Did an oil change... now it smokes...

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Postoy

Postoy

10 Year
Joined
Sep 25, 2012
Threads
29
Messages
345
Location
Chilliwack BC Canada
Question for you guys. Just did my first oil change since buying my Prado.
Didn't do anything different from any other vehicle I have owned. Drained the pan, pulled the filter.
Replaced plugged and filled. I used Delo 15 40... Well on my drive home last night I noticed that the truck is smoking now. It isn't really any color smoke I only noticed it in the night because of the lights behind me... but I ran it today and noticed a very light grey smoke when the truck is just sitting idling. Any ideas or has anyone had this happen before? I haven't over filled it... And I am running a home made catch can. -Matt
 
Can it be the rig has been smoking before the oilchange without you noticing it?
Grey smoke in general points to unburned/badly burned fuel. So might be a problem with the fuelsystem (bad timing, bad injectors, problem with the IP) rather than a problem related to the oilchange.
If oil is consumed by the engine you would see a blueish smoke rather than a greyish smoke.
 
Smell the smoke when it's idling. It's easy to tell diesel from engine oil by the smell. Diesel can burn blue/black/grey depending on circumstances. My guess is that it's probably diesel smoke.

I wouldn't start worrying too much. Smoke from diesels of this vintage is not that unusual. Look at virtually any city bus as it takes off...smoke is normal; especially on initial acceleration.

Have you cleaned your intake manifold and the intake ports of your engine? If it's all coked up still from the PCV and EGR crud, then you'll be running a bit rich and thus making more diesel smoke.

Also, if you remove your valve cover and take it apart, there is cleanable filter in there for the PCV system. The filter sort of looks like a piece of coral. Anyhow, clean it up really well and reassemble. This greatly diminishes how much oil comes out the PCV into the intake. Also, just extend your PCV and dump it under your vehicle (or into a catch can) instead of feeding the crap back into your intake. Edit: Sorry just read you already have a catch can....so some of this doesn't apply.

Keep an eye on your engine oil level, and you'll know if you have a problem related to oil loss.
 
Also, removing the throttle plate will probably get rid of the smoke at idle, as the engine will get way more air. Such a big improvement on this engine....
 
I've been thinking about removing that throttle plate. My issue with a lot of that stuff is finding gaskets to replace any of these parts I pull off. I'm not a fan of form a gasket unless I'm in a pinch.
I'll smell the smoke and let you know. I'm thinking diesel cause I'm quite used to burning oil smell just weird that it showed up when it did.

I'll have to get in egr removal soon. I can do that the same time at the plate removal
 
The gasket from intake manifold to the head is metal and can be re-used I think. You could buy gasket material and cut new gaskets for the other items if you're concerned. I've used RTV on mine, which can work well if everything is clean and minimal amount is used (I'm lazy...haha); it's holding up well after three years.
 
Postoy said:
Question for you guys. Just did my first oil change since buying my Prado.
Didn't do anything different from any other vehicle I have owned. Drained the pan, pulled the filter.
Replaced plugged and filled. I used Delo 15 40... Well on my drive home last night I noticed that the truck is smoking now. It isn't really any color smoke I only noticed it in the night because of the lights behind me... but I ran it today and noticed a very light grey smoke when the truck is just sitting idling. Any ideas or has anyone had this happen before? I haven't over filled it... And I am running a home made catch can. -Matt
Click to expand...

I think you didnt notice it before.

I thought mine was not smoking at all down the highway unless under load---until I saw it in the light of the car behind me at night.
 
I'm really thinking it wasn't smoking this bad before. On my way to work I got a dirty look from the guy next to me at a light as he rolled his window because my truck was smoking so bad just sitting at idle. Could this at all be linked to the fact that I have upped my boost? I don't think my boost gauge is working properly because before I put the reg on there is was showing 5-6 psi (stock I hear is about 9?). I now have it showing 10-11psi and under hard pulls (loads) the engine light comes on then shuts off (from what I read this shouldn't happen till about 15psi). Thoughts? Is it possible the ecu is in limp mode and over fueling like a gasser would?
 
