out the exhaust side, which you would probably notice out the exhaust pipe if it was very bad. Of course there is the obvious, which would be a piston/ring assembly problem that is getting worse. If the engine is in good shape it doesn't seem like 150k is many miles and shouldn't be wearing out to the point of a noticeable increase in blowby and oil usage. I don't know, I just know my cylinders looked almost new at 262k when I had the head off and my oil usage has been pretty flat over a lot of miles. I now have 309k on it. It goes through a quart of Amsoil 15w40 about every 3,500 miles when running OTR and towing about 45% of the time. When at home before I started driving it would run about 6k miles to a quart but that was just slow local driving. Just some thoughts from a non-expert.

 

[DavidC]

I would be doing a leak down test to check rings etc. If it is internal it will locate the problem quickly. You will need the injector adapter gauges and have to pull all the injectors but it will probably be worth the effort.



Dave

 

[David_VT]

Thanks for the feedback...

I will watch things for the winter and hope for the best