4d55 started misfiring and smoking horrendously

[Clouse]

I've had my Power Ram 50 for a while now, been slowly restoring/customizing it to my tastes. The engine was rebuilt shortly before I purchased it, and only has a bout 10k miles on it. I also recently replaced the head gasket after accidentally over heating it. I had the head checked out, no issues, and I had been driving it for about 7 months with no issues. Ran like a top. I took a weekend trip recently and the truck ran great on the way over, but once I returned I noticed it wasn't idling very nicely. As I continued to drive it day to day it got worse and worse, now it smokes horrendously and has no power.

I recorded a video to show whats up. Any suggestions? Injection pump going out?



Thanks

[huff]

Your engine looks nice. And clean, too.

I'm guessing you've checked the compression on all the cylinders?

The smoke looks bluish to me - would you agree? I believe that could indicate motor oil getting burnt?

Lack of power .... could be a timing issue, could be the IP like you suspect... I don't know, it's a head-scratcher to me.


Ooh.... I wonder if your turbo is about to go kaput? Maybe the turbo bearing is now worn and loose, and some of the oil feeding it is going straight into the intake?

[skullzaflare]

Motor would probably try and run off the oil. I would assume if it was the turbo, would be rear seal. However the turbo wouldnt effect idle much. Check your valve lash. Though the smoke is definitely oil burning somewhere. smell the smoke. Oil burnt in combustion and burnt in heat of exhaust are 2 completely different smells

[claych]

I've had my Power Ram 50 for a while now, been slowly restoring/customizing it to my tastes. The engine was rebuilt shortly before I purchased it, and only has a bout 10k miles on it. I also recently replaced the head gasket after accidentally over heating it. I had the head checked out, no issues, and I had been driving it for about 7 months with no issues. Ran like a top. I took a weekend trip recently and the truck ran great on the way over, but once I returned I noticed it wasn't idling very nicely. As I continued to drive it day to day it got worse and worse, now it smokes horrendously and has no power.

I recorded a video to show whats up. Any suggestions? Injection pump going out?

Maybe...
I am gonna roll with 'gasoline contaminated diesel fuel'...

[Clouse]

Thanks for the replies!

I have done a compression test on all cylinders, everyone came up to 400 psi (give or take about 5lbs). I checked for any valve lash or cracked cam shaft bearing caps, didn't see any issue. I thought maybe something happened and I jumped a tooth on the injection timing but everything seems to be ok there too. I've tried bleeding the system, when I crack open the lines the engine doesn't seem to idle all that differently. I was hoping as I went through cracking each injector line, that maybe I could determine if I had a single bad injector. The video makes the smoke appear a lot more blue than it is. My first assumption was also a bad turbo seal or something (and I do notice a little oil residue around the housing, but there is virtually no shaft play, so I was hoping it had a little life left. I did recently add some royal purple deisel fuel system cleaner/addative. I did this after the issue began in hopes of clean out the injectors or something, and I will say the smoking grew increasingly worse after adding in the royal purple. I think today I'm going to pull the fuel feed line to the injection pump and throw it in a clean container of fresh diesel and see how it runs. Perhaps I've got something bad in my tank. After that I'm sending the injection pump in to get rebuilt.

Anyone have experience with refitting and timing a rebuilt injection pump. The shop in Seattle said I would need to get the truck to a shop to the pump timed unfortunately none of the shops here in my little town want to touch the thing...

[Uncle Spence]

By PA Washington are you referring to Port Angeles Washington? I know that people from there called it PA. If so there might be someone in Sequim who would take a look at it. You really need a competent diesel mechanic and ideally an injector pump specialist. They do still exist. Sometimes you might have to consider shipping to someone reputable.

[huff]

Anyone have experience with refitting and timing a rebuilt injection pump. The shop in Seattle said I would need to get the truck to a shop to the pump timed unfortunately none of the shops here in my little town want to touch the thing...

I think you are just referring to the basic timing described in the repair manual? In a nutshell: Set the engine to a little before TDC. Remove the plug at the back in the middle of the 4 injector outputs. Put a dial gauge down there and set it to 0 (need an adapter to hold it in there while you let go). Set engine to (5 degrees?) atdc. Rotate IP until dial reads 1mm.

[Clouse]

I think you are just referring to the basic timing described in the repair manual? In a nutshell: Set the engine to a little before TDC. Remove the plug at the back in the middle of the 4 injector outputs. Put a dial gauge down there and set it to 0 (need an adapter to hold it in there while you let go). Set engine to (5 degrees?) atdc. Rotate IP until dial reads 1mm.

Thank you!! Yes, I just need help with the IP timing. The procedure from the manual didn't look too complicated, but they listed a special tool that I couldn't find for sale anywhere. If I can get away with using a dial gauge then I'm in business.