When I bought my LJ78, I got it really cheap because of how bad it smoked at idle and low throttle positions. Owners had rebuilt the turbo and injectors trying to correct the problem, and then gave up. I thought it may have had a cracked head or something serious, so talked them down on price, and got it pretty cheap.

It turned out the problem was very simple, and maybe there is something similar up with yours. On mine, the belt tensioner for the alternator/vacuum pump was really loose, and the belts were slipping a lot (quietly). This meant there was very little if any vacuum at idle. This prevented the VSV which operated the small throttle plate in the throttle body from working correctly, and the engine was being starved of air at idle. This made it hard to start, and caused the copious amounts of smoke.

So you could check that the VSV that operates the secondary butterfly is working correctly. There is a way to switch vacuum lines around and open it permanently. The purpose of it is to make the EGR system work. The VSV is controlled by the ECU.

I think I was getting my engine light coming on as early as 14psi before I started bleeding boost from the sensor. So could be something similar for you. Sounds like your boost is spiking quite a bit. Maybe your MBC is not working right. Where are you measuring the boost? You should measure it close to the boost sensor so you know you are seeing the same value.

You could pull your ECU codes to make sure it is the boost sensor causing the light. Also, it works well to reset the ECU and clear the memory. One way to do this is disconnect your battery and make sure you ground the positive cable to discharge any capacitance. Some people also turn on the headlights with the battery disconnected which does the same thing.

Some of these ECU's are known to have failed capacitors on them which can effect operation. I checked mine and it was fine, but might be worth checking yours. It's mounted right above the glove box; easy to get it out. Be careful not to touch the circuit board much if you open it up, as static electricity can damage the board. Or at least make sure you are grounded.

Just more ideas...
 
Shes Mad said:
I think you didnt notice it before.

I thought mine was not smoking at all down the highway unless under load---until I saw it in the light of the car behind me at night.
Click to expand...

I thought mine didn't smoke much until I changed the rear bumper and had to change the tail pipe angle. Now I see it.

One benefit is other drivers do not ride my ass like they do everybody else.....:flipoff2:
 
Never check for smoke at night in another cars lights,it always looks bad. LOL

It isn't really any color smoke I only noticed it in the night because of the lights behind me.
Click to expand...
 
I had the exact same thing happen when I noticed my plume at night with a car behind me, it's much less noticeable during the day. If I have my wife drive it and I follow her in her car, it becomes obvious that it is well within the range of normal diesel opacity. My concerns were just those of a doting cruiser owner/overreaction...
 
Why 15W-40? The factory recommendation is 10W-30 is it not, and 5W-30 in winter?
 
My father in law recommended the Delo oil as he has used it in all his diesels that are a bit higher mileage and that seem to go through a bit of oil. So I figured Id give it a try but it only comes 15w-40... Is it a bad idea to use this weight?
 
I think the majority here are running 15w40. That's what I've been running for the last few years with no problems at all. (Shell Rotella) It's especially good in the southern part of the province where we have mild winters. I imagine up north in winter you'd want to run something lighter.
 
Valvoline Premium Blue 15-40 in my 13BT.
 
Previa Diesel said:
Why 15W-40? The factory recommendation is 10W-30 is it not, and 5W-30 in winter?
Click to expand...

Toyota recommend you use a grade according to the climate your landcruiser operates in. Toyota Australia sell only 20-50 for the older type diesels.
There is a chart somewhere in the FSM, I think its in the lube section
 
So I think I might have it figured out... It seems to be oil burning. Only at idle.... I changed my oil around the same time as my home made oil catch system install. I think I either have too much hose or too small of hose for it to vent properly. I have connected everything back to stock for now. I will report back if this actually stops the smoking at idle.
 
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