hello to all I have 88 ford dump truck with a cat 3208 turbo I have a lot of white smoke out the exhaust tried several things to fix new fuel changed oil adjusted rockers I noticed one exhaust port wasn't getting hot or even warm I cracked some fuel lines and that cylinder didn't make any difference in rpm,s then I noticed fuel seepage from under exhaust manifold I took valve cover off and swapped injectors next to each other made no difference pulled exhaust manifold off and getting a fuel mist out first 2 cylinders a slight mist out of the 3rd cylinder could this be a timming issue ? it starts great when warm and if I plug it in when cold it will still start quick but smoking white bad and seems to be raw fuel out im sure this question has been asked befor but I have this thing all tore apart and need to get it back together please any help greatly appreciated ? thanks

 

Most 3208T's will run better with timing set to 4* higher than stock. Setting the timing is a great start.
Other than that, check fuel pressure and/or compression.

 

Sounds like a dead cylinder, which on 3208's in not all that uncommon.

David

 

thanks for the replys I tried doing the pinning of the pump and putting the bolt in the timming hole below, soon as the timming pin dropped up top in the injection pump while turning crank clockwise I tried threading the bolt into the lower timming hole and the bolt seemed to thread right in does this mean the pump timming is right ? my question is when doing the injection pump timming set are you suppose to have the crank dampner lined up with the timming pointer befor or does it matter ? should I turn the crank a few revolutions and retry the pin test ? the engine has hardly any blowby and I also had the one injector on the first cylinder on this side tested and was told it was good any guesses ? I sure appreciate the help

 

hello thanks for the reply the other day I was wondering if I could pick your brain again ? I tried doing the pin test for the injector pump , I put the timming pin in the injector pin hole and turned the crank clockwise till the pin dropped and I took the lower cover off and and the timming plug down below out and took other bolt and it seemed to thread right in the timming hole does this mean the timming is right on ? or did I miss a step ? are you suppose to have the crank dampner lined up with the pointer ? I also took the first injector out and had it tested and was told it was good also the motor has hardly any blow by ,, but with it running and I have the exhaust manifold off it is just spraying out a fine mist out the first 2 cylinders pretty good and the third cylinder is like spurting out a miss like every other revolution or so don't see any misting out the forth cylinder any advice ? I cant afford a major engine repair if its that I guess I will just drive it to the scrap yard ,, thanks in advance ,, bob

 

With no blow by, the cylinder and piston are probably ok, with the additional information posted, I would now lean towards a valve(s) not seating.

Probably needs the heads pulled and good look see. Or, do a leak down test and confirm suspected defects before teardown. You could do a compression test, although the leak down test is more specific as to where the issues are located. In my shop, I don't do compression tests anymore due to this.

Either way I cannot see timing causing only or two cylinders to have a issue, timing is going to affect all cylinders.

David

 

thanks dmanlyr I am gonna mess with it a little more i cant afford to do much with it im on social security money is very tight , it had been used to do a little scrapping here and there and sat for months at a time but then it started smoking so bad it looked like the old mosquito sprayers that use to be around lol

 

I sure understand about the fixed income and lack of funds. The only saving grace is that if it is a valve or two, and the head is not cracked, and as long as you can do the work of disassembly and reassembly yourself, it will not be a major expense like a in frame or the like.

Still, CAT parts are not cheap. We no longer have any 3208's in the fleet, only 3116's but sometimes I think CAT thinks they are selling gold!

David

 

I will say that I haven't done a 3208's timing. On most med duty engines, yes, you pin the pump with the crank in the degrees it was supposed to be set at(probably 10*) like you got it. Remove the bolts or gear from turning with the crank. Rotate the crank back(opposite of rotation) 4*, then put the bolts or gear back together. Tighten it all up, and pull out the pin.
On the mist, I'm thinking you have a bent or burned exhaust valve.