Uncle Spence, yes I live in Port Angeles, cool to see someone who's familiar with this area! I've gone into a handful of shops in Port Angeles and they all tell me they can't work on old mitsubishi stuff. I should probably have told them it's Bosch style injection pump, nothing too scary about it. If you happen to know of any competent mechanics around here (Port Angeles or Sequim) I'm eagerly looking for one. I'm going to send my pump off to Seattle Injector on Monday, hopefully when I get it back I can find a shop to lend a hand if I have more problems.

Regarding the blue smoke, I swear the video makes it look a lot worse than it is. Don't get me wrong, I'm certain my turbo is on it's way out, but this smoke looks a lot whiter in person, and doesn't have as bad of an oil smell as I'm used to with engines that burn a lot of oil. That being said, it does have some blue to it, could it be possible that my turbo seal is causing all my problems? I wouldn't think it would have such a dramatic effect on engine idle and performance. It still builds about 12psi of boost. It wasn't consuming a lot of oil it didn't seem. Who knows, I hate to spend $700 on an injection pump rebuild if it's something else, but I gotta start somewhere I guess.

Thanks for the help everyone, great to see people on a forum for these vehicles. I thought it was pretty dead. I have lots of plans for my truck once it's back on the road. I'll start a build thread pretty soon with pictures. So far I've installed a front mount intercooler, electric power steering from a Toyota MR2, a bed mounted lithium ion battery and solar panel, and a few other things. I love this truck, hoping to keep it on the road for many many years.

[Uncle Spence]

Uncle Spence, yes I live in Port Angeles, cool to see someone who's familiar with this area!I should probably have told them it's Bosch style injection pump, nothing too scary about it. If you happen to know of any competent mechanics around here (Port Angeles or Sequim) I'm eagerly looking for one. I'm going to send my pump off to Seattle Injector on Monday, hopefully when I get it back I can find a shop to lend a hand if I have more problems.

I don't know of any strong diesel mechanics in the peninsula but keep asking around. Ask other diesel fanatic guys. A lot of diesel truck fans usually think these mitsubishi motors are cool and like to take a closer look and could offer some referrals as to who would be willing to help with the injector and potentially the turbo. I wish I could help you out more. Will be in the Kennewick area here in about two weeks. These trucks can make some long trips though. I drove mine from Utah to North Dakota twice and then have driven it out to Nebraska loaded and that was almost 1000 miles. Sometimes wish I had kept the other Ram 50 I had. It had a brand new rebuilt injector on it.

So far I've installed a front mount intercooler, electric power steering from a Toyota MR2, a bed mounted lithium ion battery and solar panel, and a few other things. I love this truck, hoping to keep it on the road for many many years.

Post a picture of your intercooler set up. Really curious of what you robbed it off of. What is with the lithium battery though? Do you use that as your power for your starter? Bet it cost a pretty penny if that's its purpose. Is it just in that little compartment behind the cab? Did the gas motors come with those compartments?

[claych]

Clouse,
Update on,
" I think today I'm going to pull the fuel feed line to the injection pump and throw it in a clean container of fresh diesel and see how it runs".
????
As to the Turbo seal, well weirder things have happened, with that much smoke, removal of the cold side piping for inspection would
certainly show 'gross' oil contamination...
Not trying to be argumentative Honored Posters, just tryin to help !

[BradMph]

I have never seen a diesel smoking bluish like that. Keep us updated on your diagnosing and I hope we can help.

Welcome to the forum

[camoit]

My bet is the turbo seal went bad. A CAT will do the same thing. Lots of smoke and no power.

[huff]

It really seems a gamble - sending either the turbo or the IP out for overhauling will cost some money either way - so it makes sense to try and determine which it is beforehand.

Tha tbeing said, I think the fact that it started failing rather quickly on your way back from a long trip (BTW: I've never had a successful long distance round trip in mine either) makes me lean towards the turbo (but I don't have a lot of experience to really say for sure).

Anyway: the adapter for holding the dial indicator in place can probably be found on ebay usually by searching for "bosch diesel timing".

I bought one from there and it was horrible and awful, the extension rod that I wanted to use had the wrong thread for my indicator, and the one with the right thread was too short, and the screw for locking the indicator down would barely catch .... but it did the job in the end.


BTW: In your video, what is that grey (electrical?) box in the lower left corner of the still video frame? Is that for your electric fan?


This forum isn't exactly a bubbling cauldron of exchange, but people read it. I guess we don't have a lot to report. Unless you have found a good cheap source for reliable parts and whole engines, there isn't a whole lot of news.

[geezer101]

Is there any way of determining the turbo is the culprit by hooking up a boost gauge and checking boost levels? I have no knowledge on TD or diesels in general but if the turbo is shot it would explain the loss of power and coughing smoke by sucking oil through the seal.

[huff]

Is there any way of determining the turbo is the culprit by hooking up a boost gauge and checking boost levels? I have no knowledge on TD or diesels in general but if the turbo is shot it would explain the loss of power and coughing smoke by sucking oil through the seal.

