Help Needed White smoke out the tailpipe and loud knocking

[Zookie400]

i would say no dont trash the chip, too many people running them without problems. its too easy to blame the chip.

you could pressurize the cooling system to make it run wherever its leaking, it may and sounds like it is leaking into a combustion chamber (cracked intake port?)....you could take the glow plugs out, and crank it over by hand and see if coolant comes out of any hole, it may not be enough coolant in the chamber to spit out though. leaving pressure on it for some time will eventually fill it right up.

ultimately i think the heads need to come off if you are sure its not going into the oil. quite often if its coming out the tailpipe its on the top end.

 

[dpantazis]

j:

pm sent.

1. take a deep breath. relax. its only a truck. it may sound silly, but this is experience talking.

2. bum a ride to the kwik e mart. buy some lottery tickets. if you win, i want a cut. i have been telling you to do this for some time. if you win, money won;t be an issue and you can build up your truck into such a kick ***** machine, we will all be green with envy.

head gasket failures in the 7.3's are VERY rare. like unheard of. you are not tuned up enough to blow them. while zebra's do happen, its not likely.

where is the truck now? what have you done?

DP tuner's not a likely culprit. there are MANY chips out there with MILLIONS of miles on them with no issues. coincidence maybe. more likely is the chip may have not been seated well, but that would at worst fry the pcm, which it does not sound like you did.

have you been checking your coolant SCA's with the test strips?

i would also check the oil/coolant cooler. that is more common than head gaskets.

check your oil, or better yet, crack the oil drain plug and let a little dribble out. oil or coolant? oil floats on water. if there is coolant in there, that is part of the diagnosis.

the knock is the tougher thing to interpret.

dp

 

[JRJ04]

is a cracked intake port on the head? would the entire head need to be replaced?

 

[JRJ04]

j:

pm sent.

1. take a deep breath. relax. its only a truck. it may sound silly, but this is experience talking.

2. bum a ride to the kwik e mart. buy some lottery tickets. if you win, i want a cut. i have been telling you to do this for some time. if you win, money won;t be an issue and you can build up your truck into such a kick ***** machine, we will all be green with envy.

head gasket failures in the 7.3's are VERY rare. like unheard of. you are not tuned up enough to blow them. while zebra's do happen, its not likely.

where is the truck now? what have you done?

DP tuner's not a likely culprit. there are MANY chips out there with MILLIONS of miles on them with no issues. coincidence maybe. more likely is the chip may have not been seated well, but that would at worst fry the pcm, which it does not sound like you did.

have you been checking your coolant SCA's with the test strips?

i would also check the oil/coolant cooler. that is more common than head gaskets.

check your oil, or better yet, crack the oil drain plug and let a little dribble out. oil or coolant? oil floats on water. if there is coolant in there, that is part of the diagnosis.

the knock is the tougher thing to interpret.

dp

the truck is currently sitting in front of my house. i had a tow truck drag it home (was about 2 miles from the house) and it currently is sitting in front of my house waiting to be drug to either my mechanic or the dealership.

at this point, i have not attempted to start it again. i have checked the oil (but have not drained any out) and did not notice the presence of any coolant in it. I have checked the coolant, and cannot tell any presence of oil in it. The only thing I have noticed is that the coolant level has significantly dropped.

I just replaced the coolant about a month ago and I have not checked it with test strips since then. Could the fact that I replaced the coolant recently have anything to do with it

i did notice the chip was a bit cockeyed, but it fit in the pcm fine and started up fine. i think youre right in that it wouldve fried the pcm before it would have done this. In any case, it made a good even connection so i dont think thats the issue.

the knock is whats really getting me...i dont know if its a cylinder running dry or what.

 

[dpantazis]

crawl underneath the FRONT of the truck, head under the center of the engine and look UP at the weep hole in the water pump. it should be a little rectangular notch at 6 o'clock position.

what do you see?

while you are under there, crack the oil drain. what do you find.

are you up for pulling the glow plugs and turning it over by hand? look in the wiki for the how-to.

dp

 

[JRJ04]

I have never pulled the gp's before. Might be something I just let the dealer handle. I'll crawl under there tomorrow morning and have a look at the water pump plug and have a look. I'll also try the oil as well and see if theres a mix.

Should I try cranking it or could that do more damage than whats already done?

 

[JLDickmon]

I have never pulled the gp's before. Might be something I just let the dealer handle. I'll crawl under there tomorrow morning and have a look at the water pump plug and have a look. I'll also try the oil as well and see if theres a mix.

Should I try cranking it or could that do more damage than whats already done?

Dude... relax.
You CAN do this. With hand tools. In my new place, I don't have an air compressor yet, and that's all I have.

The driver's side is easy.

The passenger side looks worse than it really is. I think Kent (Tailgunnr) just got done telling you in another thread, what you can't get from the top, go through the wheelwell.

So the most "special" tools you need are jackstands and a milk crate to stand on. Ok, maybe a magnetic "muffin tin" to put your bolts in, but that's it.

So eat breakfast, put on a sweatshirt, and putter around with this today. What's the worst that can happen? You aren't going to drive it anyway, so if you run out of daylight you get back to it on another day?

 

[dpantazis]

j:

i would not crank it until you are sure that the cylinders are not hydro locked. you will bend or throw a valve or worse.

the 7.3's are darned near bullet proof. little things do happen, but you CAN do this. (did you play the lotto yet )

i assume that you have already had a look around the engine compartment for obvious things that might have happened. just a general look see.

here is the wiki page on injector removal. it outlines the basic procedures on removing the valve covers and what is where.

TikiWiki : 94 through 97 Injector R&R

dp

 

[JRJ04]

well just an update. i didnt get around to attempting to pull off the valve covers, but i did get out there and look underneath, and could not find any leaks. i drained some oil...looks to be fine to me. i would think if there were coolant in it, i would notice pretty fast.

I have to ask about the chip again though...i noticed when i got it that it was a bit cockeyed. it seemed to sit on the pcm fine, and to me if there were an issue there, the truck wouldnt have started or would have fried the pcm right? i cant imagine that being the problem but figured id ask.

its scheduled to be picked up in the morning and i'll let you know as soon as i hear back.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT!!! You guys really do bring me a peace of mind.

 

[JLDickmon]

I have to ask about the chip again though...i noticed when i got it that it was a bit cockeyed. it seemed to sit on the pcm fine, and to me if there were an issue there, the truck wouldnt have started or would have fried the pcm right? i cant imagine that being the problem but figured id ask.

its scheduled to be picked up in the morning and i'll let you know as soon as i hear back.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT!!! You guys really do bring me a peace of mind.

there's not much wiggle on one of Jody's chips.. they generally either sit on there right or they won't go on at all.