detriot engine with a lot of blow by

[vontrial]

I have a Detriot engine that has a lot of blow by mechanic said some det,engine does that. its a 430/500. Also thinking about pulling flabed,my wheelbase is239,trans 10 speed with 3:90 ratio just wondering would that be good spec since a lot of load will be heavy.. I use 1 gallon of oil between oil changed 12000 miles I changed oil every 15,000. Avg about 6.3 miles per gallons, Thanks

[ChrisSai]

Is the blowby coming out of the bottom tube? I have seen Detroits that test good on the Dyno but still have alot of smoke coming out of this tube. It may be a failing air compressor.

[vontrial]

Yes it is coming from the bottom tube

[roadranger]

I have a Detriot engine that has a lot of blow by mechanic said some det,engine does that. its a 430/500.

We got that same motor/rating with the some problem. It started when the coolant system sprung a leak and the motor ended up severly overheated. That was over a year ago and it hasn't gotten worse. Motor has no torque at low end though - don't know if it was OK before. Very unpleasant motor to drive, if it didn't have a 13 speed you'd have to rev the crap out of it to keep from falling off the low end of the torque curve when you shift up. Much prefer our m11/330hp tractor - that's how bad it is :shock: ! Our detroit 470hp/1800rpm tractor has plenty of torque down to 1000rpm but that 430/500hp/2100rpm detroit just has no guts unless you get it up over 1200rpm and then it takes forever for the turbo to spool up .

[mrpersons]

roadranger Check your intercooler for leaks (have it pressure tested), sounds like that may be your problem there.

[roadranger]

Roadranger, check your intercooler for leaks (have it pressure tested), sounds like that may be your problem there.

Yah, I suspected that is the place to start - but it ain't my truck and the boss likes to wait until something gets really bad to fix it. Also the MPG sucks, I only get 6.25 out of the aerodynamic truck (Int'l Eagle condo w/side extensions and 13 speed) with this 500 detroit where I get 6.75 out of a less aerodynamic truck (Ford Aeromax w/wing and 10 speed) with a 410 cat - both 3.70 rear ends. The Detroit in the better truck should be at least .25 better, not .5 worse! :shock:

[vontrial]

What exactly is the intercooler and what is it purpose, would like to know before I carry to have it check. The blow by is a white smoke. Thanks again

[roadranger]

What exactly is the intercooler and what is it purpose, would like to know before I carry to have it check. The blow by is a white smoke. Thanks again

Actually I think he was talking about it being a possible reason for my lack of low end torque - can't imagine how it would cause blow-by. Anyways the intercooler takes the air compressed by the turbocharger (which heats it up big-time) and cools it down 300 degrees or so. Looks liike a radiator placed in front of the coolant radiator. Cooler air has more oxygen per volume so the engine computer can inject more fuel for more power if the air is cooler. If there is a leak the pressure doesn't build as fast as the RPM's come up so the computer won't inject as much fuel at lower RPM's as it would normally which give you the low torque I'm experiencing.

[uncleal13]

Blow by can also be a sign of worn piston rings.

[roadranger]

By the way, my blowby is so bad that I can't leave it running without folks coming up to me to tell me my truck is "overheating" :shock:

[allan5oh]

Uhm, white smoke blowby? Hows your coolant doing? Is your oil pressure higher then normal? What does your oil look like?

[vontrial]

Well kinda like white smoke or fog, roadranger my isn't quite that bad. thanks for info on intercooler

My Detroit 60 does the same thing once in a while. Mine looks like fog or steam and not a darker smoke color.

[vontrial]

My coolant is fine although I noticed I have a leak around the bottom of radiator around the neck, oil pressure is fine also my oil look fine. Will get my oil changed Monday and check on leak on radiator and have my intercooler check. Thanks

[stranger]

roadranger wrote:
Motor has no torque at low end

Check the rubber hose from the compressor to the intake. I should be blue if it is a factory hose. This hose is pressurized by the intake to help the compressor build air faster.

If a hole comes in this hose, which usually happens on the lower back side, you will lose a lot of air charge to the engine. This results in low horsepower and torque, and decreased fuel mileage.

This is very easy to check and replace.

[bob h]

I agree with the compressor inlet hose theory for the power concern. The crankcase blow-by is measurable, take it to a competent service facility and have them do a blow-by test with a manometer.

[9200IH]

Roadranger S60 Detroits are not suppose to go below 1050rpms per engine owners manual. Sounds like you are trying to drive the DD like a Cat. Detroits like 1400/1500 and up to 1700 for a shift point. But if you shift at 1500 you will get better fuel milage.

I have a 430 hp DD pulling 49,000lbs I get 8.475mpg @ 57 mph IH 9200 3:90

[roadranger]

Check the rubber hose from the compressor to the intake.

Thanks, didn't know the compressor got it's air from after the turbo. :shock:

[roadranger]

Roadranger - S60 Detroits are not suppose to go below 1050rpms per engine owners manual. Sounds like you are trying to drive the DD like a Cat. Detroits like 1400/1500 and up to 1700 for a shift point. But if you shift at 1500 you will get better fuel milage.

I have a 430 hp DD pulling 49,000lbs I get 8.475mpg @ 57 mph IH 9200 3:90

I do miss my 3406E Cat :sad: ! If I was to shift this crappy DD whole gears at 1500 I'd bog out! :shock: ! I have to go to 1700 for whole gears and 1600 for splits to keep it from loosing power after the upshift. Another truck we have has a 470hp DD that doesn't have any problem developing torque down at 1100. Without the 13 speed this truck would be almost undriveable. To bad, it is a 2000 Intl Eagle 70" sleeper but has had many problems, some fixed and some still there. Just had the kingpins done. Really needs a overhaul to get rid of the blowby, a new steering box, a new seat, fix the incredibly loud wind whistles on it (can't run with the windows down :shock: ), and it is still too big for the city deliveries we do (rarely run overnight) . If it wasn't so F'd up we'd sell it. Well, I've got to spoon some new drives on the truck we just registered tomorrow - a 1995 FLD120 41" sleeper with 11.1 liter DD 325/350 9-speed that seems to pull better than the 430/500 hp DD in the Intl :shock: .

I was in a truck stop this weekend talking to a guy with a Detroit Series 60 and he showed me his truck and he had a hose connected to the blow-by pipe under the engine and went into the exhaust stack.

Is this normal and OK to do this?