A couple guys on oilburners swear by the AutoRX for unsticking rings which could be leading to some/most of your blow by. One guy on there is giving it a shot right now as his truck smokes constantly.

hey everyone, thanks for the tips and help, right now im still fighting with this bolt so im just going to pull the water pump and see if i can rescue the hole, and then im going to try the autorx, thanks for that tip at this point im willing to try voodoo to see if it'll help some.

As for the idle/fuel problem i think im going to end up giving in and taking the truck to a mechanic, im getting no codes other than the glow plug controller and kam, so at least ill know what im dealing with, ill try to update you guys and take some video once the damn thing runs again.

I think you should run a compression test. If you can trust your mechanic he should be able to do this and tell you what he thinks is wrong. Since you have to be under the valve covers to do this, maybe just pull the injectors and if the compression test is good, then have the injectors tested to see if they are all good. Hopefully that will get the old girl back running right!

Welcome back! Update us as you can on the 'projects'!!

I've got a '00 PSD...

White smoke can be unburnt fuel and/or coolant. What's it smell like, raw fuel or sweet? When you say there's blow-by and the cap falls off, does it blow off like flies off up in the air, or does it just slide off? Is oil spraying out of there? Have you removed the cap when it runs and held your hand over it to feel how much pressure is in there? Is your CCV functioning? Check your air filter to see if you've got oil in the box. Have you changed the oil?

"hello everyone, you probably dont remember me "

No I don't, who are you again?

What? you sold your Cummins?
YOU ARE DEAD TO ME!!!!

LOL Glad to see you back.

hello everyone, im back and with bad news. Just brought the truck back from the shop with the news that the engine is dusted. Basically sounds like a piston is dead inside which is going to require a rebuild or a whole new engine if the block can't be salvaged. I'm thinking of posting the damn thing on craigslist but i dont know how much i can get for it, and on the other hand after some searching i found a junk yard powerstroke for 950 with 100k miles (supposedly) and a 90 day warranty.

Honestly i dont even know what i want to do anymore, im looking at 950 for motor (and while im there might as well do water pump, thermo, etc etc right?) and easily about another 900 for labor (shop said about 20-25 hrs of labor for engine swap and didn't recommend it) however i could possibly sell the DPF, turbo and injectors from this engine to recoup some costs... thoughts/ideas? that cummins is looking more attractive mroe and more again daniel!

and also, yeah the oil cap flies off and theres a steady stream of white smoke coming out the crankase beater assembly.

That's shitty news for sure. I've always heard if there's a lot of internal crankcase pressure like that, it could be pistons. $900 for a used motor is pretty good if it comes complete with the turbo, etc. and it runs well. Do you know if it runs? I'd keep your existing motor for some parts if need be. What year is your blown motor? What year is the motor you're looking at?

I like Dodges, but they are the most uncomfortable trucks I've ever driven. My wife had an '04 Cummins that was like a torture chamber to sit in and the crew cab was tiny compared to our '00 PSD. I don't care for automatics and that '04 Cummins' automatic transmission was crap. I liked the pull that motor offered, but not much else about the truck. That's why it was sold and replaced with a Ford.

"that cummins is looking more attractive mroe and more again daniel!"

Uh hu..... You turned away from the One True Diesel god, and he has abandoned you.
That Ford you bought look really nice though. You may gain absolution for your transgressions by doing a Cummins conversion though.

hey everyone, quick update; guy came up from craiglist and bought the ford, so now with a bit of cash and the money i was planning on spending towards the new motor i think im going to go looking for a cummins again. The ride is stiffer for sure but man its fun to work on em and hear em come to life in the mornings.

Ill keep you guys updated on anything i come across, i heard of one that runs great 177k miles but kills batteries overnight unless you disconnect them, guy said it might need the ECU replaced?