Clear oil, blue smoke

[Giles]

Hi can I have some wisdom please, just taken delivery of my first HJ61 from Japan with 190,000kms and she is in really nice condition but she is a little smokey. I thought it’s might be she was in an auction and then on a boat so I let her run for a couple of hours on tick over but it made no difference.
What’s odd that I have never seen is the oil is clear, not golden but clear. Could it be the issue? Or is that wishful thinking?

 

[dmjay]

First thing is to drop the oil, go with a known good weight of at least 20w-40 like Rotella etc.
12H-T engines do not like thin oil at all. Start there and report back.

 

[Giles]

First thing is to drop the oil, go with a known good weight of at least 20w-40 like Rotella etc.
12H-T engines do not like thin oil at all. Start there and report back.

Thanks, that’s my plan, have some 15/40 just waiting for the filter but I am a bit nervous. She runs really sweat, touch the key and she is away. The oil pressure is in the bottom quarter and only gets just below half way if I rev hard which is worrying me.

 

[dmjay]

At this stage don't worry about the oil pressure gauge, mine never goes above one third with new oil, and i run 20w-60.
Start with new oil. If it starts in like two revs when you hit the key then compression is probably just fine.
I have 250k on mine, runs like a swiss watch, yours is just run in.
If it is still blowing a bit of blue smoke after new oil start thinking about valve guide seals. Let us know either way.

 

[Giles]

At this stage don't worry about the oil pressure gauge, mine never goes above one third with new oil, and i run 20w-60.
Start with new oil. If it starts in like two revs when you hit the key then compression is probably just fine.
I have 250k on mine, runs like a swiss watch, yours is just run in.
If it is still blowing a bit of blue smoke after new oil start thinking about valve guide seals. Let us know either way.

Thanks man feel a bit less terrified now, I let you know how I go. Read lots of stuff on rings and turbo seals and it’s a bit beyond me, basics I can do but I am no mechanic

 

[Giles]

So bit of an update, changed the oil today, new filter 15/40. I let her run for about 30mins on tick over and it’s no better. However the oil pressure seems higher, I also noticed there is no smoke coming out of the oil cap.
I can’t take her for a run until she passes Gov mot test, she won’t pass that if she is smoking. So any other ideas would be welcome

 

[Rigster]

I am assuming that this did not come with a service history? If not, then it could just be that the injectors are dirty or worn. Since it sat for some time before getting to you, you could try running a good quality diesel purge to clean the injectors, then if that does not do it, pull them to be tested and/or rebuilt. Since you cannot drive it, I would put a new fuel filter on, and fill it with the diesel purge. Worn injectors without a nice clean spray pattern can also cause excessive smoke.

It is a little harder to troubleshoot these types of issues without being able to drive it for a while. To assess if it is consuming any oil, using a little more fuel than it should, etc. Looks like a decent unit, and probably just needs a little TLC to get it tip top.

 

[Giles]

I am assuming that this did not come with a service history? If not, then it could just be that the injectors are dirty or worn. Since it sat for some time before getting to you, you could try running a good quality diesel purge to clean the injectors, then if that does not do it, pull them to be tested and/or rebuilt. Since you cannot drive it, I would put a new fuel filter on, and fill it with the diesel purge. Worn injectors without a nice clean spray pattern can also cause excessive smoke.

It is a little harder to troubleshoot these types of issues without being able to drive it for a while. To assess if it is consuming any oil, using a little more fuel than it should, etc. Looks like a decent unit, and probably just needs a little TLC to get it tip top.

Thanks, I did fill her from empty and put a bottle of STP diesel clean in but I bet she hasn’t even used more than a litre yet, didn’t change the filter unfortunately. No service records but has no rust and interior is in god shape and the engine bay looks very original so I guess the mileage is correct. She isn’t smoking big clouds but enough you can see. I would love to put a thousand miles on her and dump the oil again but can’t. If I rev hard it smoke a bit more but not a great deal more

 

[DrRock]

Thanks, I did fill her from empty and put a bottle of STP diesel clean in but I bet she hasn’t even used more than a litre yet, didn’t change the filter unfortunately. No service records but has no rust and interior is in god shape and the engine bay looks very original so I guess the mileage is correct. She isn’t smoking big clouds but enough you can see. I would love to put a thousand miles on her and dump the oil again but can’t. If I rev hard it smoke a bit more but not a great deal more

This is tough as it definitely sounds like an Italian tune up is in order... . What is the pass/fail criteria for smoking? Apologies for the ignorance here but I'm not familiar with MOT regulations. Here in the US, at least in my state, one just needs to pass emissions, no visual tests are required unless it's obvious in which case the emissions would fail anyways.

Cheers, James

 

[Giles]

This is tough as it definitely sounds like an Italian tune up is in order... . What is the pass/fail criteria for smoking? Apologies for the ignorance here but I'm not familiar with MOT regulations. Here in the US, at least in my state, one just needs to pass emissions, no visual tests are required unless it's obvious in which case the emissions would fail anyways.

Cheers, James

Hi James, I think the Mot regs are not very strict because of her age, so as long as it’s not visually smoking out the test centre it’s ok. I would say at best my old girl is boarder line. I am at home tomorrow so wondering if I should leave her running for a few hours or is that pointless?

 

[DrRock]

Hi James, I think the Mot regs are not very strict because of her age, so as long as it’s not visually smoking out the test centre it’s ok. I would say at best my old girl is boarder line. I am at home tomorrow so wondering if I should leave her running for a few hours or is that pointless?

I don’t have a toyota diesel but the diesel engine in my boat definitely likes to be run up to clear out the cobwebs. If you are far enough away from neighbors maybe try warming it up and giving it some revs in the driveway. Nothing too crazy, just something to run it up through its usual rev range.

Cheers, James

 

[Giles]

Good news update, hope this helps someone else. I was very sceptical but paid for a carbon clean where the put hydrogen into the engine. Anyway the blue smoke has almost totally gone. It clearly removed a load of gunk because at the start it chucked out a lot of smoke and the guy even said it looked like the turbo seals had gone, luckily it steadily cleared up