2001 7.3L Constant White Smoke

[yzrmbsg]

So last Monday morning I remote started the truck like I do every day. Truck is always plugged in and I have a 30sec delay from the time the remote start is activated until it begins to crank. Truck starts up like normal, I don't watch it start, can just hear it. It runs for about 5 min before I go outside to seeing it pumping out white smoke. Oil temp is at about 80°-85°, it sounds like its running normal on high idle at about 1000rpm. I tap the break to deactivate the high idle and I notice a strange ticking noise, sounds like maybe a weak injector on the driver side. (I have no idea).

Still pumping out the white smoke, I figured it would go away when warmed up.... Around 150° or so I finally noticed it to get better. By the time I got to work, it had reached about 170° and I couldn't notice any more white smoke.

Monday night leaving work (not plugged in) started right up, pumped white smoke all the way home, about 13miles.

Didn't do it again until Saturday night, not plugged in, smoked the 15 miles to the movies. Sat for 2:30hrs, started fine, smoked all the way home.

Then again this morning, same story as last Monday, smoked all the way to work, and all the way home from work.

My oil temps do not get above about 180° most days. Normal operating temp is around 200° +-5°, in the warmer months that is.

The smoke does get less and less as the motor warms up, but it doesn't go away. From what I have found in my online searches is injector o-rings, cups, broken nozzles or any combination of the 3 could be the culprit.

I've ruled out glow plugs and relay because that should only effect the starting, not the continuous running. And it starts just fine. Am I right?

Just replaced ICP sensor and pigtail a few weeks ago. Oil/Oil Filter and fuel filter replaced 2500 miles ago. ICP is at 500ish and around 11%-12%dc at warm Idle.

Only thing out of the ordinary that I can think of is, I did the CCV mod a few months back and when I flipped the doghouse on top of the valve cover 180° I put 2 brand new o-rings there and one of them is now seeping oil.

No signs of power loss, idles fine, drives fine. No codes on the CTS besides the AIH delete for my boost gauge install, which never goes away.

Anyone have any ideas? Other things I can look at?

Haven't been able to find anyone locally with an AE and want to do what I can before paying for someone else to check it out.
Sorry for the book, just want to be thorough!

 

[POWER-STRUCK]

might check fuel pressure, fuel quality, def. running too cold and how do you have the ccv plumbed?

 

[yzrmbsg]

might check fuel pressure, fuel quality, def. running too cold and how do you have the ccv plumbed?

CCV is plumbed over the master cylinder, down the fire wall and to the atmosphere just behind drivers door.

 

[Charles]

Ticking, and constant white smoke.... do you have a hung nozzle???

Could the ticking be construed as a knocking by chance? You may be burning a hole into the ground driving that truck around if you've hung a nozzle.


Smell the smoke. If it's fuel, stop.

 

[Dieselboy.]

How much smoke are we talking ?

Charles, would a rotational velocity test or CCT pick up a bad nozzle ?

 

[Charles]

How much smoke are we talking ?

Charles, would a rotational velocity test or CCT pick up a bad nozzle ?

Laser thermometer on the exhaust manifolds should. The bad hole will be hot.

Don't know how rot vel would act.

 

[Dieselboy.]

Laser thermometer on the exhaust manifolds should. The bad hole will be hot.

Don't know how rot vel would act.

Ya those laser thermoters are awesome. Relativley inexpensive too.

OP, says it runs and drives fine. Wouldnt it run like sh!t with a bum stick ? If you wanted to, pull the valve covers off and run it and unplug an injector one at a time.

 

[yzrmbsg]

Ya those laser thermoters are awesome. Relativley inexpensive too.

OP, says it runs and drives fine. Wouldnt it run like sh!t with a bum stick ? If you wanted to, pull the valve covers off and run it and unplug an injector one at a time.

This is what I was thinking....

As to how much smoke, its a pretty generous amount, I would say it would be equal to the amount of stepping on the throttle in 3rd gear with the torque converter locked at a lower RPM, but it never clears up. Kinda hard to explain I guess. I was going to take a video of it today, but it didn't white smoke at all this morning, or on the way home. Doesn't make any damn sense.

She sure didn't want to start in the 13º cold not plugged in at work tonight. Had to cycle the glow plugs 3 times and hold the pedal in about half way to keep it running otherwise it would just lope once and die. Oil temp was around 30º when first attempting to start.

 

[yzrmbsg]

Ticking, and constant white smoke.... do you have a hung nozzle???

Could the ticking be construed as a knocking by chance? You may be burning a hole into the ground driving that truck around if you've hung a nozzle.


Smell the smoke. If it's fuel, stop.

Could be construed as a knocking I guess, but it sounds like an exhaust leak ticking type of noise, just higher up. Doesn't sound like its coming from the exhaust, thats just the best way I can describe the sound. And its a pretty faint sound too.

 

[Dieselboy.]

Hmm, IDM or time for new plugs and relay ?

I would pick up a temp gun and check each cylinder.

BTW, sharp truck, love the black and gold

 

[Charles]

It will run PEEEEEERRRRRRFECT with a hung nozzle. The injector still works EXACTLY as it should, it just keeps right on working when it's NOT energized.

IF.... you have a hung nozzle you are DESTROYING that engine by driving it. No questions asked. Absolutely annihilating that piston.

With as much as you seem to be driving it, hopefully it's a cracked cup or something, although you don't seem interested enough to walk back and smell the smoke to find out if it's coolant or fuel...

I gave my fair warning. Good luck with it.

 

[yzrmbsg]

That was the first thing I did was smell it, guess I didn't mention that above. It smells like fuel. Hasn't done it the last 2 days at all, not even when starting....I'm beginning to think it was bad fuel. I was just below a 1/4 tank Sun night, filled it up, and hasn't done it since. It was the same tank of fuel from the first time it did this until Sun night, about 270mi.

As far as IDM or Glow plugs/relay. Replaced the relay about 8 months ago, should be good, just got home so gonna let the truck cool off and then go measure the voltage on the relay and ohm my plugs and see if there is anything wrong.

Thanks for the kind words....I am a big fan of the 2 tone trucks!

 

[yzrmbsg]

Absolutely no white smoke today. Started fine after work.

Voltage on the glow plug relay is 12.5 on hotside constant, 11.55 on glow plug side.

1,3,5,7, and 4 gp's were all around 2.5ohms to 2.8.

2 and 8 were around 1.5

And 6 read 44-46.

All wiring/connectors looked to be in tact with no wear/shorts.

WTF?

 

[Charles]

So your pintle valve reseated itself on the hung nozzle.

If that's the case, hopefully that piston didn't do an impression of a flower in the meantime.