Massive Blow By & Rebuild Ideas

[CrewCabDiesel]

Truck is just about to hit 300K and the blow by seems to be getting out of control. I tried Lucus oil additive on last oil change using about 1/2 a gallon per instructions. Blow by got worse so I changed oil at 1500 miles and went back to 5W40. Motor runs better but still lots of blow by to the point I ran a 5/8 heater hose from the blow by tube to the rear axle to keep the smell out of the cab. Motors runs strong, no misses and no codes also NO oil usage at 3000 miles. Anyone have any ideas? I did replace the turbo a couple of months back. Is there a good oil additive that might help?



part 2

I plan on rebuilding the motor, but not this soon . Looking to upgrade engine for more power and fuel economy. I am thinking a cam upgrade, maybe ARP studs/bolts and heard different things about pistons like using a set of marine pistons. I rebuilt a 1st gen 12 valve and I will do some of the same things like have the rotating assembly balanced.

Anyone have some suggestions?



Thanks

Kyle

 

[Wingate]

remove the bullydog first. get an oil sample to see if there is excessive combustion byproducts in the oil.

 

[Lordsman]

Why not run 15w40? 5w seems kind of thin for your climate.
I'd get a oil analysis like Wingate suggested for sure.
Could be the crankcase breather bypass valve is bad. Do a search on that, I hear they get stuck sometimes.
Good luck!

 

[rscurtis]

I'm not aware of a breather bypass valve on a 5. 9 engine. If it has blowby, it needs a rebuild. I wonder if it did time with an aftermarket oiled air filter

 

[CrewCabDiesel]

Truck still runs strong, Used 5W40 because its what I had. Mileage has gone up 2 mpg since smoother idle, no miss etc. still no codes. Bullydog off for the last 2 weeks. Old oil very black and thick at 1500 miles. Motor doesn't use oil so it doesn't make since. does this generation of 5,9 need lifters adjusted? I am sure these have never been done. As for air filter who knows, it had a paper one on it when I got it, got an air intake system now, yes its got an oiled filter.
Thanks
Kyle

 

[Prairie Dog]

Yes, you need to adjust valves (not lifters) every so often on all Cummins engines. I believe the first adjustment comes at 150K and if has never been done, it certainly needs it by now. Hopefully it hasn't burned the valves from lack of this maint. If they're off it will make a big difference sometimes to how it runs unless they're shot.

5w-40 is too thin unless your in the cold - no matter how it runs. My bet is that if you put 15-40 back in it you won't notice any difference in idle or FE.



Good luck,

Scott.

 

[Wingate]

you might consider gettting rid of the oiled air filter. Many of them do a poor job of keeping contaminates out of your engine.

 

[CrewCabDiesel]

I will try checking valve lash this weekend, will a baring tool that fits a 2001 5. 9 still work in the2004?
Oil weight I am not concerned with, been running 5W40 Rotella synthetic for over a decade in all climates from Michigan to Texas and the 5 weight is easier on startup at any temp. The blow by is most noticeable at full temp when the oil is 40 weight.
Anyone have suggestions on an additive that might get me by until I get the funds for a rebuild? I want to start buying parts as money is available. Hopefully I can get some from Autozone where I work part time. I can get Felpro gaskets and some other parts at a good price, but no China p. o. s. is going into the motor!
So any ideas for a cam? Pistons, bearings? etc

 

[Shadrach]

When you do the rebuild stick with the stock 305 pistons. I used a Peak Diesel stage 2 cam and new tappets of course. I left the internals stock otherwise. If you are not running over about 40 # of boost heads studs are not needed and a lot of money. The 5. 9 barring tool fits all "B" engines. My 03 305 had about 225k miles on it when the PO killed it from pumping all the oil out caused from too much blow by and still driving it across the country, while towing RV's. Obviously you are smarter than he was. Broken rings in # 6 hole caused the excessive blow by. David

 

[Prairie Dog]

You can use the same barring tool on all 5. 9's but it's just as easy to use the alt. bolt to turn the eng.

 

[jelag]

I'm kind of interested in where you found a 5W-40 rated for diesel engines... especially on the shelf... . As a former fleet operator, I'd never put a oil lighter than the specifications into an engine... Remember that before emissions and the need for C. A. F. E. you'd never see a multi-grade oil in a diesel... they just wouldn't stand up to the heats and pressure... but today with the emission issue and C. A. F. E. they need to thin down the oil so it turns with less friction. .

 

[Mikey-KE7LBB]

5w-40 is too thin unless your in the cold - no matter how it runs.

15W-40 and 5W-40 are the exact same viscosity at operating temp. 0W-40 is also the exact same at operating temp!

I'm kind of interested in where you found a 5W-40 rated for diesel engines... especially on the shelf... . As a former fleet operator, I'd never put a oil lighter than the specifications into an engine... Remember that before emissions and the need for C. A. F. E. you'd never see a multi-grade oil in a diesel... they just wouldn't stand up to the heats and pressure... but today with the emission issue and C. A. F. E. they need to thin down the oil so it turns with less friction. .

Oil "thickness" when poured from the bottle seems to confuse people as to what it is actually doing at operating temp. Me included! I have done lots of reading and TONS of learning about oil properties, ratings, additives etc...



http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/motor-oil-101/



Read and learn from the experts!

 

[jhenderson]

That doesn't answer Jelag's question. Was that by design or error?

 

[Prairie Dog]

There's more to diesel rated oil than just the weight, there are important additives. And 5-40 and 15-40 are not the same all the time. Your truck has to get to operating temp and the oil is too thin during that time.

 

[JR]

I would look into a compression test in the near future. A bad ring(s) could be the source of your blow by. It may run like that for many thousands of miles or it could let loose the next time you start your truck and trash the block. It's a crap shoot at this point but waiting until the symptoms get worse will likely end up costing more money.

 

[rscurtis]

Valve adjustment will have no effect on blowby- the only way to get blowby from the valves is if the guides are completely shot and exhaust or intake pressure is leaking into the engine. I use Amsoil series 3000 5/30 in my signature truck, but keep in mind it leads a charmed life compared to others here. No blowby and no oil consumption. I would agree with d4l, fix it sooner rather than later and use OEM parts; don't try to save a few bucks on aftermarket parts, unless you know someone who has used them and can vouch for their performance.

 

[CrewCabDiesel]

I don't think the rings are broke, instead I think one cylinder got cooked and took the spring out of a couple of rings. The weird part there is almost no oil loss at 3000 miles, less than pint. I ran a cylinder test using autoenginuity program and it showed a weak cylinder.

 

[AH64ID]

No oil consumption with blow-by is odd, but I guess it could happen?

Stock positions are close enough to marine pistons to not bother, unless marine are cheaper.

As for 5w-40 engine oil, people need to do a little research before bashing it's been an OEM acceptable grade for all temps since at least 2004. In synthetic form it has a broader temp range than the 15w-40 everyone is saying is required. 15w-40, non-synthetic, is only rated to 0F per the owners manual.

 

[cerberusiam]

No oil constipation with blow-by is odd, but I guess it could happen?



Stock positions are close enough to marine pistons to not bother, unless marine are cheaper.

Either you are using a smart phone with inteli-nonsense correcting you, or, you are really trying to stress our level of english comprehension.



Is "no oil constipation" really a way of saying it is using oil??? :-laf

 

[AH64ID]

Stupid ipad!

I thought I corrected it, but I guess not... .