African CUCV smoke trouble

[bryab123]

i would say it could be the injectors. how long have you let it run? it may clear up on its own. i would probably run some marvels mystery oil through the fuel and run it pretty hard and see if it clears up. i doubt its the pump.

 

[bryab123]

a friend of mine had one that had sat for a long time it ran good but it just smoked like yours and he ran it hard for a while and it straightend up in a couple days

 

[davidkroberts]

if you can find it get some Seafoam diesel additive. My Detroit Diesel was doing the same thing and it cleaned it up considerably. put half in the tank and half in the crankcase. No way its going to hurt anything but after 15 years of sitting it can do nothing but help. I swear by the stuff. Seafoam white can red letters magic inside.

 

[maybefixit]

A friend of mine had a 6.2 diesel in a Suburban. White smoke on startup could be as simple as some bad glow plugs. In warmer temperatures, the working glow plugs get a few of the cylinders going and the others don't ignite their fuel until the whole block is up to temp. In the meantime they just throw fuel overboard. Might be worth testing the resistance of each glow plug and see if any are open (infinite resistance). Making sure all 8 plugs are in good shape will help keep all of them healthy. From what I've picked up here if one is broken it lets more voltage go to the others and burns them up faster.
Does the engine seem to 'smooth out' on idle once the smoke dissipates?
His engine would puff white smoke on start, getting to less and less smoke and more smooth idling as it warmed up. I think he knew he had 1 or 2 bad glow plugs.

Do you have any water visible in the oil, or oil visible in the radiator?
If you haven't already done so, it might be worth taking a look in the TM's section on the CUCV's - the library at this site is quite good.

Congratulations on a nice truck!

 

[maybefixit]

Oops, misread the first post - didn't see where the white smoke was continuous. Others on the site have much more direct experience. I know I've used Seafoam on some vehicles, and they have been happy with it. The ones I used it on weren't running bad before, so I can't say how much it did. All of those were gas engines though.
The Seafoam was apparently made to help 2 stroke engines clear their carbon, like boat motors that sat for all winter or a few years. Seems to be good stuff.

 

[stampy]

I agree with maritimer it could be a head gasket or possibly contaminated fuel. Check your coolant level and make sure it's not dropping.

 

[bryab123]

if it was a head gasket smoking like that it would be using quite a bit of water and there would be water in the oil also the smell of antifreeze instead of fuel.

 

[maybefixit]

If the head gasket is leaking, sometimes that can be proven by looking for continuous bubbles in the radiator while running. Remove radiator cap with engine completely cold, coolant level up to cap opening, start engine. If coolant shows a lot of bubbling like there's a stream of air flowing into the coolant, that proves a head gasket failure. There may be one or two trapped bubbles in the system normally, so just a few burps as the engine warms could be normal.

 

[chillin_in_bots]

Thanks for all the advice... will try out a couple of bottles of injector cleaner and diesel additive. Then give it a good run for a couple of days.
Tried looking at the coolant level- seems constant at sitting about an inch below the cap. No sign of bubbles or oil in the coolant.
Dipstick also shows no sign of water. Holding thumbs that it's nothing too serious... is an absolute nightmare getting parts from the states!
Last order from classic industries took about 3 months to finally get here! Might try LMC next time... hoping for a quicker turn around time!
Where's the best place to get 6.2 specific parts.. over the internet? As we don't have NAPA and I think they don't support international orders.

Thanks again guys for all the help!

 

[alphadeltaromeo]

Welcome to the site! Best of luck getting the issue resolved!

Andy

 

[BKubu]

Contact a dealer like TNJ Murray in Dover, Delaware. They are an international dealer and I bet they'd be able to get parts to you rapidly. John is a really nice guy to deal with.

 

[chillin_in_bots]

Thanks for the tip... Will see what they have to offer. Good place to start! Never heard of TNJ Murray! Thanks again

 

[tennmogger]

Since you have looked for all the bad signs (oil condition, coolant contamination, pressure in radiator, oil pressure good, etc) sounds to me that the smoke is simply from lack of running. One trick to know which cylinders are firing and which ones are not is to start it and check the exhaust ports for heat. Obviously they should all feel about the same. A cold one or two might not mean much until the truck is warm, then becomes important. A cold cylinder indicates no fuel (or drip, no spray), which points to injector problem.

I have had to start up engines that have set for years, too, and white smoke is common. Because a Diesel is slow to warm up unless it's working, I'd suggest it just needs to be driven. It probably has not gotten up to good hot internal temp yet. Maybe not go out and hit the freeway yet, but drive it for an hour and see how it goes.

Best of luck,

Bob

 

[bryab123]

most of the parts are the same as a civilian truck since you already changed yours to 12 volts. Chevrolet used the 6.2 in many trucks / vans from 1982-1993 . i have found better bargains on the internet. but thats just my opinion, good luck with you truck.

 

[Old63B20]

Chillin, welcome to Steel Soldiers. As for your smoking problem, I would strongly suggest you take the vehicle out and let it get some run time. If something breaks loose, it was going to break loose anyway, regardless of you babying it.

The 6.2 diesels were fairly decent engines, but they did have their share of problems. They were the direct replacement for the 5.7 diesel, which was based somewhat on the design of the Rocket V-8 gasoline engine produced by Oldsmobile. That engine was rushed to market, as it gave GM E.P.A. bonus points, so they could continue to produce other engines that didn't quite meet E.P.A. standards, such as for C.A.F.E., which stands for, Corporate Average Fuel Economy.

