new motor, smokey rough running

[J.Peart]

just rebuilt my motor and installed it and its running rough and smoking white/gray at idle. sorry if this gets long- just want to describe the situation and bounce ideas of people.

new engine info:
-machined block 599 block, 40 over
-new pistons, scat crank, balancer, balance pulley. all balanced
-rebuilt heads and new felpro gaskets
-all new bearings, seals, etc.
-arp main studs
-arp head studs
-ATT turbo
- slightly reduced comp due to 10 thou over gaskets and 10 thou reduce comp height pistons.
- injectors, IP, glows, pmd, exhuast, chip etc are all reused but only about a year old as per my sig.

i think i have an exhaust leak i have to fix because the ATT isn't building boost fast enough to burn all my fuel.

The main thing I'm concerned about is that it runs really rough at idle. it smooths out at about 1800 rpm and above but at idle its shakes the whole truck so much i don't want to drive it. while its running rough at idle it smokes white/ gray. smells like diesel. white smoke turns black if i rev it up. runs rough warmed up and first start.

whats going on here? timing off? stuck injector? something else?

 

[J.Peart]

heres the diagnostic list:
____________________________

Demographics: tell us about your truck and your ambient conditions:

- Year: 1995______
- Truck model and class (ie: c2500) k2500 burb_________
- Automatic or Standard _auto_________
- Mileage: (indicate miles or km) __198000km_______
- Replaced parts and mods (IP, PMD, chip/PCM, TM, injectors etc) YES. see above and sig___________
- Model: ‘S’ or ‘F’ engine, NA or Turbo, EGR? ___F___________
- Ambient outside temp: (indicate *C or *F) ___~30c_______
- What fuel are you using? (#1 Diesel, #2 Diesel, Bio, VO, WVO, etc) #2 diesel_________
- What fuel additives are you using? _____power service grey______
- Where are you located? __kelowna, bc canada___________

General maintenance: inspect and evaluate the condition of each. When were they last changed?
- Air filter: last weekend_________
- Fuel filter: last weekend_________
- CDR Valve? shortly before break down_________
- Coolant – last flushed/replaced at: last week_____________
- Oil – synthetic/regular, changed at : reg last week___________
- Batteries – state of charge, (matched set) replaced at : good, ~1.5 years old_____________
- Battery cables and grounds (removed, cleaned and tightened): good______________
- Glow Plugs - how many miles on them? ___~15000km______ What type? __duratherm___________
- Injectors - last changed at __summer 2008_____________


History: (Describe how the problem first appeared.)
- What were you doing when it happened? _idling_____________
- How was the truck running fine before this problem appeared? __new motor, ran a bit rough at first and got worse___________
- Has this problem ever happened before? _______________________
- Describe any related factors that might be part of the problem. ______________
- Have you checked for DTC (Diagnostic Trouble Codes)? (Y.N) __Y__ And? __still had codes stored from the breakdown. so i don;t know what was relevant______


Diagnostics:

1] Starting:
1a] Does the engine start? _____yes____

2] Fuel Issues (if not running): N/A

3] PMD / IP Issues
3a] Location of PMD (on pump, on intake, remote mounted) _____heath remote mount______
3b] Condition of Extension harness (if used) Vendor or Homemade? ___heath______
3c] Condition of grounds / ground wires to IP / PMD. Check Harness. _____good____
3d] PMD Make: ____d-tech_______
3e] PMD Age: _____~1.5 years________

4] Stalling Issues
4a] Do you experience stalling only when hot? __no stall, though seems like it might__________

5] Running Issues
5a] On cold start, does upper rad hose get hard before engine warms up? ___no____
5b] Any bubbles or oil film in coolant overflow tank? ____no___
5c] Any white slime on oil surfaces (dipstick, CDR, oil Fill cap)? _____no_____
5d] Excessive white smoke from exhaust on cold start? ___yes______
5e] Excessive black smoke from exhaust under hard acceleration? ____yes______

6] Performance Issues
6a] Do you have gauges? ___yes________
6b] Maximum boost under load? _____don't know, not pushing enough boost for me to give it a lot of load_______
6c] Have you added a performance PCM (reflash) or Chip? ___yes, heath gl4___________
6d] Have you changed exhaust / downpipe / crossover? ______yes, mandrel bent crossover, 3" down pipe and 4" exhuast__________
6e] Wastegate – mechanical or vacuum? ______None, i have the ATT turbo________

7] Temperature-related Issues: N/A

also will mention; upon initial start the truck runs pretty well but as soon as i give the pedal at tap and let it go back to idle it gets rough.

 

[iamdave0887]

When my blazer was running rough as all getout and smoking up a storm or smoke that stunk like unburnt diesel at Idle it was the IP that was bad. Water damage(rusted inside) from what must have been condensation from sitting so long without fuel in it. there was no water in the fuel, so i can't see what else would cause the rust.

