White smoke 1HZ - solved

[mudgudgeon]

Cool

I've always been a bit sceptical of injector cleaners etc. I reckon they are largely snake oil. I've used them here and they and never been convinced they did anything. But sounds like it helped you

 

[janyyc]

I completely agree, there’s a ton of snake oil out there. We used Hot Shots Diesel Extreme, which is what was recommended. It definitely seems to have worked. Reviews online indicate the same ‍

 

[gnarlynick2072]

Well, TL;DR version is - the problem is fixed, thanks to @gnarlynick2072 and his friend. Thank you, guys!

Together @JDM Journeys and @gnarlynick2072 we were already seeing the end of this 1HZ... what could it be? It must be a catastrophic failure...

All the while, Nick's calm and controlled friend simply diagnosed a misfiring injector and suggested we start by buying diesel injector cleaner and running it through, first 50/50 from a jar, and then about half the container into the fuel tank. And a smart decision this was, since it fixed all the problems. We went for a nice drive afterwards and there was no smoke, no stumble, no hesitation. Can I say - problem solved?



View attachment 3508801

@veiloctane saved the day

 

[veiloctane]

@veiloctane saved the day

what was amazing was when running the injector cleaner out of a mason jar within a few min you could hear the tone change and the engine idled smoothly!!! then no more smoke!!!

I suspect some bad or old diesel and probably contaminants in the lines perhaps sticky injectors? always try the simplest fix first.

@janyyc it was a pleasure to help out visit and hang out. you have nice cruisers!!!!

 

[Kroll]

Nice easy fix! My go to for any smoke abnormalities has been Diesel Purge made by Liqui Moly. I'll usually run it un mixed directly though the fuel filter for maximum effectiveness.
Do you normally run a diesel additive when you fuel up?

 

[AirheadNut]

I've used LiquiMoly Diesel Purge on quite a few older diesels, probably around half a dozen. When the engine runs on straight diesel purge from a separate container it is shocking to see the color of the liquid in the return line. Some of the engines I've used it on didn't seem to run any differently afterward, others the difference was marked: better cold starts, less smoke, quieter running and smoother revving. It was most noticeable on the two Mercedes OM617 engines I've had, one of which had sat with diesel in the fuel system for at least 10 years without running.

 

[janyyc]

While the 1HZ on this truck isn't "older", it did sit for 13 years with whatever was in it (not much, but still). Mind you, since then I have driven it >16000 km but one never knows. Or, it could have simply been a bad batch of diesel. Super happy it was resolved, though.

 

[veiloctane]

I've used LiquiMoly Diesel Purge on quite a few older diesels, probably around half a dozen. When the engine runs on straight diesel purge from a separate container it is shocking to see the color of the liquid in the return line. Some of the engines I've used it on didn't seem to run any differently afterward, others the difference was marked: better cold starts, less smoke, quieter running and smoother revving. It was most noticeable on the two Mercedes OM617 engines I've had, one of which had sat with diesel in the fuel system for at least 10 years without running.

Liquid molly I’ve heard a lot of good things from the veggie oil Mercedes guys. But it ain’t available where I am and hotshots diesel extreme is.

I’ve also used PS power service diesel injector cleaner but it would take alot more to do what hotshots. Last time I used PS power service I used the large Jug I think it was 1gallon available at truck stops.

If your in canada and looking for a good price on hotshots diesel extreme You can get a 1 gallon jug at your local flying J if your in (Calgary it’s the one in the south by princess auto). For about the same price as a small bottle at Canadian tire. Well worth it.

 

[lowenbrau]

Data point. A pint can of liquid Moly will get your out-of-fuel BJ74 from the parkade at the Calgary airport to the nearest fueling station.

 

[janyyc]

Data point. A pint can of liquid Moly will get your out-of-fuel BJ74 from the parkade at the Calgary airport to the nearest fueling station.

Should have poked around YYC for a 70 series

 

[janyyc]

Reopening this thread after a summer of driving because the white smoke is not entirely fixed.

I have two 1HZ’s - a 2000 HZJ78 with over 100K km on the clock, and the 2008 HZJ76 with under 20K.

Both of them sporadically let out white smoke, and sometimes stutter/hesitate under load. Most often I notice this when doing a long drive, with sustained speeds of over 100km/h, and hit the first slowdown/street lights - when accelerating again there can be the white smoke and stuttering.

If I remember to use Liquimoly or similar the problem is reduced or eliminated.