During the first production year for the 6.2, they had problems with glow plug controllers, causing the glow plugs to stay on too long, causing many of them to explode at the tips, resulting in metal residue left in the cylinders, sometimes causing damage to the valve train. They also had some head gasket problems. GM continued to use the Roosamaster injector pump as they did with the 5.7 diesel engine. The Roosamaster pump is a good one, but their internal retainer rings can fail when exposed to excessive heat. Since you live in a desert climate, I suspect that your injector pump may be due for an overhaul.

I do not suspect a blown head gasket, as the picture you took showing the white smoke is just that, smoke and not steam that is produced when antifreeze is burned in one or more cylinders. You would also be able to smell the anti-freeze coming out of the tailpipe. However, there are inexpensive diesel compression test kits you can purchase, to test the compression on your engine. These kits are suitable for the infrequent type of testing that an owner would do, as opposed to the heavy use a test kit would get in a professional repair shop. http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=Diesel+Compression+Tester

Hope this info helps and good luck with your MV.

Old 63B20....OUT!

 

[hobie237]

That's a pretty cool project! It's funny, because I have a good friend from Tanzania who is constantly trying to get me to take my truck over there for some safaris or just seeing whether it can get as far or farther off the beaten path as his old Land Rovers. He did say we'd have to paint it non-camo, though, which I thought was interesting.

 

[M725]

Have you taken the injectors out and have them cleaned & tested? You can have one not closing all the way.There can be lot of things wrong with 1 or more of them. The truck did sit 15 years right? One bad injector can do some damage to. You did a great job on the paint job. Shame you couldn't camo it, but O'well.

 

[chillin_in_bots]

That's a pretty cool project! It's funny, because I have a good friend from Tanzania who is constantly trying to get me to take my truck over there for some safaris or just seeing whether it can get as far or farther off the beaten path as his old Land Rovers. He did say we'd have to paint it non-camo, though, which I thought was interesting.

THe major debate in the African 4x4 world are the Land Cruisers and the Land Rovers... the drivers are die-hard fans of the brands and will never be caught dead driving anything else. My plan is to through a spanner in the works and show the guys that the CUCV will run cirlces around them both! Lets hope mine doesn't let me down! Maybe a front locker will be a good addition!

Our December road trip is going to be up to Dar es Salam in Tanzania for new year. Botswana-Zambia-Malawi- Tanzania then ferry across to Zanzibar for the parties! Should be a good 5000 mile round trip with some nasty mud and adventure! Looking forward to pulling some Cruisers and LAndy's out!

Where abouts is your friend based in Tanzania? Ever been out that side of the world?

 

[chillin_in_bots]

Have you taken the injectors out and have them cleaned & tested? You can have one not closing all the way.There can be lot of things wrong with 1 or more of them. The truck did sit 15 years right? One bad injector can do some damage to. You did a great job on the paint job. Shame you couldn't camo it, but O'well.

THanks for the advice... injectors already been pulled out and bench tested. Cleaned and retested to show that they on form!
Truck been sitty for atleast 15 years... showing 46000 miles and looks like first time round the clock. Came with lights on the top so maybe a military police version?
Was a pitty about no Camo but atleast won't get arrested for being a Mercenary!

 

[chillin_in_bots]

Chillin, welcome to Steel Soldiers. As for your smoking problem, I would strongly suggest you take the vehicle out and let it get some run time. If something breaks loose, it was going to break loose anyway, regardless of you babying it.

The 6.2 diesels were fairly decent engines, but they did have their share of problems. They were the direct replacement for the 5.7 diesel, which was based somewhat on the design of the Rocket V-8 gasoline engine produced by Oldsmobile. That engine was rushed to market, as it gave GM E.P.A. bonus points, so they could continue to produce other engines that didn't quite meet E.P.A. standards, such as for C.A.F.E., which stands for, Corporate Average Fuel Economy.

During the first production year for the 6.2, they had problems with glow plug controllers, causing the glow plugs to stay on too long, causing many of them to explode at the tips, resulting in metal residue left in the cylinders, sometimes causing damage to the valve train. They also had some head gasket problems. GM continued to use the Roosamaster injector pump as they did with the 5.7 diesel engine. The Roosamaster pump is a good one, but their internal retainer rings can fail when exposed to excessive heat. Since you live in a desert climate, I suspect that your injector pump may be due for an overhaul.

I do not suspect a blown head gasket, as the picture you took showing the white smoke is just that, smoke and not steam that is produced when antifreeze is burned in one or more cylinders. You would also be able to smell the anti-freeze coming out of the tailpipe. However, there are inexpensive diesel compression test kits you can purchase, to test the compression on your engine. These kits are suitable for the infrequent type of testing that an owner would do, as opposed to the heavy use a test kit would get in a professional repair shop. http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=Diesel+Compression+Tester

Hope this info helps and good luck with your MV.

Old 63B20....OUT!

THanks for the background on the 6.2.
I also agree that I don't think it's anti-freeze... Distinct smell of diesel. The last thing to really try is the injector pump if the smoke does not clear up in a couple of days of driving around town. Maybe it just needs to get up to operating temps. What is the average cost of a rebuild in the states? The 1 local injector pump shop recons about 1800 pula... $225. Seems to good to be true! Do you know what are the main components i should make sure he repalces? Might be a long shot but thanks again for your input.