blowing black smoke and power loss
 

1996 6.5 turbo diesel. i was hauling some stuff on a 16 ft trailer and it just didnt have any power, when i looked in the mirror there is a lot of black smoke pouring out. if i let off the accelerator the smoke stops but loses speed. when i step back on the accelerator, the black smoke is thick again. any ideas. need help. this is my only transportation. Thanks in advance

Have you pulled any engine codes?

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Another thing to check is The waste gate it is in the turbo but the actuator and wg arm are visible on the side. Pull the vac line off and measure vac at idle. it should read ~15 " hg at the actuator and trace the vac line back to the wg solenoid. it should have ~20 " hg vac at idle.

The fuel filter is behind the upper intake plenum, but you have to remove the turbo power cover. After you change it. power the lift pump and open the drain T and flush the bowl of crap in fuel loosened when the old filter was removed, then bleed out the air on top.

Now at idle open the T or air bleed. Does it stall or put out fuel?

i dont have a way to measure the vacume, but i did run it at idle and i can push the arm down very easily. is that supposed to go down easy?

no the vacuum is supposed to keep the wastegate closed until the Solenoid tells it to release at max boost .i would start at the wastegate with the engine running pull the vacuum line off and see if its got vacuum or not.. then i would check the vacuum Solenoid located on the passenger side towards the front check the line comming from the pump. there are a few other lines comming from the pump that go to a heat valve and into the cab that control all of your dash heater controls. if the dash controls work then it sounds like the boost Solenoid is going bad or already bad

I pulled the vacuum line and the arm does move. The vacuum is very weak by feeling it. Not sure what else to do right now.
:argh:

if all your vacuum lines are good with no cracks or leaks then the pump is no good