97 12v CTD is smoking all the time.

just got back from a 700 mile road trip. had a loss of power and 4 mpg less fuel mileage.

been running almost all waste oils up to 90% waste oil. power and mileage was up running waste oil. only a puff of smoke during startup.
now 97 is smoking all the time.

switched to 90% diesel to see if waste oil is causing smoke. 97 still smokes with diesel. power is still down...

just reset timing to 16.5 deg .... still smokes.. just not quite as bad.
replaced thermostat and rad cap (pressure tested system). 97 had been running cold, with new thermostat temps have come up.

now 97 is smoking lightly after warming up with almost all diesel. smokes heavier right after startup.

getting ready to take a 2,000 mile road trip....
sure would like to get 97 12v running right before taking off.

any thoughts on what to look for?

 

injectors. tips might be dirty or messed up from waste oil. or check the fuel pressure mabie a bad overflow valve.

 

What type of waste oil where you using??

 

ok... thanks.. got a spare set of injectors. that was next on my list.

it's got a new overflow valve. will stretch spring and check pressures...

been running ATF, waste engine oil, new engine oil and new ATF.

been purposely running super heavy mixtures to see what happens.
but this doesn't seem to be waste oil related. unless injectors have gotten dirty...

timing slipping and thermostat going bad just adds more issues...

 

will be leaving thur morning.... would I be better off trying a fuel injector cleaning additive or go ahead and change out injectors?

 

i would swap them.

 

just finished swapping injectors out... what a PITA job!

it's 2:30am here so have not started 97 yet to bleed out air.
sure hope injectors help... will find out soon..

 

bleed out line and 97 12v fired right up.

injectors fixed it... min smoke ... power is back... these are 215 injectors VS 180 taken out.

I see a bit of smoke at full throttle, otherwise back to normal.

here's what I did:

1. changed fuel filter... very clean considering all the wasts oil ran thru
2. reset timing to 16.5
3. changed injectors

 

I would not run ATF any more IMHO... That stuff is going to wear out the injector pump barrels and the injector needle/seats with the additives in it as I have read about them.

 

if I understand correctly, additives in ATF make it slicker. so don't see how that could damage injectors.

there's folks that ran ATF for 500k+ miles with no problems.

I've been running up to 90%+ waste oil concentrations. just to see what would happen.

clogging up a set of injectors to me merely is costs of adding to the database of knowledge for running waste oils.

probably best for most folk not to exceed 50% waste oils.
my intentions are to continue with running thick mixtures.

I'll get this dirty set of injectors cleaned off for backup duties.

 

Aren't the clutches immersed in ATF? If the additive made it slicker I would think that would be a bad thing.

 

Exactly.. There are friction "modifiers" in ATF to help break down the oil film under pressure for the clutch plates to engage. ATF really isn't a very good high pressure lube, but has good high temperature properties for retaining its viscosity. So, less lube under high pressure, hmmm, injectors, 18,000 psi fuel..... Not in my engine!....

 

So it sounds like running WMO does screw something up. In this case injectors, which sounds reasonable.

 

just got back from a two week backpacking trip at Philmont scout ranch...

yes it seems running 90%+ 15/40 engine oil does clog injectors up.
but that's OK... my intentions was to find out what our 12v cummins can burn without mods.

so I found out... now I know max mixture cummins will tolerate.

now to find a used injector cleaner... a small price to pay in my learning curve using waste oils...

will continue to use ATF as my first choice for waste oils. mostly due to thinner weight, not concerned with friction modifiers. have never heard of anyone toasting their fuel injection/lift pumps from using ATF.

if I'm the first... I'll let everyone know.

 

Have you tried running some fuel treatment every now and then to try to clean those injectors? I don't know how good it actually works for cleaning, but I have a friend with an old Ford IDI who could hardly get it to run after a while. It would not come off high idle and loped like crazy. He was ready to change the injectors (he had about 200k at the time) He had never run an additive in his life, but finally someone convinced him to throw some treatment in the tank. After about 200 miles the truck cleared up and ran fine.
I think he uses Lucas every now and then now. I have used PowerService in about every tank since I've owned my truck.

Again, this was all on pure #2, so I don't know how it would relate to lube oil/atf.

I've been watching a lot lately about this . . .