Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) turbo issue

[servicewriter]

Someone Help !! I have a 1997 ram 3500 5. 9 cummins , I started having starting problems when it got colder than 40 degrees, im in the midwest . i had resorted to using starting fluid more times than i should have, i virtually left the truck pluigged in 24 /7 when the truck was not going to be driven that day or even days at a time . truck ran excellent when it was going down the road. i parked it at the the end of the fall season and stopped driving it for the summer. it sat for 4 months . i went to start it and it would crank and not fire up , i misss diagnosised it and put lift pump in , still no start, found out the fuel shut of solinoid was the problem , install it it started hard but got her running, 15 min of idle time it smoked alot and i shut it down and oil was dripping out tail pipe , I figured i blew seals out of turbo , removed and yes hot side was leaking , ordered hx40 after market on ebay installed , 10 minutes of run time it was blowing oil out cold side and hot side of turbo , returned turbo , ordered a second turbo from a another manufactuer, 15 min of run time , same thing !!! checked oil return to block from turbo perfect , what could be problem ?

 

[GAmes]

For your first post you sure have a doozy! Welcome to the TDR, and I don't have a clue why three turbos in a row would leak oil. I wish you were closer, I'd offer to let you try the spare stock turbo I have in the garage. That would at least tell you if you had the misforture of getting two bad replacement turbos. Sad as that is, I can't think of any other reason.

 

[JJPage]

Is the oil leaking from the turbo(out the tailpipe) fuel diluted? Unburned fuel from the cylinders, being forced out the exhaust into the turbo and washing the turbo journal bearings of their oil... how's your crankcase oil level?

Faulty injector(s) spewing too much fuel, would also contribute to hard starts. I'm out of my league here because my experience is mostly CR's, but having several turbo's leaking oil in that manner is odd, unless they were used/abused...

 

[servicewriter]

thank you for the response, but oil out the tail pipe , light blue smoke . i think mostly from the oil entering thru turbo , it pisses me of , its hard to think to have two after market turbos , do the same thing ? truck was never abused , 160 ,000 miles ran pefect before this , just sat 4 months . Im thinking its the turbos , im wasting time and money . hoping for some good feed back , thanks T

 

[servicewriter]

any ideas ??? I figured out why the turbos are speuwing oil !!! the drain tube is fine , free flowing , but i have to much oil pressure to turbo , feed line is high . i took the turbo off and ran truck with feed line into drain tube , it appears there is to much flow and pressure ? I started truck and monitored the feed line by watching the oil flow , in about one minute the line started to overflow , i pulled it out and tried to plug and it seems excessive . i dont have a exact pressure yet , but at the same time i put had over drain tube and i didnt see or feel there was to much crankcase pressure . i think the flow is so high and fast the line cant keep up . any ideas whjy it would be so high and how to correct it ? I dont want to put a regulator on the line , if that is the only way to cure the problem i guess so > any help out there ?

 

[GAmes]

Somewhere in the engine, perhaps near the oil cooler, is a pressure relief valve. It sounds like you may need one. You do have a factory service manual don't you?

 

[servicewriter]

no i dont !! **** ,

 

[servicewriter]

do you think that might be the problem , the regulator is internal , im going to need the manual ! wheres the best way to get onlne ebay or where ?

 

[GAmes]

get one here. Dodge Cummins Diesel Truck Accessories – Geno’s Garage

 

[rrl989]

The oil pressure regulator is on the oil filter housing. It is a mechanical spring loaded device.

 

[JesseGray]

What about turbo's oil return line tube? Is it clogged or plugged? Has someone replaced the return the return line tube with one that has a smaller diameter?

 

[Nyoest]

Do you have access to an ir thermometer? Run the truck amfew minutes and shoot each cylinder at the same spot. Ten to fifteen degrees difference isn't bad but thirty is. If you have a cold cylinder it could be passing oil at a rate sufficient enough to be doing the oiling you are describing.

If you can't get an Ir thermometer you can cap your oil supply line, remove your exhaust manifold and start the truck. The offending cylinder will be the one smoking or slobbering oil.

You might also hook a length of hose to the turbo drain and blow through it with your mouth little to no resistance should be felt.

 

[servicewriter]

thank you for the insite . I decided to go back to the basics on the truck . this is where im at now . i removed the turbo , made up a adapter and hooked into the port that the turbo supply was at , started truck ran without turbo on and checked pressure 60/65 psi , also plugged turbo drain tube with finger and about ten minutes of run time remove finger and the tube is creating presssure from crank case . also when im reving up truck there is white and blue smoke out the the manifold and truck seems to miss and run rough around 1700-2000 rpm and that is when the smoke comes . somehow i either have compression problem ? or injector failure ? **** **** **** **** . im removeing the injectors now , and going after a compression test

 

[Nyoest]

You are on the right track to figuring it out.

 

[servicewriter]

ok here is the problem i ve been told 300 psi is the compression spec and then told 400 psi ? here are my compression values 280, 237,265,254,242,247. also did leak down , only had capablity of going 150 psi into cylinder , 0 leakage . i did that to look for some answer . i reallize 150 is not much for a leak test ? but nothing leaked still not known wht the problem could be , why i have no crankpressure with the oil cap off or dipstick out , but drain tube of the turbo back s up in ten min of run time , tube is clean and clear ?

 

[Mhannink]

i think the crankcase pressure is probably ok. you can have some its going to happen. however check your road draft tube if its blocked then the pressure cant get out where its supposed to. as for the oil pressure 60/65 seems really high. you might want to check the pressure reliefe valve. ive never looked at one on a cummins so i cant tell where to start looking for it. though it sounds like from others comments here the oil cooler is where its at.

 

[GOlsen]

You could try running with your oil cap off to see if that helps with any possible excess pressure.

 

[hsmith]

I dunno know, with the fill cap off it could get a bit messy, splash, etc.

 

[GOlsen]

I dunno know, with the fill cap off it could get a bit messy, splash, etc.

That's what I thought at first too. What I did when I did it on mine (had a similar problem I thought might be excessive blow-by), I put an old sock on it, mainly to keep stuff out. Wasn't my problem, but not even a spot on the sock when I took it off. Just a thought.

 

[HHhuntitall]

60-65 psi isn't very high oil pressure. My N-14s will run 70-75 until they warm up, and then go to 40-45. I rebuilt an old '91, and we shimmed the return valve, and it ran 60-65 on a mechanical guage through the sending unit hole... ... I'm stumped on this one, too. If the crankcase breather tube was stopped up, it might do it... ... but to dump the turbo seal and not blow out the breather tube is surprising, to me. I'm thinking more towards a cracked or galled piston... . I think you need to do another leak down test with some higher psi... . tapered lower piston wall, perhaps!?!? Rusted at the bottom of stroke and pitted to let oil by?!? Hmmmm..... I'm thinking double check the oil return line... something there doesn't add up. It should never back up from oil from the supply line.....