Lets assume my motor was ran out of oil very briefly...
 

Long story. Gonna try making it short. Front cover leaks like a siv. Was driving to shop to fix front cover, turbo was dead (not boosting). Rolling black smoke up the huge hill floored, out of nowhere turbo ignites and boosts me from 52mph to 80 in seconds. Let off the gas, lay back into it to maintain momentum, turbo isn't boosting.

Seconds later, lots of clanking and oil light goes on.
Pull over, LOTS of heat from exh. man and turbo. Turbo is pouring white smoke.


Get towed to shop. Truck starts and idles fine with and without the turbo on it (turbo shaft snapped in half). No clanks, doesn't overheat etc.

Guy says he's worried once the turbo gets put back on the motor might let lose from running outta oil for a few secs. No chunks or otherwise in teh crankcase. Looks good runs good sounds good (without the turbo on).

The guy I bought the truck from must have beaten this things ears in.

The shop also says there is lots of blowby, but I knew that before I brought it there. I bought it like that. He says he's seen this much blowby in 700k mile cummins. I told him I bought it like that; I could sometimes dust out an intersection w/ the overflow tube underneath. He's taking my word for it, but I hope it hasn't gotten worse from running out of oil.

So whats the concensus? When the truck starts will something let go and blow up or will I be good to go?

excessive blowby is simply indication of a wore out motor......then being it was out of oil just makes it way worse................time for a rebuild or a swap

while it depends how long it ran without oil

i would say you would be good but no garentee

ive heard a cummins can be run without oil for 10 minutes. i dont know if thats true or not but i heard they did thta for engineering purposes.

but the way i look at i believe yous aid it was like 5 or 700 for repairs, plus another 300 for a turbo, you still have excessive blow by and a worn out motor. go spend 1500 and find a used motor. itll cost you 500 more, but itll come with a new turbo, youll no longer have any blow by and a worn engine. youll be so far ahead in the long run.

because who knows you go pay 800 or 1000 bucks to repair your engine and get a new turbo, and your engine could take a crap. i would drop that money into a used engine and never look back.

plus you could sell your injection pump injectors and stuff part out your old money and youd probably make your money back too

I agree with tltruck parts. go find a used cummins and drop it in. I find 12v and 24v all the time in craigslist here in CO. you're gamblin havin the shop "fix" it for you. take the motor and part it out!

i think your ok but watch it close

if you go buy a "new" engine then your taking the chance of getting one just as crappy as the one your running now. at least you now what has happened to yours since you had it. just put a turbo on it. change the oil and drive it. dont hold back give er hell and if she lets go then your in the exact same spot as you were. looking for an engine.

Excessive blowby isn't really bad though is it? It's liveable?

literally a few seconds. When my turbo blew it started sucking down oil and took the rest of the remaining oil I think. But as soon as my turbo blew I pulled over and shut it down.


That would be so bad-ass if its true (running for 10min w/out oil) but I'm not holding my breath here. Yes 500$ for the front cover to be welded, kdp job, fix the timing and bump to 16.5*, front cover seal. Oh and the oil leak caused the damper to start rotting. 50$ he's installing another one.

Ya I worry about that too; thats why I wanna stick with what i got. But give it hell right away? Dont baby it for a few days or anything (lol)?

Oh and to the guys saying "put a neww motor in it", wouldn't rebuilding my current motor be a better idea? that way I can get a badass cam and diff rockers and springs etc, and still come out cheaper?

---AutoMerged DoublePost---

Big Bad Diesel- The turbo stopped boosting. But the turbo LOOKED good to me and the truck seemed good. Got fed up diagnosing it. The shop, this board, and a buddy said timing is prolly bunk. So I took it to get retimed and to get the front cover (leaks pretty bad) to get replaced.

The guy says it may let loose because of the added boost from the turbo might just push something over thats went bad from no oil, that o therwise wouldn't be an issue w/out the extra boost. The guy ran it for an hour in his parkinglot and said it ran/idled/sounded great.

what were saying about putting a used motor in it, is itll be way easier and cheaper.
your p pump is worth 600, the timing gear sells on ebay for 200, injection lines are worth 100 and the timing cover is worth 150/ the injectors are worth 150 or 200 bucks. not to mention sensors, the head, the block etc etc etc.

youll get more than 1500 out of it i bet, go get 1500 for a used motor with a turbo, and you jsut got a free motor with alot less miles on it. and use the extra money you make for the upgrades. instead of dropping 4 or 5 thousand into a rebuild

A guy in my other thread found a master rebuild for 550$... how much would a shop charge to do an in-truck rebuild you think?

