I posted this issue in my other thread but Id like to get more insight.
I know white smoke could be ANYTHING but maybe there are some tale tale signs I could look for. I'll also be getting an oil analysis but in the mean time...smoke smelled like fuel, it was thin for the first 10-15 mins but when we first accelerated it was thick smoke.
Its in a 102a3 I've been looking at owned by a large church. Has the reliabilt sticker on it. Can I call DD to find when the bus had a rebuild? It was owned by a charter compan not grey hound.
White smoke on start up, seemed to clear up after about 20-25 mins only going around the block once, didn't take it on the high way to really open it up. One of their mechanics decided to take it for a spin and ran out of fuel? System was re primed and all is well but maybe junk got by the filters. Shut it down for about 20 mins then restarted it to move it and more white smoke.
I know my 8v71 runs hard so I don't want to get something I can't rely on!
Thanks for any info.
White smoke usually means you are burning oil. Either that or your engine just picked the new pope.
A low cetane fuel will also create white smoke.
Steve 5B.....
White smoke in 2-stroke detroits is unburned fuel (not water). It could be from the injectors or low compression. You need a Detroit Diesel compression tester to figure out what the problem is. I would bet low compression. The white smoke goes away as the engine warms up and the compression goes up.
White smoke = non ignited fuel. Blue smoke = oil burning. Black smoke = too much fuel being ignited for the amount of air. Good Luck, TomC
It could be from several starts without driving it. If you take it for a half hour run at highway speed and see if it clears up. I'm assuming the coolant level and oil level are normal. You could loosen the oil drain plug a couple of turns to see if any water comes out with the oil. Wait overnight without running the engine though before you check it.
Jon,
Unless you absolutely HAVE to have that bus, you might be better off looking elsewhere. The recommendation in the past has been to avoid church buses. Lack of maintenance is often the problem with low budget church buses. It can cost a lot of money to bring a neglected bus up to a satisfactory level of maintenance. If you have to do engine work in addition to everything else that can need work it can be quite costly and demoralizing.
Good luck with your search, Sam
Came from a large church
white smoke
Yeah, I would check out that "new pope" thing
just saying.
We could nail down where he is from....Detroit ::)
Now that scares you doesn't it ;D :o ;D
If you start a DD in freezing weather without a block heater it will belch a lot of white smoke!
Warm it up on a run, then shut it down and try it while it is warm. My guess is, the problem will go away.
A lot of folks that don't live in cold areas will overthink this.
Probably a lot of truth about lack of maintenance by current owners though.
"While the organ peeled potatoes"...
"and the choir rendered lard"...
"while the preacher was a preaching'...
'somebody set the church on fire"...
"Holy Smoke" the preacher shouted"...
"and in the rush he lost his hair"...
"Now his head resembles heaven"...
"for there is no parting there"!
the end. HB of CJ (old coot) :) :) :)
I have to remember that one. Thanks for the laugh.
You are not getting much help,most of the time low compression like Geoff said is the problem but injectors leaking can cause a problem with it smoking that bad take it to a dealer or run it hard for 50 miles see if it cleans up
Whatever the issue turns out to be, it is a warning for you. You are looking at a bus and seeing a problem right off that the owner did not even care to look into. This would seem to point to a complete lack of concern for maintenance. It could be likely that there are other issues that they have ignored also. I think that churches have a tendency to buy a bus, run it down, and sell it. For their use, it is probably cheaper to buy another used bus than to fix the one they have. Since you are going to convert the bus, you don't have that luxury.
If the temp is above 50 degrees, the engine should cold start with no problems and no smoke. I just started my 8V-71 for the first time this year and it put out a bit of black smoke (big injectors) then no smoke at all. Started like it had been started yesterday-2 compression hits and running. Good luck, TomC
Quote from: luvrbus on March 19, 2013, 07:23:25 AM
You are not getting much help,most of the time low compression like Geoff said is the problem but injectors leaking can cause a problem with it smoking that bad take it to a dealer or run it hard for 50 miles see if it cleans up
I don't know if it will take 50 miles but I do agree with the idea. If this engine has been doing a lot of idleing/loafing along it may load up and smoke some. Take it out an run the snot out of it then observe the smoke and performance of the engine. This advice holds true for gas engines also. Dealing with old equipment and trucks I often see an engine which appears to be sick only to be cured by a good hard run. I just came off of a job where we had a towboat built in 1958 with 2 8V-71s for power. One engine was pretty fresh but still put of a good amount of smoke after ideling for a few hours. The worn out engine could put a smoke screen that 007 would be proud of. I also observed that the good engine cranked slowly and would be running in 1-2 revolutions no matter what the temperature was. The worn engine cranked pretty fast and ...... they bought either by the case. See how it behaves after a hard run.
Well after speaking with the their lead mechanic who knew almost nothing about it, said its been smoking that bad for the year and half he's been working there. I guess I'll be passing on this one.
Thanks everyone for the input.
Good choice. If it has been smoking for a long time you should find a different coach.
White smoke in a two stroke detroit = compression rings