2004 Dakota oil use and intermittent blue smoke(but lots of it)
#1
10-24-2018, 07:44 PM
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2004 Dakota oil use and intermittent blue smoke(but lots of it)
I own a 2004 dodge Dakota 4.7l 4x4 crew cab,
i am using a excessive amount of oil, possibly 2l per 1000k or more.
it smokes blue when warm, but only sometimes when accelerating from a stop but can last a bit, also sometimes at start up when warm..can’t say a have noticed it while driving (as in continually) when she smokes it’s a huge cloud. The tailpipe is black and a bit wet(oil?), loss of power, on hills and low rpm.
as I was originally told by a mechanic it was my plenum, think he heard dodge v8 magnum and missed the 4.7 part, my 8 gaskets on the intake are fine, but couldn’t help but see the heavy carbon buildup in the throttle body, and the intakes, also had a injector that was suck in due to build up(broke it trying to remove the rail, but just the one) a few others look like they need a good cleaning.
cant say I have ever seen a drop of anything under the truck on the ground, it is dirty underneath and I can see a bit of oil on the truck underneath but nothing excessive.
she runs smooth no knocks, pings or taps, doesn’t misfire or backfire..I do get a bit of nosie if I floor it.
now to my question piston rings or more?
and as I am a amateur advice would be much appreciate on what all I have to do and how to do it.
i am aware if I need to remove the heads I need to have a shop machine them,(pistons too?) but that’s to the extent of possible shop work, have to do this job myself, so a comment along the lines of don’t try it yourself and spend 3-4K would not be helpful,sorry.
i am using a excessive amount of oil, possibly 2l per 1000k or more.
it smokes blue when warm, but only sometimes when accelerating from a stop but can last a bit, also sometimes at start up when warm..can’t say a have noticed it while driving (as in continually) when she smokes it’s a huge cloud. The tailpipe is black and a bit wet(oil?), loss of power, on hills and low rpm.
as I was originally told by a mechanic it was my plenum, think he heard dodge v8 magnum and missed the 4.7 part, my 8 gaskets on the intake are fine, but couldn’t help but see the heavy carbon buildup in the throttle body, and the intakes, also had a injector that was suck in due to build up(broke it trying to remove the rail, but just the one) a few others look like they need a good cleaning.
cant say I have ever seen a drop of anything under the truck on the ground, it is dirty underneath and I can see a bit of oil on the truck underneath but nothing excessive.
she runs smooth no knocks, pings or taps, doesn’t misfire or backfire..I do get a bit of nosie if I floor it.
now to my question piston rings or more?
and as I am a amateur advice would be much appreciate on what all I have to do and how to do it.
i am aware if I need to remove the heads I need to have a shop machine them,(pistons too?) but that’s to the extent of possible shop work, have to do this job myself, so a comment along the lines of don’t try it yourself and spend 3-4K would not be helpful,sorry.
#2
10-24-2018, 09:19 PM
Blue smoke is definitely oil being burned. At the rate you are describing, it sounds like piston rings. Looking at a complete teardown and rebuild. Hope your piston walls are not scored, else you will need a bore, hopefully a hone will be enough with new rings. If you need a bore, you will have to get pistons matched, and those will have to be matched to your crank.
Only other thing that comes to mind with that amount would be the valve stem seals allowing it to leak down from the valvetrain. The noise you hear flooring it is likely pinging, normal rpm range the knock sensor keeps it in check, WOT likely advances to performance timing and ignores the knock sensor (guessing on this front, I have an old magnum without a knock sensor). Oil in the amount you describe would certainly ping with regular timing. Oil out the tailpipe also supports the valve seal theory, as it would be bypassing the combustion chamber.
Steps I would take? PCV valve first. Maaaaybe it's stuck open and letting the engine suck your oil right in. Then investigate the potential worse options. Pull a plug and poke a boroscope in, see if you can see wet oil in the chambers, take the valve covers off, see if the seals blew into the valvetrain or anything obvious. Do a compression test and leak down test, maybe smoke test. If nothing conclusive there, pull the heads to see if oil seems to be coming from the top or the bottom of the cylinders and go from there.
