Hello all! So I just inherited my late grandfather's old 1986 f250 6.9L. As stated in the title I have never owned a diesel before so excuse my lack of knowledge and terminology. My grandfather was the single owner and took excellent care of his truck. I can remember riding with him as a family and he would hush everyone because he was sure he heard a noise and as soon as he had down time he would be under that truck investigating it.

Unfortunately he suffered and eventually passed away from Alzheimer's so for the past 3 or so years he had been less loving to the truck due to his illness so it sat for a while. my cousin dropped it off at my parent's house for me to pick up before bringing back to my place and said it was losing an intense amount of oil.

I've always worked on my own vehicles but again I don't know much about diesels. It has an - I'm assuming old - Banks turbo on it and I've found the leak to be coming from where the bottom of the turbo attaches to the engine on that round metal grate (Again excuse my ignorance in terminology lol). The seal there was ripped but my question is, should there be oil shooting up through there coming from the engine? Or is that some worn seals inside the motor itself?

Thanks for your patience and I'd appreciate some help. I actually flew down to my parent's place in GA with the intent on driving the truck back to my house in NC so I'm actually stranded here until I get it running lol. And is that seal something I can get from a parts store or do I have to order that from somewhere online?

Thanks.

 

Also not sure if it helps but this is the turbo that's installed. (Not actual photo but its the same type)

 

Welcome to FTE and sorry to hear about your grandpa. At least you will have something to remember him by!

There is not supposed to be any oil near the turbo drain line. If the rubber is ripped where it enters the valley pan, it will need to be replaced. I am going to replace mine hopefully this weekend, and will try to document it for you.

Read up on here, and on OB, and learn as much as you can. These trucks are fairly simple, and easy to work on, as I am learning on my first IDI too.

 

welcome to FTE.
that is the old non wastegated banks sidewinder turbo.
it sounds like your oil leak is coming from the grommet where the turbo oil return goes into the valley pan. this should get you started on stopping the leak.
E3TZ-6A892-A - Genuine Ford GASKET - REGULATING
or you can try going to a ford dealership parts counter and asking for part # E3TZ-6A892-A ford dealer parts counter price will probably double the internet price.

 

Shipping would probably make it a wash.

 

Thank for your replies. I picked up a new seal @tjc transport and soaked and cleaned the cdr while I had it all off. I've put everything back together and I had a really hard start and a lot of white smoke with intermittent misfire.

I've searched around several forums saying either the injectors or the injector pump. I'm not ready so ink $500 into a new pump yet so i want to test the injectors. How an what's the best way to do that?

 

So just a quick update. I just took it for a test drive to see if the smoke would clear up after driving a little bit. First time I'VE actually gotten to drive it since all I had before was other family members telling me how it rode.

I don't usually drive large or heavy vehicles but for being the monster that it looks like, it felt like there was no power to it. It really didn't like going forward when I stopped at a light on a hill. Starting from stopped going up hill it felt like there was no power.

 

remove the fuel filter and pour it out. fill it up with automatic trans fluid and put it back on. start the engine and let it idle for 30-45 seconds, then shut it off and let it sit for 12-24 hours.
then fire it up and take it for a hard drive.
the ATF will loosen any gunk in the pump and injectors while it sits, then the hard drive will blow it out and burn it up.

 

You can also use Diesel Kleen or any other diesel additives that are designed for cleaning/lubricating the pump/injectors.

The IP/Injectors could be acting up from the truck sitting for an extended period of time and not running. I would also recommend checking the timing if you have access to the required equipment.....perhaps a forum member in the area with the timing meter could lend a hand.

 

Thanks everyone for your replies. I don't think I'm quite to a fuel cleaner yet. I do plan on adding some once I feel its running better.

So I was bleeding the injectors to make sure there wasn't air in the system. When i pulled the rear passenger injector, the smoking cleared up almost all the way. i'm assuming I should be able to see a little bit of exhaust when its running but as it is I'm filling the neighborhood at idle in under a minute. Also even tho it sounds like its not misfiring when i crack it open it does sound like low rpm's. I'm assuming because that cylinder isn't firing. I dont know the truck enough to know the correct rpm's by ear.

If that injector is causing it to smoke does that mean it needs to be replaced? or is it a seal or a line? I heard that bad injectors cause black smoke not white so I'm trying not to jump to conclusions. thanks

---Also I'm not sure how to do it but I'd like to add the rough running and white smoke to the thread title.

 

a leaking injector will cause white smoke. that is why i suggested the
ATF trick, it may just be sticking open a bit and the ATF mat clear it up.

 

Hey all I'm back again. I wasn't trying to disregard your help @tjc_transport, I'm sorry if that's how it came out. All help is appreciated. So I did like you said and did the atf thing. I'm sure it helped but it didnt fic the white smoke so I replaced the injectors. That fixed the misfire but I still get a hard start and rough idle with white smoke. Not as much but still quite a bit.

I soaked and cleaned the cdr like i said and trying something else I had to pull it agin and noticed that it was full of grey gunky oil. confused, i checked the oil and it was also grey and really gunky. Researched that some and found that it was most likely coolant. I then checked the coolant and found the same grey sludge particulates in there.

The head gaskets were checked and they are fine so would that be the oil cooler then? If so do you guys think that oil and coolant stop leaks would work for just a little while or do I have to pull the oil cooler and replace the gaskets?

Thanks

 

no on the stop leak, and yes it sounds like the oil cooler has given up the ghost.

on the whit smoke. is it only on a cold engine, or is it all the time at idle?
if it is only on cold engine, it is probably a few bad glow plugs

 

I write this on my phone with dirty hands so excuse any typos. The oil cooler has a pretty bad leak dripping out of both ends. I wasn't sure what to look for before so I didn't connect the two. I'm currently in the process of removing the oil cooler.

The white smoke is all the time. On startup and on idle. I've let it run for 10 mins before, seeing if it was just cold engine, and it stays. More smoke when I rev. It rained yesterday so I went to pull it in the garage and when I put it in gear my Dad said the smoke went away, but I was only in gear for a few seconds to go from the driveway into the garage. Idk what that means. Possibly just a fluke who knows. Thanks again.

 

when you get the cooler out and apart, pay very close attention to the o-rings on both ends. any chips/rips or disfigurement will cause leaks.
then clean the cooler real good and inspect the coils. if it looks corroded or rotted replace it.
99% of the time though an o-ring kit and good cleaning is all that is needed.