CUCV 1986 M1008 - In a Real Pickle - Bad Heads - Need Advice

[german m1008]

Will Check it today, will report back.
Going to try to finish wiring the gauges, and then take it for a drive.

EDIT:
Seems to idle smooth by the way.
I am going to have to replace the temp sensor in the front end of the drivers side head, as the blade got broke off somehow.
Can't remember if that is the glow plug temp sensor, or the high idle sensor.

The glow plug sensor- driver side to the firewall
The high idle temp sensor- on the other side to the firewall

 

[Commander5993]

The glow plug sensor- driver side to the firewall
The high idle temp sensor- on the other side to the firewall

Well, this is the sensor in the drivers side head, but at the radiator end (not firewall end)?

 

[ken]

The one at the front of the drivers side head is for the idiot light in the dash. The one at the rear passenger side head is for the high idle when cold. The one at the back of the drivers side head by the intake manifold is for the glow plug.

 

[Commander5993]

Hey all, thought I would post a quick update.

Since my last post, we've driven the truck about... 100 miles, over several local trips to town etc.

Have a couple issues:

*Still have white smoke coming out the passengers exhaust on cold start after sitting overnight. Which again the passengers side head is the side that originally blew the head gasket.
It blows for about 5 to 10 seconds, then clears completely and is like that the rest of the day.
Don't have any smoke out the drivers side exhaust.

*My new oil pressure gauge for the first two days showed approx 25psi at idle, then 45-50psi driving.
Then for the last two days it suddenly jumped to 45-50psi idle, then 50-75psi driving.
Yeah... its a bosch gauge, so it could just be the gauge itself. Just didn't have the cash for some the ones recommended here. I guess I'll have to replace it with a better one at some point.

*Also for the past couple days, on cold start after sitting overnight, when you first start the truck it fires up... then dies. Then you have crank for 5-10 seconds before it fires up again and runs.
Seems to idle a little rough, then the high idle seems higher than normal. Once the high idle kicks down, it runs fine.

I am guessing that the hole that I plugged in the filter base is leaking air into the fuel line. What do you guys think?

I also ordered a new coolant temp sensor today, as I stated the other day that the electrical blade connection broke off of it.
But I don't think this temp sensor is able to cause the engine to do this would it?

 

[cucvrus]

Did you vacuum check your seal on the fuel filter base? It must be completely sealed or air will seep in and allow it to drop prime. The broken terminal will not cause the shut down on cold starts. Good Luck. Did you drive it far? And how bad is the white smoke?

 

[Commander5993]

Did you vacuum check your seal on the fuel filter base? It must be completely sealed or air will seep in and allow it to drop prime. The broken terminal will not cause the shut down on cold starts. Good Luck. Did you drive it far? And how bad is the white smoke?

That is what I was figuring is the issue.
I didn't have a vacuum pump, so instead I filled the little bowel where the pressure sensor was with water-soap mixture, and pressurized the line. Didn't see any bubbles or anything, thought it was good to go. I then filled it with the right stuff.
I'm pretty sure this is where the issue lies, as I've never had any prime issues before this. Don't know what else I could use to seal the bolt threads with, that would be better than thread tape. I even used the thread tape that is for fuel, propane, and chemicals.

I thought about filling the hole with jb weld... but figured if it didn't work it would be a job to get it back out.
I would go to a spin on filter... but I have a whole case of brand new box filters... guess I could always sell them.

The white smoke is fairly heavy for that 5-10 seconds after cold starting. After which it completely clears, and doesn't smoke at all the rest of the day.

 

[cucvrus]

That could be one glow plug that is not heating. A I stated before. When you bypass the resistors the glow plugs do not cycle as designed. When I start my truck cold the glow plugs cycle on and off till the proper temperature is reached. it serves as a cleaner burn, smoother cold idle and thus less emissions. But once the bypass is done the cold cycle of the glow plugs is over. I always cold start let it cycle till the cycling is complete and then drive on. Good Luck. I would still check all the hoses and clamps. You were deep into this engine with all the work you completed. Have a great day.

 

[ken]

I too think it's a glow plug. At least one. Possible two. I have had this happen myself

 

[Commander5993]

That could be one glow plug that is not heating. A I stated before. When you bypass the resistors the glow plugs do not cycle as designed. When I start my truck cold the glow plugs cycle on and off till the proper temperature is reached. it serves as a cleaner burn, smoother cold idle and thus less emissions. But once the bypass is done the cold cycle of the glow plugs is over. I always cold start let it cycle till the cycling is complete and then drive on. Good Luck. I would still check all the hoses and clamps. You were deep into this engine with all the work you completed. Have a great day.

bypass resistors? The original glow plug system is still intact on this truck. In fact, I installed a new card, solenoid, wait light bulb, and AC delco OE plugs about 5 years ago. They cycle on and off just like they're supposed to.
I did also install a glow plug manual override switch (with safety switch cover to prevent accidental usage), so that I could light the plugs manually if I ever needed to, like if the card went bad or something. I installed this for a back-up method, especially if it was in the winter and the truck is away from home. But other than testing, I have yet to ever use it.