The HZJ76 does seem to run louder (non-scientific, of course) and at times it feels like it has less power. Also the fuel consumption is higher than the HZJ78, though of course it’s hard to compare side-by-side given different parameters (one has a roof rack, the other doesn’t, etc.). It definitely experiences the issues described above more frequently.

The interesting thing is that @John Young was driving his HZJ105 in Canada for the first time in August this year. It’s a vehicle with a completely different history, etc., but he started to have exactly the same problem - white smoke and stuttering - when driving his vehicle from BC to AB once he crossed into AB. I suggested he get some of the fuel additive and it solved his problem (though I should note he hasn’t driven his vehicle since).

Furthermore I did a big trip in the US in June and August with the HZJ78 and only experienced the white smoke once (when descending a steep hill in 4LO, using engine braking, without having the engine really warmed up since we camped up top - to be expected) and then again only once back in Canada and having refuelled.

FWIW, all aforementioned vehicles are equipped with High Altitude Compensators.

Any wild ideas here? Canadian diesel? Altitude sickness? The common thread here seems to be altitude, but I find it strange the additives help so much (yes, improved cetane and so forth, but why would that equal less unburnt diesel?). Furthermore a large portion of the US driving was at similar altitudes to where we live yet we didn’t experience the same problems…

Thanks

 

[bj70bc]

ive seen a noticeable difference between diesel at different stations
and run stanadyne additive now, there is a wide range of cetane ratings at different stations

 

[bj70bc]

perhaps a injector rebuild is in order
altitude may be exacerbating the issue, dirty sticky injectors?, not enough pop pressure?
my 3b liked new nozzles and proper pop pressure

 

[bcsteel]

For some reason I get less smoke with shell diesel over here. Have bulk fuel card lock account and generally alternate fills. 12ht and 3b tho…

 

[Squash]

I'm in the buy good fuel camp.
Sometimes you have no choice, just finished my 3rd Ontario to BC trip in under one year.
After a discount fuel brand fill up at 2:00 am, in the middle of nowhere, and then a Petro Canada fill up, the get up and go was almost immediate. I often add Stanadyne before hitting the mountains.

 

[JDM Journeys]

Jan I've got to agree with above... I've had mixed results with different fuel so these days it's almost always shell, which gives me the best L/100.

But overall... One of my jdms came to Canada with 72k kms on it. At 100k I had the injectors tested and they needed work... They got a rebuild with new nozzles etc. I wonder if that might fix the smoke? Maybe try Ali first since it's the one that seems to be most affected?

 

[janyyc]

Since it is winter, there hasn't been any driving of the adventure rigs. Yesterday, however, a Marketplace find necessitated a drive of 215km each way and Ali the HZJ76 was up for the task. Startup at a few degrees below 0 (and after a few months of sitting) was instant and smokeless, as was the drive up. About half an hour was spent loading up the purchase, and on the way back the same issues started (white smoke, hesitation/stuttering under load).
I am curious why the problem is evident only when the engine is truly warm - I saw a thread on here that had the same problems with a 1HZ and it was a timing issue. I can't imagine that to be the root cause since the timing was never touched and engine never rebuilt in any way.
I think in the summer I'll pull out the injectors and see what's going on. Seems the snake oil is really only masking - not solving - the problem.

 

[Squash]

Grab fuel from the steel line at the firewall with a new hose.
Run the new hose to the IP intake bypassing the filter assembly.
Take her for a spin and compare.
It doesn't take much of a vaccum leak to replace fuel with air, which can only get worse as you demand more fuel at highway speeds.
A vaccum sealed system will barely take a couple of primer pumps to get very stiff. A leaking system will take multiple pumps until the primer starts to get stiff....it will then soften up.

 

[janyyc]

Thanks for the reply, @Squash - every input helps.
FWIW, I already replaced the fuel lines from the firewall to the filter housing/primer, and then from there to the IP, along with clamps (all OEM). The filter housing/primer is also new...

 

[mudgudgeon]

Thanks for the reply, @Squash - every input helps.
FWIW, I already replaced the fuel lines from the firewall to the filter housing/primer, and then from there to the IP, along with clamps (all OEM). The filter housing/primer is also new...

What about rubber lines under the truck? From tank to solenoid, from there to main fuel line?

Fuel filter seated correctly? And o'rings good?
Might be repeating the basics, but sometimes that's all it takes.