That sounds like it makes sense. But what if it isn't producing boost because the exhaust pressure is weak, and if that in turn was caused by something different (like bad timing?)?

So I think it is a definite thing to measure... it would give us more data, but I don't know it would determine absolutely.....




I was re-reading what Clouse said, about the smoking getting worse after adding a fuel additive.... if the turbo was the cause, then why would that happen? So now I am leaning more to it being an IP problem.

[pennyman1]

We need pics on the MR2 electric power steering pump. Not sure why you don't like the Centerforce II clutch - Geronimo has had one installed in him for over 25 years with no issues.

[Clouse]

We need pics on the MR2 electric power steering pump. Not sure why you don't like the Centerforce II clutch - Geronimo has had one installed in him for over 25 years with no issues.

I probably should have clarified. Don't get me wrong, Centerforce makes good products I'm sure, I was just disappointed to discover that the centrifugal weight system makes a really annoying rattling noise at low speeds and idle. REALLY ANNOYING. It caused me a large headache as I had just had my transmission rebuilt and couldn't figure out where the rattling noise was coming from. After doing some searching online I discovered that it's pretty common with these clutches and to just deal with it. Whenever I have a need to pull the engine or transmission again those weights are coming off! Just my experience, I'm sure most people are very happy with theirs.

I used a first gen MR2 power steering pump, rather than the later model shown by BradMPH. I welded up a little mounting bracket and attached it on the drivers side down by the engine mount. The pictures I took are kind of difficult to see, but I think you get the idea. It's sitting right next to the power steering box so it was easy to have a few hoses made up at my local hydraulic shop. With the first gen mr2 pump it is possible to yank all of the harness and wire it up so it only turns on with steering pressure and at high speeds etc, but I opted to just wire it to a relay and switch. I turn it on off manually depending on if I'm highway cruising or in town. It's definitely not a must have for these pickups or anything, just an amusing project I wanted to try and have been VERY happy with the results. It cleared engine bay space, got rid of another belt, and while it's only a slight difference, I think the steering feels a little better (possibly a placebo effect).

Attachment 14969

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[BradMph]

We need pics on the MR2 electric power steering pump. Not sure why you don't like the Centerforce II clutch - Geronimo has had one installed in him for over 25 years with no issues.

Isn't your truck 35 years old Pennyman? Not to make you feel old or anything.



MR2 steering pump.jpgMR2 steering pump2.jpg
This is a late model spyder MR2 pump

[pennyman1]

Ya and I have owned him since new over 35 years, so what is your point? I looked up the pump, that setup has an ecm and lots of other stuff that needs to be there somewhere for it to work. Not a simple task on the surface.

[camoit]

The rattle noise on a diesel from the clutch is from the fuel. Diesel hits harder then gas. So what is happening is the crank actually speeds up and slows down in a fraction of a second. So any rattle gets amplified. My CAT is real noisy in the trans at idle. All the slop is herd.
The higher the Ctain the slower the burn. Just like gas octain.

[Clouse]

Update: I sent my injection pump to Seattle for a rebuild. I discovered the pump was actually leaking, so off it went. Unfortunately the turbo is also in sad shape and will need to be replaced, so I think the truck may be sitting for some time until I can round up the cash for a bigger turbo and 4d56 water pump. If anyone has any recommendations as to where/what to purchase I'd be immensely grateful.

Here's a quick shot of my intercooler, I still have to finish plumbing it up, but I'll hopefully have that done in the next couple weeks. A friend and I are planning on building a new front bumper with winch mount. That'll be happening in the next couple months.

20151108_102724.jpg20151108_102731.jpg

[Uncle Spence]

So you shoved the intercooler between the radiator and the oil cooler? What is the oil cooler mounted onto now?

[Clouse]

So you shoved the intercooler between the radiator and the oil cooler? What is the oil cooler mounted onto now?

The oil cooler is still mounted by the upper support. I have made two additional supports for the sides that aren't added yet. At the moment it's sturdy enough just with the upper hanger, but once I add the other support it'll help with any vibration or shaking. Don't want to fatigue the hard lines.

[Clouse]

Update:

I had the injection pump rebuilt and it looks great. I was really happy with how it turned out. Its installed now, but I'm still having trouble timing it. I think I may be a tooth off on the injection pump pulley or something.

I also pulled the turbo and am sending it to a recommended shop in California to be rebuilt (thanks Mike Warme). Once I had the turbo pulled I discovered that the impeller isn't spinning as freely as I had recalled. There isn't any play, but its difficult to spin. Which would explain much of my power and smoking problems.

Once those are in I'll start saving for a 4D56 head and new injectors. Hopefully that can wait another 6 months or so, I'd like to put money into the paint next.

[Clouse]

Forgot to add the obligatory pictures. Is there a way to edit posts? I've made a few mistakes on previous posts and haven't found an edit option...