12ht smoking bluish, any thoughts? (1 Viewer)

[Davaa]

Guys, my newly transplanted 12ht is smoking bluish grey. It is a jdm engine fitted to hj60. I haven't test started it before fitting but changed some of the leak-prone gaskets and seals. I removed the sump to inspect if everything was good from underneath and resealed back after seeing everything was clean. I also removed the turbo and and changed the gaskets. The turbo wheel had some slight up and down play on the axis but no other play and turned without resistance so bolted it back. My overall impression on the engine condition was positive and hoped it would run good. I haven't dug deeper into the engine. It was quite an ordeal for me as this is my first engine swap. Due to lack of my experience and knowledge about diesels I removed the fuel pump and reinstalled without aligning the timing marks and force started it using some starting fluid. It ran horrible and smoked huge clouds so shut it down after 5 or so minutes. After consultation with local diesel people I was told that I needed to align the timing marks so removed the fuel pump again and aligned the pump timing using the window on the timing cover which was discussed here. The engine ran much better but still smoked bluish grey after pump timing alignment. I was hesitant on the timing window method as there was no proof it worked ok for other mud members, so this time I removed the timing cover and aligned the timing marks according to the service manual. After all this work the engine still smokes grey white with blue tint. I wouldn't say it is blue smoke it is kind of grey bluish. One thing I noticed is that the there was small oil pool collected in the turbo intake side pipe but there was no indication of blow by from oil cap and dip stick. I need your expert opinion what may be causing this smoke. Some say it is worn rings, valve guide seal, some say it is turbo seals. Thanks in advance. I will try to upload a short video.

Davaa

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

Have you smelled the smoke? Burning engine oil smells different from burning diesel.

Usually injection pumps have to be timed very carefully not only by the mark but with a dial gauge indicator setup. Even slightly incorrect timing can lead to some diesel smoke at idle.

Usually oil in the turbo compressor side is a result of the crank case pressure breather oil mist. Get a catch can or vent it to atmosphere.

 

[FJBen]

My first thought is it's possible it ran like that before if you didn't see it run or test it.

I second the timing. Timing being off can create all sorts of issues so I would start with that as you already know you had the timing off.

I rebuilt my 13BT so it's very similar to the 12HT. My timing was way too retarded and was smoking, mostly white like crazy. After timing it closer to factory, no smoke, runs much better.

If you are positive you got all of your timing marks aligned correctly, then the next step is to spill time it and adjust by rotating the pump.

Use a small piece of injection line. Here is a video of how to do it.