In frame will not do. you nee to check the bottom end.

i doubt it a motor can run a good bit of time with no oil before any MAJOR damage sets in as far as his statement sounds like an umbrella to cover his ass from shitty work

your not going to fix blow by problems with an in truck. ya you found rebuild parts for 550 but thats no labor. no machining to rehone your block and set the new rings and bearings. like i said before your looking around 4K or so probably to do it right by a reputable business.

but thats all the advice im giving on this topic. all my input along with most others that are giving you advice seem to be shrugged off and not being listened to. so good luck

i rebuilt mine with a NEW head for $2,200 including machine work. everyone wants $4-5000 around here too. send it down here. I'll pocket $2000 in labor.

Ya I was figuring he was trying to cover his ass too.. but thanks a lot for the input man.

So you think the bottom end needs to be done too? Shittttt I didn't think it'd cost 4g's for a darn rebuild.

You rebuilt it, or a shop rebuilt it? Thats a good price though, 2200$

Me and a john deere tech. mostly me though. there very simple and if you have a good machine shop that knows how to match the rebuild kit to the work they do then its even easier

yes the bottom end would need to be rebuilt too. thats where the blowby is coming from is the piston rings. and whenever you do new rings, you need to rehone the cylinder calls and clean them up

ya no kidding thats about what i did mine for with 60# springs 4 new valves and 12 new pushrods and a new head

the shop prices are insane. but they're getting it. not from me.

I just overhauled my 1990. rebuild kit including, gaskets, mahle pistons, rings, bearings, was $1100. New head was $600, injectors $550, oil pump $140, cylinders bored out to remove scoring from #3 piston comin apart cost $400, new lifters from bent valves and tappets, and when you tear into the motor to fix it you tend to find things that are not expected added on to your expenses. But when your done you know what you got. I saved a ton doing it myself to. Just an idea of what your looking at with a rebuild.

Thanks for the input guys. Def don't wanna rebuild the motor yet due to funds. So you guys think I'll be ok when I put the turbo on and go for a spin?

Not until you fix why you keep killing turbos, then still no one can tell you without checking it out for themselves or a very, very good description of every single issue it still has.

The reason I've burned up turbos is due to my insane front cover leak. Running it low enough on oil to burn them up. Thats what the diesel shops thinks anyhow. The leak was BAD on that front cover.

If you ran low enough that the turboss didn't get oil, then the head didn't get oil, nor did the cam or anything else for that matter. I would be suprised if nothing else bearing wise was damaged.

Oh I see. Well this isn't good news to hear... def. not what I wanted to hear.

as for your poll , your turbo is spun by exhaust , you cant run your turbo with out your engine running

If oil pressure had gotten that low I'm surprised it didn't lock up. Bare block and head should be salvageable. THINK WITH YOUR DIPSTICK!

Dude, that truck sure is causing you a lot of of grief.:scare2:

Running out of oil for less than 30 seconds probably did not ruin the engine. But, you may have metal shavings scatttered thru-out. If you're going to try and run it, at least wash out the intercooler and all of the piping before it sees any boost.

I read in one of your post, that you plan rebuilding the whole truck. I'm doing that to a 95 right now, and it looks like it's going to cost me about $12,000 with already having a good engine. And, I can do all my own engine, chassis, brake, electrical, welding, machining, painting, etc.... If you're going to try it, make sure it doesn't overwhelm you.

From the way it sounds, your current truck has been rode hard and put away wet waaaay too many times.:td: If you could make the repairs yourself, you might be OK. But if you need to rely on shops for the work, then you better have some pretty deep pockets. I think your best possible solution is to sell or part out your current truck, and buy another one. There's plenty of the 12vs on ebay going for what you're likely to put in this one to halfway staighten out.

All I can say is good luck!

The turbo was fried the shaft split in half so the shop took it off and plugged the oil supp line and idled it for an hour. Says it ran great idled awesome no sounds etc. There is no chunks in the oil.

