ran AE did cylinder contribution test. injector 3 and 4 came up. on PERD injector #3 was 1.6 and injector #4 was like at 7. Pulled valve covers and cylinder 3 and 5 have reman Alliant injectors in there. I pulled all the glow plugs out which were new Berus. I think oil may have got into the glow plug hole will this cause a problem with my compression test????

 

Yes it will affect your compression test at first if you have a problem related to the rings. A simple test to diagnose worn rings after getting low compression numbers is to put a few drops of oil in the cylinder. The oil film helps the rings seal and gives you a better reading.

Tell us about the blowby. Is it just smoke or is there pressure behind it? If you remove the oil cap and flip it upside down and place it on the fill tube, does the cap shoot off from blowby, or just sit there for a second before vibrating off?

 

cap sits there but it smokes out of exhaust and with the valve covers off out of the holes in head. If i crank the engine over will it blow the oil out?? the 10mm socket would hardly fit in there to get the glow plugs out I didn't see any way to get the oil out of the way. I'm waiting on a powerstroke adapter to come in. all injectors read 0 except for 3 and 4 at idle. Oil pressure was about 500 at idle and a 2krpm it went up to around 1000

When these engines lose compression is it always a meltdown of pistoons and rings or can these engines be rebuilt?? Everytime i see one on here with low compression there is a meltdown that destroyed the cylinders and holes in pistons.

thanks

 

Smoke out the exhaust or the oil fill tube? Smoke out the holes in the head is normal. That's why we have a CCV. The amount of smoke on a 7.3 is irrelevant. Mine will change the amount of smoke with different temperatures, different types of oil, and different miles on the oil between changes. If the oil cap just sits there, that means you don't have compression gasses in the crank case, which is a very good thing.

Blow oil out of where? Out of the oil fill tube = bad. Spitting oil out of the injectors with the valve covers off = normal.


Yea, a thin wall 10mm socket to break things loose, then remove the socket before getting the glow plugs out. A little oil gets in, but no big deal. Crank it over a couple of times with all the glow plugs out before starting your compression test to blow any excess oil out. If #4 has the worst reading, check compression there last to work the oil out of the cylinder so it doesn't affect your readings.

All injectors reading 0 is something that only happens in a perfect world, and we don't live in a perfect world. Above 5% is cause for concern, and it sounds like you've only got one cylinder acting up.


The reason you only read about catastrophic failures on these engines is because unless you blow them up, they tend to last for a very long time. About the only time we see worn rings is when there's been a problem with filtration, like from a drop in K&N air filter or a broken air box allowing dirt to "dust" the engine. Yes you can rebuild them, and Ford even sells a rebuild kit for them.

With all that said, it doesn't sound like you've got a compression issue. #4 injector is the 2nd one from the front on the driver side. I'd order some injector o-rings and swap the #4 injector with the one next to it, then check perdel's again with AE. See if the high reading follows the injector or stays in the same hole. You might just need a new injector.

If you've already got all the glow plugs pulled and are just waiting on your adapter, you might as well check compression first, then swap injectors if you don't find something with the compression test. Leave the GP out of #4 and the one next to it since you'll dump more oil into those cylinders during the injector swap. Cranking the engine with the glow plugs out will remove any excess oil from the cylinder after the change. Then you'll need a good 50 - 100 miles of driving to work all the air out of the rail for a true reading, but you should be able to follow the higher reading injector or hole even with the air still in the rail.

 

thanks. I meant if i crank it over will i blow the oil out of the gp hole. Do i have disconnect anything to stop oil from flowing when i'm doing the compression check? I think 400 psi is the number i'm looking for. The air filter box on this truck is in bad shape and there's a little wear on the turbo fins on the cool side but it spins freely and just a hair of play if i put a vice grip on the nut and wiggle. I guess the compression test will tell all. as soon as i get results i will post.

 

Unplug the CPS. Pull the fuse or relay for the IDM, or do both. That will keep the truck from starting and allow you to crank for the compression test. Hooking the batteries up to a charger and leaving them on a charger during the test is a good idea so it still starts when you put it all back together.

While we wait for the compression test, have you thought about picking up some injector o-rings in case you need to swap a couple around to help diagnose a bad injector? Replacement O-rings for Ford Diesel Engines

 

I didn' think about o-rings. I thought i could just swap them without changing o-rings but looking at that pic a bad oring may cause the injector to be off??? I'll order a set. good idea.

 

well figured while i got everything apart i mind as well pull the turbo. that rear clamp was a PIA. the EBV was stuck closed . i needed a channel locks to open it. valve flapper is hitting housing on one part.

How do i know if the actuator is working?? CAn AE energize it???

What can i do about the oil pouring out from pedestal when engine is turned over?? is there a block off that can be bought somewhere???

 

Did you crank the engine and hydro lock the engine AT ALL when the oil went in the cylinders??, if you did you may have big problems, do a compression test and see what you have.

 

I don't think AE can energize it. Where is the oil pouring out of? Is it from the hole around the actuator rod, or squirting out from below the pedestal or between the pedestal and turbo?

Are you wanting the EBPV to be operational later, or are you willing to remove it? It will involve pulling the turbo and pedestal, but you can remove the guts of the actuator rod. Snap ring holds a plate on the back. Unscrew tip on rod then tap the threaded rod out the back end with a hammer. Tap the hole from the rod and plug it. Clean the inside, replace the o-ring, plate and snap ring on the back and it's gone. Be sure to leave the EBP sensor on the front bottom portion of the pedestal unplugged. Then you can either weld the tang to hold the flapper open or just remove the flapper and you never have to worry about it again.

If you don't want to mess with it right now, unplug the EPB sensor on the front bottom of the turbo pedestal and see if that helps with your leak. Be sure to wire the flapper open to avoid excessive back pressure.

 

i removed the turbo off the pedestal and have turbo on my bench. pedestal is still connected. when i crank it oil is coming out of the hole in pedestal which supplies the turbo i guess the other hole in pedestal is a return. crap. do i have to put turbo back on to run compression test????

the butterfly on ebpv was stuck shut. carbon or butterfly stretched from heat. I wonder if the valve being closed caused any of the miss or smoke???

 

It can make it run rough.

You don't have to put the turbo back on to run the compression test, but you may need to keep adding oil and deal with the mess if you don't.