I thought un-burnt diesel would be black smoke???

Could one or more of the glow plugs just went bad and not be working? Any way to pull the plugs and tell if they are working or not? color etc?
I did have the wire pull out of one of the connectors on the drivers side when I was working on the truck. But I soldered that wire back into the connector, and reinstalled the plastic cover that goes over the end. I guess I could check the wires on the passenger's side, make sure they are all solid, and have good contact.

 

[cucvrus]

I do things the hard way in some peoples eye. I pull all 8 glow plugs and check them with a battery charger on the work bench. That's me. I had good ones check bad and bad ones check good. I get an eyeball on them this way. I had them getting hot 1/2 way up the shaft. They are supposed to get hot instantly at the first 1/4" - 3/8" of the tip. Not the full length and not 1/2 way up and the tip stay cold. That's my way it worked testing them for the past 20 years why change now? Good luck. I suspect everything is fine but check them out anyway. Have a great day.

 

[Paycheck]

I'm located in Arizona
I just did a motor swap on mine
I have a running needs to be rebuild 6.2
Parting out or selling whole it's 1985 Jcode M1009 CUCV

 

[cucvrus]

Very nice engine. I like the Gen 2 attachments. Very nice. That is not an original CUCV engine. That is a newer replacement engine. But that is fine. Nice back ground scenery.

 

[Paycheck]

Very nice engine. I like the Gen 2 attachments. Very nice. That is not an original CUCV engine. That is a newer replacement engine. But that is fine. Nice back ground scenery.

This is the original engine

 

[Paycheck]

Very nice engine. I like the Gen 2 attachments. Very nice. That is not an original CUCV engine. That is a newer replacement engine. But that is fine. Nice back ground scenery.

lol I just noticed that
My mechanics old lady

 

[Commander5993]

I do things the hard way in some peoples eye. I pull all 8 glow plugs and check them with a battery charger on the work bench. That's me. I had good ones check bad and bad ones check good. I get an eyeball on them this way. I had them getting hot 1/2 way up the shaft. They are supposed to get hot instantly at the first 1/4" - 3/8" of the tip. Not the full length and not 1/2 way up and the tip stay cold. That's my way it worked testing them for the past 20 years why change now? Good luck. I suspect everything is fine but check them out anyway. Have a great day.

Hum, ok hadn't thought of "testing" gp's that way, but that should work just fine.
Any specific amp setting matter much? 200 amp jump start? 35 amp?

And yeah if the tip isn't getting hot, the rest of the plug doesn't even matter, as basically only the tip is actually exposed to the cylinder.

This is the first diesel truck we owned, and this was also the first time I've ever tore into a diesel engine as well. So I've had a good learning curve.
But the info here on SS, and the people here, have made that curve a lot less steep

 

[Paycheck]

This is the original engine

Sorry first pic was my replacement engine
This one is original

 

[Paycheck]

This was a complete swap so
I have isolated ground alternators
IP pump
Heads
Brackets
Injectors
ETC.

 

[ken]

White Smoke is unburt fuel. Black smoke is carbon from burnt fuel. You see black smoke from engines that are turned up to make more power. More fuel- more black smoke.

 

[cucvrus]

I just clamp the thread shaft in the negative dip the tip in grease or oil. I touch the tab for a split second and they get hot enough to smoke. If NO smoke no good. That easy. I replace glow plugs as they go bad. I like guys that want all 8 changed. As long as they give me the old ones I am happy. And as long as they are AC 13G glow plugs. Never used anything but 13G. Why would I? Good Luck. Report back.

 

[Commander5993]

Ok all, I know its been a few days, just been busy
but here's a quick update

As per your all's suggestion, I went to pull the glow plugs last week, and found that the far back wire had come off the plug... so I figured well maybe that was my only issue, so I put the wire back on and thought I would wait and see the next morning if it still smoked.

After that, I went back to work on the fuel filter base.
I finally found my vacuum pump... thought I had one, but some how the box I had it a timing light and a few other rarely used tools in had traveled to the other side of the garage and got covered up with a bunch of other junk. Didn't find it until I was cleaning the entire garage out last week. Anyway, I took the vacuum pump, connected it to on end of the line on the base that went through the pressure switch hole, and then pluged the other end of the line. I was able to draw 25 inches of vacuum. It seemed to be holding, but just to be sure I left it for an hour or so, and when I came back and checked it, it had lost about 1 in. So... I started to clean out the "right stuff" that I had filled the entire indention where the pressure sensor had been, and found that the top half layer was fully cured and actually pretty tough to get out. But I found that the bottom 1/8" or so was completely fluid like it just came out of the can. Except right around where the bolt was that I had threaded into the hole, around the bolt it was fully cured. So to me that seemed to also indicate that there was an air leak around the bolt.

