hi i am new to the board , i have a 88 f450 7.3 idi non turbo . i cant seem to get it to stop burning oil . i was wondering if you could tell me some of the 7.3 causes for burning oil. i replaced the cdr about 6000 miles ago , it seemed to slow it down but now it is smoking bad again . when i took off the breather i looked were the cdr comes thru the intake and i seen an small oil trail , is this normal or is the dam thing stuck again . is there a way to bypass or plug it up and take the cdr off . the truck is a wrecker so it looks bad having a smoking truck , not to mention when i winching a stuck and getting on it , the smoke is terrible back there . i bought the truck from a friend he used it as a back up truck , so it didnt get used much he says it only has 165000 on her . is ther a way to check the cdr ? .. thanks for any input,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

hi im me to this and sorry for hijackin ur thread but i dont no how to start one..im new to diesels and ive got a 1990 ford 350 with a 7.3 idi non tubro..my truck burns a lil oil out the pipes after its been sittn still running it acts like to me the valve sets but idk..there is oil in the intake so could it be the cdr..plus what is the cdr idk that much bout diesels im hear to learn somethings....

 

I had similar problems with my truck. I replaced the cdr and still oil got passed. I tried the trucker trick RDT, or road draft tube and that was almost as bad, and now the oil was on the outside of my truck not just burning it. What finally worked was replacing the exhause valve bonetts with intake valve seals. Takes some time but its well worth it. I think all in all the parts only cost me and total of $50 and half a days worth of work.

 

were do you go and get the stuff at and do you think i could do it myself...ive worked on engines since i was small but ive nevered worked on a diesel yet this is my first one...ive cut out the soup bowl its got 3in exhuast with 6in tips cold air intake but i just hate that it blows out oil out the tail pipe but i no it prob would have seals that are hard because its been sittin for 5yrs.. it still runs strong..thanks for the advise too..

 

Any auto parts store should have them or be able to order them for you. Diesel motors ain't much different than gas except for the fuel system. They're gear driven and no valve lash adjustment is needed. I did mine with the motor still in the truck. The only hard part is knowing or finding when the piston is up so when you remove the valve spring keepers the valve doesn't fall into the motor.

 

Is the blue smoke at idle or all the time?

 

Thanks for all the help i'll try that and see what it gets me.....

 

after it idles for a few minutes it will slightly puff out , its not like a cloud you have to realy look at the pipe . it a lot mor noticable at night , exspecialy if i have on my work lights & when i idle up a little and start winching then she will drive you away if there is no wind . i am trying to rule out everthing small first . then i guess ill have to replace the valve seals .

 

Thats what mine did. At first start up while it idled high I got nothing. Once the idle dropped down it smoked. Not to bad in daylight unless I left a light then a thin cloud. At night was really bad cause of all the headlights/ spot lights behind me. Was enough to lose quite abit of oil and worry me. Best bet change the exhaust bonnets to the intake seals and I bet you'll notice a difference. Now that I think about it, you can pull the exhaust manifolds and look inside the port and see if wet oil is on the valve stem.

 

If the truck idles for extended periods in cooler outdoor temps, some blue smoke is normal. The exhaust temps drop causing an incomplete burn resulting in the blue smoke. I found this out last year when I was in the mountains. I was letting my truck run for 20-30 minutes every few hours to keep my batteries charged(they were going bad) and it would start blowing blue smoke like the rings had suddenly gone bad. It completely went away after I got back to my normal routine. I believe the optimal exhaust temp is 275*, some guys rig there fast idle solenoids with a switch to keep exhuast temps up while idling for long periods.