Only other thing that comes to mind with that amount would be the valve stem seals allowing it to leak down from the valvetrain. The noise you hear flooring it is likely pinging, normal rpm range the knock sensor keeps it in check, WOT likely advances to performance timing and ignores the knock sensor (guessing on this front, I have an old magnum without a knock sensor). Oil in the amount you describe would certainly ping with regular timing. Oil out the tailpipe also supports the valve seal theory, as it would be bypassing the combustion chamber.
Steps I would take? PCV valve first. Maaaaybe it's stuck open and letting the engine suck your oil right in. Then investigate the potential worse options. Pull a plug and poke a boroscope in, see if you can see wet oil in the chambers, take the valve covers off, see if the seals blew into the valvetrain or anything obvious. Do a compression test and leak down test, maybe smoke test. If nothing conclusive there, pull the heads to see if oil seems to be coming from the top or the bottom of the cylinders and go from there.
Last edited by Skreelink; 10-24-2018 at 09:22 PM.
#3
10-24-2018, 10:23 PM
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Thank you, have a starting point now.
not sure how I can do a compression test with the intake off and injectors out. thought the problem was my plenum when I started, Was hoping to be able to keep going.
i did forget to mention she has 350k on her too.
Maybe I should just do my piston rings, simply due to milage and this issue?
will post a couple of pics of my valves and intake after work tomorrow, might help you all if you see too..
not sure how I can do a compression test with the intake off and injectors out. thought the problem was my plenum when I started, Was hoping to be able to keep going.
i did forget to mention she has 350k on her too.
Maybe I should just do my piston rings, simply due to milage and this issue?
will post a couple of pics of my valves and intake after work tomorrow, might help you all if you see too..
#4
10-25-2018, 08:06 AM
#5
10-25-2018, 09:38 AM
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#6
10-25-2018, 02:16 PM
Sounds like it was run low on oil. How long have you had it? If you have time, you might be able to score an engine off craigslist. Someone parting out a wreck might be more reasonable than a junkyard or reman. The 4.7L are pretty hardy, long as you keep oil in em and don't overheat. I'm almost at 300K now.
#7
10-25-2018, 03:52 PM
Buying one already rebuilt is likely going to be cheaper than rebuilding yours....... May wanna have a chat with the wife, and re-think the budget.
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#8
10-25-2018, 06:31 PM
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i did say in my original post, doing it myself was my only option, if I couldn’t afford to have someone work on it, definitely cant afford to spend the same for a new/rebuilt engine
#9
10-25-2018, 06:38 PM
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Sounds like it was run low on oil. How long have you had it? If you have time, you might be able to score an engine off craigslist. Someone parting out a wreck might be more reasonable than a junkyard or reman. The 4.7L are pretty hardy, long as you keep oil in em and don't overheat. I'm almost at 300K now.
#10
10-26-2018, 06:07 PM
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Apologies on not getting the pics done and posted, change to my work schedule, interfering with my truck repair. Will get them up tho ASAP.
my goal is to fix my oil use and blue smoke issues, dont want to rebuild her more than I have to(truly have no place to pull the motor. I rent and only street parking, I hopefully can do it all while the block is in the truck), just want to fix the problem.
been looking at rebuild kits, but with how smooth it still runs, do I need to do everything, this is not a cost issue 700$ for the rebuild kit from rockauto. More an issue of do I really need to go that far and do that much? Kinda looking at it like, if it’s working fine, why do I need to replace it. Don’t really want to mess with the timing or bearings beyond what’s needed to fix my smoke issues, have no issues now with it, and am scared I would simply give myself issues if I mess with it to the extent of changing the sprockets, Engine runs smooth other than burning blue and loss of power on hills.
my goal is to fix my oil use and blue smoke issues, dont want to rebuild her more than I have to(truly have no place to pull the motor. I rent and only street parking, I hopefully can do it all while the block is in the truck), just want to fix the problem.
been looking at rebuild kits, but with how smooth it still runs, do I need to do everything, this is not a cost issue 700$ for the rebuild kit from rockauto. More an issue of do I really need to go that far and do that much? Kinda looking at it like, if it’s working fine, why do I need to replace it. Don’t really want to mess with the timing or bearings beyond what’s needed to fix my smoke issues, have no issues now with it, and am scared I would simply give myself issues if I mess with it to the extent of changing the sprockets, Engine runs smooth other than burning blue and loss of power on hills.