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HELP got sparks coming out of my tailpipe!?!?!?!

EZFEED

EZFEED

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Fellow diesel mechanics........I need some advice/help/diagnosis!!!!!!!

Today I started throwing sparks from my tailpipe....what gives???? I have not seen this happen before even on the deuce?

I had to do some work in my shop tonight so I cranked up and wheeled my beast out of its lair and left it running outside. I try not to make abrupt short runs if I dont have to so I will usually just leave it running outside of the shop so it can run get to full operating temp. Im sort of new to the aircooled diesel world but I know short sporratic runs are not good for any engine and I havent been driving it much due to the outside heat so I'm thinking that running it every so often may be a good thing.

Well anyway, tonight I may have worked for about 4 hours and left it running outside. I get ready to shut things down and I glance back at it and see a spark shoot out of the exhaust every so often. The engine doesn't sound bad and nothing sounds out of the normal except for this really pungent odor that is eminating from the exhaust. This thing used to make this smell when I overdosed it with Diesel Kleen. It hadn't smelled bad like this for some time now.

I notice that the exhaust color is a light blue so I hop in and gun the accelerator and now even more sparks are shooting out of the pipe
The temp gauge showed that the engine was nearly to operating temp. Oil pressure was good.

Could this be a stuck injector?.....is my IP out of sync?......maybe this is the beginings of a major mechanical failure????????

What could be causing these sparks and this foul odor and do I need to start looking for parts???????:roll:
 
T

tennmogger

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IMHO just carbon/soot being blown out. Also sounds like it 'slobbered' a little, causing the fuel smell. Being night allows you to see the burning soot better. If that engine idled for 4 hours no wonder it is getting sooted up. It just needs a good run at load :-D

What idle speed do you use? Lots of Diesels must spend time idling and the recommendation is to run them at least 1200 rpm.

Bob
Tennmogger

EZFEED said:
Fellow diesel mechanics........I need some advice/help/diagnosis!!!!!!!
..chop...
What could be causing these sparks and this foul odor and do I need to start looking for parts???????:roll:
Click to expand...
 
Stretch44875

Stretch44875

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My old Massey tractor(diesel) shoots sparks, or should I say embers, all day long. Mostly because I never run it hard. Has over 7500 hours on it and runs fine.
 
EZFEED

EZFEED

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HAHAHAHA! Thanks guys! I was freak'in worried bout that. :| Never seen that before and I have diesel tractors, deuce, etc.

Yes it does have a muffler.....I guess it might be a good idea to remove the exhaust system and blast it clean?

I think I'll try to turn back the IP a little. Maybe it is getting too much fuel????

Another thing too is I had it idleing under 1,000rpm. I have to turn the idle down to get it up to operating temp because its aircooled. Otherwise the fan will overcool cool the engine at high RPM and it will barley get to 130 degrees. If I let it idle for about 30minutes then take it for a short cruise I can get it up to normal temp and it will fairly well stay around that temp. If I run it at low RPM it gets hot quicker and usually gets to operating temp in about 2 hours.
 
scooter01922

scooter01922

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IMO letting it idle for a long time is worse than letting it sit, a lot worse. Diesels hate to be run cold whether that be under the ideal operating temp or just under no load for a long time. You get wet stacking and fuel can simply wash down the cyl walls and cause premature wear. If you can't take it for a drive to get some load on it and burn off all the crud then i say leave it be. I imagine your muffler is really, really full of carbon and crud at this point if you do this often and its just now in sufficiant quantities to have some exiting.
 
EZFEED

EZFEED

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scooter01922 said:
IMO letting it idle for a long time is worse than letting it sit, a lot worse. Diesels hate to be run cold whether that be under the ideal operating temp or just under no load for a long time. You get wet stacking and fuel can simply wash down the cyl walls and cause premature wear. If you can't take it for a drive to get some load on it and burn off all the crud then i say leave it be. I imagine your muffler is really, really full of carbon and crud at this point if you do this often and its just now in sufficiant quantities to have some exiting.
Click to expand...
Well it looks like I will be changing my habits with this. No more long idles :) Think i might add a pre oiler too.
 
EZFEED

EZFEED

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In the oil filter housing. The oil is pumped from the pan by the double pumps to the void around the slit type filter. After being filtered it travels to another void area in the rear of the housing where temperature and pressure readings are taken then it flows past a bypass to the oil galleys.

Engine operating temp is determined by the oil temp.
 
C

Chow717

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my little dozer does this but it sits for weeks at a time between runs. I noticed it about 3 years ago when running it late one evening. It's a diesel with just a short straight pipe on it, no muffler. I have not had any issues... yet (knock on wood!)
 
EZFEED

EZFEED

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cranetruck said:
Hmmm...so not really an accurate measure of what's going on in the cylinder head area...is there an oil cooler?
Click to expand...
I dont guess so. Would installing a temp gauge in the rear oil galley help? Nothing really goes on up there aside from the oil being pumped up through the pushrods to lubricate the rockers, valves, and stems.
Is there something I'm missing here? What else goes on in the cylinder head or do you mean specifically determining the heat of the head?

No oil cooler but the capacity is 5 gallons and is held in a separate reservoir away from the engines internal heat.
 
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