Upcoming roadtrip and two engine questions

[Kaiserjeeps]

Greetings all. Glad to be back.

EDIT: It's a 1969 M35A2 with turbo. Engine rebuilt in 1989 using all STD bearings and clearances.

I have a vacation in June and I want to drive my duece there (4+hours one way) I have noticed alot of oil coming out of my crank case vent pipe. It's soaking my frame and front axle housing. Could it be blow by from the rings? Thats the only thing I can think that would do that. A quick once over on the engine and I didn't see a PCV valve LOL...

The other thing was a knock I hear every now and then under load. It is not loud but deep like a rod in a small V-8. You have to strain a bit to hear it. It is not pronounced. Am I worried about nothing? Could an injector cause a knock? Can they be checked easily? I know it is not a rod bearing as it has done it for over a year and a very experienced mechanic friend and I both agree with such high compression ratios a bad rod bearing would have failed long ago. Sure would like to hear your opinions. Al.

 

[red devils dude]

mine has a ton of grease where the crank case vent emptied out, yes fuel injection systems can
knock we have a diesel IH tractor that does it kind of a rapid clicking what does yours sound like?

 

[ken]

How fast are you driving? Or i should say how RPM's are you turning? If your running it wide open, try slowing down. Almost any engine running wide open will blow oil.

 

[Desert Rat]

KJ,

As Ken heeps telling me drive 45. Anything over about 2200 rpms will cause the oil to be spit out the breather tube. Me, I'm always in a hurry so I just heep filling the crankcase as the engine spits it out. It makes a mess (as Ken has REPEATEDLY told me) and strains the rods a bit. The deep knock like a V-8 is typical for a diesel engine. You should be just fine.

 

[Kaiserjeeps]

Red devils dude, The sound is not always there. It is definately a deeper sound that I could compare to a V-8 knock. It seems to be present under load and seems to quiet down as I let off the go pedal. The noise does not overpower the great sound of the diesel but is faint enough to make you wonder. I guess being my first diesel I am learning. Please excuse my newbieness. I'll just let it ride for now. If something changes I'll be sure to address it.

Ken, I live in a small town outside of Portland Oregon. So it's about 15 to 20 miles to anything significant. So I am seeing a bit of freeway time. I always watch my speed and try never to exceed 52 MPH. I think that is very close to 2200 RPM. Maybe I should slow down a bit more. Its getting messy under my hood. A couple military guys at the last parade were disgusted why I was leaking so much.


Thanks DR and guys for responding. I'll study the manuals and try to use the search function, but I appreciate the response.

Al ...

 

[Desert Rat]

KJ,
52 mph puts you at 2400 to 2450 rpms. That's the speed I drive. Thus the mess.

 

[Recovry4x4]

You could always use a collection filter such as Cranetruck has on his ride. It works very well at reclaiming that mess so that you can pour it elsewhere rather than on the truck.

 

[cranetruck]

The oil you see in the crankcase breather tube is as a result of blow by.
You will get more of it if your engine is not operating at normal op temp (180-190F). Much more at idle.
I have a semi permanent grill cover (custom made plywood cover) to keep the temp where it belongs.
My crankcase breather tube is plumbed via a filter w/sump back to the engine air intake. Filter canister is shown in lower portion of image below.
The sump collects about 1/10 of one quart of oil for every 1,000 miles.
I drive the deuce at rated top speed on the highway (2.500-2,600 rpm) and it loves it. Almost 10,000 miles during the last 18 months.

The primary reason for installing the filter was to simplify fording preparations, but it also makes the deuce more eco-friendly (not to mention the biodiesel).

 

[red devils dude]

I might install the collection filter just to keep my new paint nice and clean.

 

[wallew]

kaiserjeep,
Are you sure you are losing oil from the engine? The ONLY reason I ask is I have a similar amount of oil that showed up on the bottom of my oil pan and immediately thought a)crankcase venting or b) leaking front axle boot.

STRANGELY ENOUGH, I blew all the oil and crap off the front axle, boot, oil pan, etc. Then drove it again at highway speeds for about two hours.

The oil was coming from the front axle breather valve. I wondered why I wasn't losing any engine oil. But then I checked the front axle and it was low about two quarts, which I refilled immediately. I just ordered three breather valves, one for each axle. Hopefully that will resolve MY problem.

CLEAN the front axle, engine underneath, etc with a power sprayer. CAREFULLY. Make sure you get all the mess. Then go drive it. It will probably still be the crankcase ventilation, BUT you never know. After I clean up the front axle breather problem, I will HOPE that there are no crankcase breather problems. If there are, I too will install Bjorns idea. IT IS more eco/bio diesel friendly. And as he says, it should make deep fording setup a shade quicker.

HEY, BJORN, do you have your axle breather tubes extended for fording operations?? Is it necessary?? jim

 

[Kaiserjeeps]

Great info you guys. Thanks. I know I have a few minor leaks here and there. Some wetness around the dipstick tube, some minor weeping from the front head gasket. I'm going to degrease everything and see about making it better. I think a catch cup would be a good idea since I have so much hiway to get anywhere. What a mess it makes.

I drove it all day yesterday when I had errands to do. I sure like tooling around in that thing. Good fun. Thanks for enlightening me on my oil issue.