Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Where is my oil going?

[lilthumper]

My 97 4x4 3500 is going through a qt of oil every 150 miles. It is coming out of the exhaust. Give me some ideas. Do I just sell it for pennies on the dollar, do I just learn how to pull this motor and rebuild it, do I get a rebuilt from cummins? Wouldn't a leak down or compression test miss a bad oil ring if the compression ring was ok? Just frustrating after spending 2500 bucks on a new head and bombs as the old one was cracked. Do I just cut my losses and sell it for whatever I can get or do I fix it?

 

[SRadke]

Pull the charge air hose off the intercooler and see if it's oily inside. May be a bad compressor seal on the turbo.



-Scott

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Could be a bad seal on the exhaust side too. If you can find a "loaner" turbo somewhere you could swap out and see if the problem goes away.



Also look at your blowby tube. If you're engine is tired it would blow a lot of mist out of there and at 1 quart every 150 miles you'd have a nice coating of oil all over the bottom of your truck.



Another possibility is bad valve guides and seals, but not likely. Did the problem start suddenly?



Vaughn

 

[ndurbin]

How much is coming out the tailpipe?



I had a seal on the exhaust side of the turbo go bad and it's pretty noticable when it goes. Pours out greyish/white smoke until you get the EGTs up. I was stopping for oil every 100-200 miles.



Nathan

 

[lilthumper]

It burns white/grey smoke and gets better as it warms up. It will also go away with alot of fuel or boost. I will check the turbo out.

 

[BV]

Be careful if it is the turbo - A leak on the compressor side (intake) can cause a run away engine with that much oil.



Good luck