How old is the IP?

 

[J.Peart]

it was brand new last summer. when i took it out i left it filled with diesel fuel treated with power service.

 

[J.Peart]

no one else has any ideas?

 

[bison]

Bad spray pattern on injectors comes to mind.(streaming,instead of a fine spray)
What is your engine temp.
IP timing to much retarded maybe too, Did you use a scanner to set TDCOffset?
You sure there aint a coolant leak at the heads?

 

[J.Peart]

I don't have a scanner. i have it set 2mm to the drivers side. I'm planning on taking it to get it timed soon- or buying onea scanner: any recommendations on a model?

its seems to run like this at all coolant temps. but when warmed up it seems to only be at around 7-800rpm above and below smooths out.

im relatively confident there is no coolant leak but ill check the coolant level when i go back outside.

as for the injectors, i hope they aren't bad. they have less than 20,000km on them. i stored them in individual bags but i suppose something could have got into an injector or two during the rebuild and screwed up the spray pattern?

 

[NVW]

Get GMTDScanTech from Engh Motors

 

[J.Peart]

Get GMTDScanTech from Engh Motors

love to but i don't have a laptop to run it on and I'm not about to take my desktop setup outside.

tomorrow im going to fix the exhaust leak and see if one of the injectors is the problem. If its not the injectors Im going to take it to a shop and have it timed on friday. whats the optimal TDCO for the the gl4 chip? i can call bill heath but if someone already knows it would save me the trouble.

 

[Brooklyn Tow]

whats the optimal TDCO for the the gl4 chip? i can call bill heath but if someone already knows it would save me the trouble.

-1.50 ~ -1.94

Look over this info from the "Grand PooBa"

http://dieseltowingresource.com/showthread.php?t=11754

 

[Acesneights1]

J,
How long have you run the truck since putting it back together ? When you open up the fuel system Ie: INjectors IP etc it becomes airbound and can be a real bitch to get the air out. It took a good half hour of romping on my truck after new injectors before it smoothed out not to mention you engine will need some break in. I think when I had the problems doing the new injeectors JD helped me out but on the old site. Perhaps a redo on this site. I don't want to quote from memory what he said but something to do with PCM trying to balance out the motor and cutting fuel so it was getting rid of the air and the only way to get arorund that is to drive it out or disconnect the OS and put the truck in limp mode.

 

[Acesneights1]

You could also try loosening the injectors and seeing if one cyl is causing it. This is where GMTDScan is nice as you can kill the cylinders one at a time with it.

 

[J.Peart]

i thought -1.94 but i wasn't sure cause it was an aftermarket chip.

i have driven it around for an hour or two. it wasn't that bad to begin with, it got worse. maybe its something the PCM is trying to compensate for like you said. i ran it for a while last night and got some codes to come up- ill check them tonite and see if that yields any insight.

i was planning on doing the injector thing tonight as well.

 

[Acesneights1]

If your going to keep and work on this truck GMTDScan is a must have. Buy a laptop off ebay. SYstem requirements are not that much.

 

[J.Peart]

i plan to keep the truck so i will be getting a scanner or a laptop and GMTDScan like you said. but i need it right now and i don't have it so I'm taking it to a shop tomorrow to have TDCO learn done, assuming it doesn't end up being an injector.

 

[HighSierra86]

Im assuming GMTDScan is a comp. program/application? If so where would you guys suggest buying it from? Found it online, but there are no prices. What would this system run me with a cable??

Sorry, Im a bit computer challenged....trying to change that, but for now the best thing I can do is use this forum

 

[bison]

www.enghmotors.com

 

[MRB 6.5TD]

love to but i don't have a laptop to run it on and I'm not about to take my desktop setup outside.

tomorrow im going to fix the exhaust leak and see if one of the injectors is the problem. If its not the injectors Im going to take it to a shop and have it timed on friday. whats the optimal TDCO for the the gl4 chip? i can call bill heath but if someone already knows it would save me the trouble.

Give ol' Bill a call for the hell of it. He will probably be more than happy to offer his advice on your engine.

 

[NVW]

Im assuming GMTDScan is a comp. program/application? If so where would you guys suggest buying it from? Found it online, but there are no prices. What would this system run me with a cable??

Sorry, Im a bit computer challenged....trying to change that, but for now the best thing I can do is use this forum

When you're on the enghmotors website click on GMTDScanTech, then click on "order". It's 187.50 US

Leo

 

[MRB 6.5TD]

When you're on the enghmotors website click on GMTDScanTech, then click on "order". It's 187.50 US

Leo

I am so jeolous of that and TCC lockup mod... better blocks too..... Just ugly interior!...

That is dirt cheap for a scanner. You could probably pick up a laptop capable of running that for 100bux or less on CL.