HELP! WMO Excessive smoke! 7.3 IDI

[Allen72289]

Hey, guys. I searched this forum and couldn't find the answer. Sooo, anywaay. I'll start off where I began. Decided to start my experiments with wmo/wtf etc. with 9 gallons of wmo/wtf mix i filtered to 5 micron yet did not dewater it. The tank had 6 gallons of diesel, added the 9 gallon of waste oils. Cranked her up, ran fine but smokes heavily at idle. I've since then ran through about 3/4 of the 15 gallons. It won't smoke at all once in a while however most of the time it smokes like a freight train at idle. I noticed when I bought my idi the engine runs rather cold, I figure it needs a new thermostat. Could a cool engine cause this??? I eventually will be running 90 percent wmo, just worried ill get a ticket for excessive smoke. I dont care about the injectors or pump cause the previous owner should have replaced them 50 thousand miles ago. So if I'mma lock a pump and clog injectors it might as well be the junk that's on the engine now. Also, I've heard these pumps cant take more than 140 degree fuel temps. How do I regulate it precisely? especially when my coolant is much hotter, or will be once I put a new thermostat in, I do plan on some kinda coolant jacket for a second wmo tank. Thank you!!

[armstrongfordtrucks]

I have run WMO in two trucks so far. The first was a 97 7.3 PSD. It had a 203* thermostat. Anything over 50% smoked. I run as much as 80% in the truck for about 10,000 miles with no problems. The exhaust pipe looked like someone sprayed it with light gray primer.

The truck I am running now is a 2000 7.3 PSD. I have run very little through it so far due to the winter. I was running 80% until the temp dropped below 30*. It just will not start sitting outside. If I plug it in for 30 minutes it will fire right up. If it sits in the garage it fires right up. I am now running 25% WMO until spring. I just ordered a 203* stat yesterday to install. The exhaust is black pipe is black as coal. I don't know if stat temp has anything to do with it yet but I will know when the temp rises outside and get the stat installed.

[Allen72289]

Since this thread my engine has had one of its hot runs, at times it will run cool to the touch, at times it will creep just above c on the idiot light and actually produce some heat. Less smoke when its hotter for sure. Eventually I'll be running something like a wtf/wvo mix because I dont feel like getting a ticket from some pig due to excessive smoke.

Thanks for the info!

[armstrongfordtrucks]

You have a bad thermostat, change it then try 50/50 and see what happens.

[Allen72289]

I'll do that when it warms up a bit. Yeah, the previous owner's response to the thermostat was "It never overheated so I never changed it"

>_>;


Mmm, discovered the cold advance had constant power to it. With it off the longer burning stroke cuts down on the smoke big time.

Hmm, should go through all the wiring on this thing. How hard is it to fabricate a custom wiring harness for a 94 nonturbo idi?

Thanks!!

['88 E-350]

I get little or no smoke at idle hot or cold unless I've been idling a lot like in a traffic jam. If I idle or drive softly for a while it'll smoke a lot when I get on it hard then it clears up. It does that a little on diesel fuel also, just not nearly as bad as 100%WMO. Mine runs cold too. For now I hung a towel across the grill to block some air, it eventually warms up now. As far as getting a ticket you'd have to check your local laws. Here in Ca. operating below 4000' elevation you can't exceed any smoke darker than #1 on the Ringlemann Chart or with enough concentration to obscure an observer's vision more than the #1 shade. Not verbatim, but that's the general gist. #1 basically equals a 20% blockage of light. It would be one of those tickets easy to fight if you hit the court informed. I got a loud exhaust ticket once. My first question in court was "what was my decibel reading officer?" Not having one nor being able to prove that he had any specific training qualifying him as an expert in determining sound levels it was dismissed. All that aside, a heavy smoker is obnoxious and bad in many ways so it's best to fix it. Different oils smoke differently, my most recent batch is the worse. There's some really heavy gear oil, some insanely dirty motor oil, and a lot of it is emulsified with water. I actually expected it to not run or run really crappy, but it does ok other than it won't start cold and smokes. I've done a bit of playing with WMO, read some of my other posts and you might find some useful or at least entertaining info. Nothing bad has happened to my motor

yet.