Black smoke concerns

mac2720 · Nov 28, 2012

Ok guys my truck has just started doing something completely different in the past week. I just had the glow plugs, oil cooler, hpop, egr delete and head studs done a month ago. About a week after that I ordered an IDP xtreme street custom tune for my sct programmer. I absolutely loved the power and acceleration gain I got from it. I also noticed that on that tune I could give a little more throttle pressure going up a hill and it would seem to accelerate quickly without having to downshift and I really liked that. However over the past week it doesn't seem to do that anymore. Now when I give it a little added throttle it pours black smoke and then eventually downshifts and takes off after a few seconds. The truck never really blew black smoke before this and now it rolls black smoke when I do that.

I really want to know what may be causing that and what I need to do in order to get it back the way it was. I'm not sure if the turbo is going bad or if maybe I need to adjust the tune or get another tune. I just need to figure it out because I'm not a big fan of rolling coal unless I really try to. Any advice/suggestions are greatly appreciated since I have no idea what could be the cause. Thanks!

6.0 p-stroke · Nov 28, 2012

It sounds like you have a boost leak somewhere. Check all the boots and clamps, make sure there are no rips or tears and that everything is tight.

mac2720 · Nov 28, 2012

I never even thought of a boost leak but just went out and checked all of the boots and clamps and they seem to be fine other than the pipe running from the intercooler to the turbo seems to have some play in it even though the clamp is tight. Not sure if that isnt supposed to have play or not. Also that same pipe has some grease on the boot that goes in to the intercooler. Would it be a good idea to take the pipe off and inspect the boot really good?

6.0 p-stroke · Nov 28, 2012

Yes, I would pull it off and inspect the boot to make sure it's not torn or anything like that. Be sure to clean the pipe and boot when you put it back together, they don't like to stay on when the get oily. From a dead stop does it feel like it's taking forever to build boost?

mac2720 · Nov 28, 2012

6.0 p-stroke said:
Yes, I would pull it off and inspect the boot to make sure it's not torn or anything like that. Be sure to clean the pipe and boot when you put it back together, they don't like to stay on when the get oily. From a dead stop does it feel like it's taking forever to build boost?

oh yeah a lot longer than it normally does. just like I stated about going up a hill. it just blows smoke and then after a few seconds it finally builds boost and takes off.

6.0 p-stroke · Nov 28, 2012

The vanes could be sticking in your turbo, or possibly a cracked up pipe. Can you see any black soot on the firewall behind the turbo?

hawgdoctor · Nov 28, 2012

Try changing back to your street tune Matt, and if it still has that hesitation you definatly have an issue. The extreme tunes fuel very hard, and I know my x-street would do the exact same thing. If you got on the throttle hard it would lag for a few seconds before it would pick up, and haul tail. Let me know brother.

mac2720 · Nov 28, 2012

6.0 p-stroke said:
The vanes could be sticking in your turbo, or possibly a cracked up pipe. Can you see any black soot on the firewall behind the turbo?

Just looked and yes I can see black soot behind the turbo on the firewall.

I just changed the tube back to a street tune and took it down the road. It was dark so I couldn't really tell if it was blowing smoke. However it did seem to still hesitate to build boost and on the way back it seemed like it wasn't boosting at all. Got back and let it idle and noticed a hissing noise coming from the turbo area occasionally. I also had my friend rev it while I checked everything and at high rev I noticed smoke coming out of the engine bay towards the turbo area as well. Along with smoke coming out of the exhaust. The truck seemed to run worse on the street tune. It stuttered a bit and shifted hard and my buddy also said when he was tryin to hold down on the throttle at idle it was stuttering. So I'm guessing it's something other than a boost leak. I don't know.

6.0 p-stroke · Nov 28, 2012

Sounds like you need a new set up up pipes, and that should fix your smoking problem!

mac2720 · Nov 28, 2012

6.0 p-stroke said:
Sounds like you need a new set up up pipes, and that should fix your smoking problem!

ok I hope that would be it. I am hoping my turbo isnt bad or anything and have to spend that much more money after I just got it out of the shop. Would the up piped be causing the turbo to act the way it is? Sorry I am by no means a mechanic but I like to know about what my truck is doing since I work on the road and am a long way from Adam at Strokers Unlimited.

mac2720 · Nov 28, 2012

I just had all of that work done, does the up pipe not come with the egr delete?

6.0 p-stroke · Nov 28, 2012

Yes, a cracked up pipe will reduce drive pressure making the truck feel sluggish because the turbo never fully lights. Most egr delete kits come with a short section of up pipe, but odds are you cracked an exhaust bellow in the up pipe, it's really pretty common. Alot of shops will remove the up pipes, cut out the cracked bellow and replace it with an aftermarket one, it's not too difficult.

duddy · Nov 28, 2012

to late for my info good luck with fix

mac2720 · Nov 28, 2012

From all of the info I have received, it looks like the up pipe has indeed blown. I am going to have a look at it tomorrow and see if I can find any cracks of some sort. Hopefully I will be able to find something so that I know that is my problem and not something more drastic. If that turns out to be the problem, hopefully I will be alright driving it back home 2 and a half hours and then over and hour to the shop to get it fixed this weekend. Would rather not take it anywhere around here because I don't trust most people working on it.

mac2720 · Nov 29, 2012

I also noticed from reading up on blown up pipes that I have other symptoms of it. The truck has been smelling like diesel fuel really bad in the cab when I let it warm up and sometimes when I go down the road and get down on it, I notice a small amount of smoke come in the cab and smell badly of diesel fuel. I also seemed to notice a high pitch hissing noise and my turbo is not nearly as loud as what it used to be. Hopefully these symptoms all point to the up pipe!

mac2720 · Dec 2, 2012

I did indeed find a cracked bellow in the up pipe. So I took it to Adam at Strokers Unlimited over the weekend and he hooked me up yet again! The crack in the bellow was almost all the way around, there was only about an inch left before it would have split completely. The truck now runs a lot better, boosts a lot better and does not smoke whatsoever! Thanks everybody for the help and suggestions on this problem! This site really does have some very intelligent people that are very helpful to us newbies when it comes to these motors.