Yes the truck is causing me grief but hopefully once these issues are taken care of I can really dig into this thing and start rebuilding the truck. Thanks for the input so far tho guys

---AutoMerged DoublePost---

Alright quick report from the shop.

He said with the turbo off just idling, after the truck gets warm oil starts seeping out from the 3 rear cylinders into the exhaust manifold. He says it isn't terrible, and is driveable (he just doesnt know if he'd RELY on it), but the rear three are putting a bit of oil into the exhaust manifold.
Now the thing is, I'm not sure that it didn't already do that when I first bought the truck. I never ran the truck w/ the turbo off so I'm not sure that the oil in the exhaust manifold isn't something that was already there.
He says the pistons or rings might be scuffed up, but other than the small oil coming out its running great.
Has a new damper, new front cover, new seal, 16.5* timing, and soon to be a new turbo (hehe).

maybe not, maybe so. Depends on what the cylinders look like. If it were me I would pull the engine and rebuild it that way. However when my dad rebuilt his 97 the guy did it in the truck. Cylinders still had crosshatching on it at 250k miles. But he didn't have blow by problems either. Main bearings wore through the babbit though. And rods maybe. IDK been a couple years ago.

You can try doing it in the truck and measure the cylinders once you get the pistons pulled. And then decided to pull the engine from there. But i don't think it is worth the extra effort.


With the truck being run low on oil for that short amount of time, I doubt it is a problem. If you want to rebuild it to fix other issues than go ahead but I wouldn't worry too bad.

How many turbos have you destroyed on this thing? It sounded like more than one? If so then you might have problems. As that would indicate long term oil starvation. Primarily to the top end. Better inspect all your rocker shafts real good.

I fried a turbo 2 fridays ago, then like 5 days later another turbo. Both times were when I was just cruising.

if you need a block, I have storm block instock :898.00 new
I have the marine pistons (3911400) 90.00 a set (set includes rings, pin, retainer, and piston.)

new crank 598.00
main bearings 69.00
rod bearings 59.00
new head 398.00
upper gasket set 59.00
lower gasket set 59.00

let me know if I can help you out.

Excellent thanks a lot for the offer man! I'll keep that in mind when I crunch my numbers and think about which route I'm going to take.

Ever stop to think that maybe you shouldn't have been driving it?

the turbo he bought was used. no telling how it was used or why it was removed so maybe not the trucks fault.

Did they at least change the oil and filter? Probably ought to flush it and drop the pan to clean it out after. Your oil filter does not filter the majority of the oil and bypasses most of it and when draining the oil through the drain plug in the pan, most of the particles of bearing and metals which are not suspended in the oil do not drain out, but stay in the bottom of the pan. The drain plug is not the lowest point in the pan and everything never drains out completely. Those particles will kill a turbo bearing real quick if they get circulated through it.

---AutoMerged DoublePost---

Lol. I doubt it. Have you been following his posts? Most advice is not taken. He was advised to drive slow to get it repaired and NOT stomp on it and make it smoke black. He was advised to return the pump back to stock plate and positions until getting it fixed. Instead he posts that he was going up a steep hill with it floored and rolling black smoke without the turbo working, without oil.:argh:

---AutoMerged DoublePost---

Gauges? Ha, what are those for....

Yep many times. Thats why it was on the way to the shop.

Ya thats true.

Yep new oil and new filter.

As far as driving it slow, I was going 45mph in a 70mph zone trying to not let the truck die going up a 16% hill. Now tell me not to floor it.

---AutoMerged DoublePost---

Ok the results are in.

I picked up the truck. No more oil issues. Smoked oil and black like a BANSHEE when initially started, but thats because of all the oil built up in the exhaust and the exh. mani. etc. I discovered another issue, which I will make a thread on (fan clutch).

The truck doesn't seem to pull as strong. This might be due to it not having a 35psi boost elbow, the afc is full-forward (when I had the afc 3/4 forward it smoked pretty bad, I meant to go full-rear but went the wrong direction:argh:) etc.. I dunno. Gonna tinker with afc tomorrow.

But now the oil overflow tube puffs what appears to be white smoke or steam. It doesnt' seem to smell terribly oily or anything.. what gives?

What? You might want to clarify that statement. Right now you sound like a world class idiot.

---AutoMerged DoublePost---

That would be called blowby. Combustion gases escaping past the rings and into the crankcase.

so what was fixed?