Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Looking at purchasing a 99 but it smoked like a SOB????

[Coalsmoke]

I went to go look at a nice 99 CTD today (finally getting my dad out of the gasser market and into a CTD, I hope). Anyways, there was 100,000miles on it, it looked clean, but maybe it was driven hard. Stock CTD, but upon starting it up, it was blowing blue out the pipe, and the blue didn't clear up. Not blue like that mild blacky-blue that is typical with some diesels, this was more of a whiter blue. I've never seen a diesel produce this white-blue smoke. I was thinking it was maybe a cracked #53 block, but I read that the block only leaks coolant and stuff out-wards, but not leaking stuff into the cylinders. Also, the truck sounds normal. Any ideas what this could be guys? I'm a 12 valver so I don't have a clue, thanks for your help

 

[KWheaton]

Maybe the intake heater was inoperative? Could take quite a while to heat up and disappear. Outside temp was? Just my 2cents. You never saw black smoke? Kevin

 

[macdaddy]

Hey Coal

My 99 always had a puff of blueish/white smoke emit out the tail pipe when starting. It would do it worse when cold. The thing to do is to take the thing for a drive allow the t-stat to open and let the motor get up to full operating temperature shut it down let it sit for about 15 minutes then do a restart, if you still get some same color smoke and she cleans up right away I'd say this was normal IMHO.



Mac

 

[Walt-L]

When I was in the market, I checked out a 00 that did exactly what your 99 is doing. It was a contractors truck and beat up. I let the truck run for a few minutes and it would still give a BIG blue cloud of smoke when I punched the throttle. Other than that it started and ran fine. My take on it was the guy never changed the oil and the oil rings were shot. So I let some one elase have that one!

 

[SnoKing]

Check for a 53 block in that year. Some have cracked. Look at the drivers side above the pan and below the injection pump. Raise 53 in the casting. Run the other direction if it is a 53. Do a seach on 53 block. Check this thread for a picture of the 53. SNOKING

 

[Coalsmoke]

Thanks guys. I was thinking cracked block too untill I read those posts about the 53 block leaking coolant out and not usually into the cylinders.



Walt, this is the same story. Ex-work truck but it looks clean, but the bluish smoke never cleared up (we ran it for a few minute). The outside air temperature was sunny and about 17 degrees C, so I guess that would be about 65-70 degrees F. There was another work truck there, but it was a regular 24V (the one I was talking about was a HO) and it behaved just like it should, with a bit of black smoke, but no black came out of the HO. The rings being gone would make sense then. It is such a shame that anyone could do that to one of these trucks. Also, the clutch was rebuilt ant the t-case was leaking, so it sort of lead us to think maybe it had been beat on hard.