So... took the bolt out, cleaned all the tape off and out of the hole... if the "propane/fuel" thread tape didn't seal it, I started to think about what else I could use.
So I tried some thick "liquid" type thread sealant thats applied with a brush, that was also fuel rated. Put that on the bolt, threaded it all back in the hole etc. Let it set for a while, then once again pulled 25 inches of vacuum on it. It seemed good after an hour or so, so I let it set another 3 or 4 hours. When I came back it had once again lost about 1 inch or so of vacuum.

So I decided I was going to try jb "stick" weld "water weld" which is also fuel rated for tanks and other things.



I do Not like the jb weld that comes in the two separate squeeze tubes, nor the liquid two part "epoxy" type push tube.
But the "stick" types, like the one in the photo above, I have had really good success with the "plastic" and "steel" mixes. But this was only the second time I had used the "water weld" version, but so far I like it too.

I kneaded it up really well for several minutes, and put it in the hole, and filled about half the port where the pressure sensor used to be, making it thicker at the edge where the hole was. Kind of filling it in a wedge shape.
**ONE thing, BEFORE the jb weld set up, I ran a small metal brush "pipe" brush through the metal line to clean out any jb weld that went all the way down the hole and into the line. I then took my air hose and shot some light pressure through there, and a short cyliner shaped chunk came out. If I had not done that, it would have set up and blocked the fuel line.

Anyway, I let the JB weld set up for a couple hours. And then came back and put a vacuum on it all night. The next morning, it too has lost about 1 inch of vacuum.

At this point I was pretty sure this tiny leak was either my vacuum pump, or the plug I used on the other end of the line... I honestly don't know.
But I decided to leave it, and put it all back together. Thus far, I haven't had any more issues. If it ever does, I'm going to look else where, as at this point I just don't think the filter base is leaking anymore.


Also, I did get the replacement temp sensor for the idiot light the other day, just hadn't had time to put it on until today.
So I pulled the old one, plugged the hole with my finger, got the new down there and tried to get it in a couple thread to stop the coolant pouring out.... finished tightening it up... then cleaned up the mess of coolant afterward.

I also went pulled the glow plugs today. I first just pulled the 4 out of the passengers side head.
Tried to test them as per your instruction Cucvrus. But someone was borrowing my charger... so I instead used a set of jumper cables and a truck battery which had just been charged recently.

I put the plug in the ground clamp make sure it was only touching what would be grounded in the block. Dipped the tip in oil, then touched the positive clamp to the tab... nothing, nada, zero. Didn't even get warm to the touch.

So I thought Ok, maybe I found the bad plug on the first try. So I went to the 2nd plug... still nothing... At this point I was wondering about my battery, so I put my tester on it, and it was showing 800cca... I though "Hummmm... that should be plenty of power..."
So I tried the 3rd plug... still nothing... Now I'm thinking that I can't be screwing this up... seems pretty straight forward...
so finally I tried the 4th plug... Presto it burnt the oil off almost instantly. So I went back and re-tested the previous 3, and still nothing on any of them... WoW.... 3 out of 4 Glow Plugs are Bad???!

I knew I had also seen a short little puff of smoke this morning from the drivers side tail pipe, so I pulled the 4 gp's from the driver head too.
Tested all of them. 2 Bad and 2 good....

The truck was starting with just 3 working glow plugs in it. Good thing it wasn't winter I guess.

I was intending on just buying 2 or 3 plugs to replace the bad ones... but since I only have 3 GOOD plugs... I'm just going to go ahead and get a whole new set of glow plugs, and keep these 3 good one's as backups.

Cucvrus, you said the OE number is AC delco 13G?
These are AC Delco plugs, but they have some long number on them instead of the "regualr" part number.
If I remember right, I looked up the number here on SS when I replaced them about 6 years ago.
But I looked it up on O'reilly's, and for the civy truck they only show the AC delco 60G ??? And they even have the 13G period.
Would this 60G by chance be an "updated" number?

I did find the AC 13G on Amazon though. So I'll probably just order them from there.

I've reinstalled all these plugs for the time being. At least it starts easy... which is the weird part to me.
If it had been having hard time starting, GP's would have been the first thing I would have checked. But it starts pretty quick... it does run a bit rough for about 3-5 seconds, guess the cylinder warming up since the GP's aren't working. Of course it is still hot, as it was 90 something earlier, so I'm sure thats why.

Anyway, You guys were right on about the smoke. Really glad it is just the Glow Plugs... Looking forward to getting the new replacements and getting them installed.

Thanks Again All