Re: ? on hi mileage diesel


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Posted by Oscar Schultz on December 18, 1998 at 06:51:54:

In Reply to: ? on hi mileage diesel posted by Dennis Sherman on December 17, 1998 at 18:51:09:

The best way to tell is to do a compression test.
You need a high pressure gauge - most diesels will produce 600 psi. Get the engine spec's and do the test. The engine spec's should have a psi range where the engine is considered good.
A rule of thumb - once the psi reading is below 80% the engine is tired - may not start in the winter without preheating.
70% - time to rebuild - does not start without preheating (block heaters)
60% - it may not start at all
If the engine surges - there is either an injector system problem or there is a blowby problem - this can be a very bad problem.
SOME Diesels **WILL** run on blowby above a certain RPM - NEVER overfill the crankcase!
If you get a fuel leak or hot oil in to the intake (via pcv system) the engine can runaway with the fuel system shutoff.
drive the truck, have a friend follow
watch the exhaust - some black smoke under load is ok (none is much better). If there is a black tail you can see in the mirror the engine is tired.

I have a 86 ford 15 pass. van diesel - 300000 real miles 200000 was highway & very good care.
The motor is tired - it does not start without the block heater during the winter. It is past time for a rebuild. Since the Van is not used for the vanpool any more we just plug it in and wait.
At 300000 the rust and interior is getting to be a problem. I have had to preheat the motor for 2 years (25000 miles). I need to rebuild - $2500 - $3000 is more the van is worth. Now a PW, M37, or my W100, I would rebuild. The van is a maybe.
Good luck with the diesel
Oscar


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