LB7: Fuel in oil? Occasional white smoke

[smoked]

I'm brand new to the forum and searched high and low for a post/thread with this issue. Have an '03 Silverado LB7 with 67K miles. Recently began noticing occasional white smoke from exhaust at random times...normally under moderate load. The other day I was dropping off my 5th wheel and the truck was idling for about 20 mins while I unhooked and secured the trailer. Took a slow idle out of the lot and on moderate acceleration out onto the road a fairly thick cloud of white emitted. I accelerated pretty close to full throttle and it cleared up after a very short 10 seconds or so under full load. Have a check engine light on now and a friend told me to check for fuel in the oil because he'd heard that from somebody else. To my surprise the dipstick is above full by about 1/4 to 1/2 inch...smells, but then, I don't know how strong it's supposed to smell. Not exactly like diesel fuel, but then I don't know what the regular oil normally smells like....just oil I thought...almost odorless. This is definitely stronger than just motor oil, but then it's been about 2K since my last change and I don't normally check the smell of the oil.

Sorry for not finding this if it's obvious to those who know....but now I don't want to drive the truck if I've got thinned oil and may be damaging bearings or something. Any thoughts/advice/experience would be HUGE for me.

 

[02bigstrokin]

try taking the dipstick and dabbing the end on a white papertowel. if there is fuel in the oil it will look like a little circle around the oil spot. it will seperate on the towl. if thats the case injectors are suspect or possibly the fuel return lines inside the valve covers. they can crack sometimes and leak into the crankcase. try finding someone with efi live or a tech 2 and get them to check the balance rates on the injectors. should be +/- 4

 

[smoked]

Thanks for the quick response! I'll give that a try tomorrow. I assume that if there is in fact fuel in the oil, that driving the truck should be severely limited...? Normally shops that have efi live or a tech 2 ??

 

[paint94979]

Thanks for the quick response! I'll give that a try tomorrow. I assume that if there is in fact fuel in the oil, that driving the truck should be severely limited...? Normally shops that have efi live or a tech 2 ??

Where are you located, im sure there will be a member located near you that would be more than likely happy to check balance rates for you... usually with the LB7's 01-04 injectors are a very common problem

 

[MuscleTruck03]

total noob question but will the fuel thin out the oil enough that you can kill a motor? like main bearings or something?

 

[02bigstrokin]

total noob question but will the fuel thin out the oil enough that you can kill a motor? like main bearings or something?

yeah its definatly not good to drive with fuel in the crankcase for the bearings sake.

 

[02bigstrokin]

Thanks for the quick response! I'll give that a try tomorrow. I assume that if there is in fact fuel in the oil, that driving the truck should be severely limited...? Normally shops that have efi live or a tech 2 ??

like paint said, post up where you are, there are a bunch of people on here that have efi live, probably some near you. most likely the gm dealer is going to be the ones with the tech 2's. those bastards are expensive and not every shop has one.

 

[smoked]

Right you are about the stealer.... They've already told me it'll be $100 just to hook up.

I should have had my profile in better shape. I'm in SoCal...town of Temecula, just north of San Diego County line.

 

[smoked]

Probably a bit unrelated, but if in fact it ends up being injectors, I know that the LB7 injectors are buried under the valve covers and it's said to be a big job getting to them. Do folks on the forum here do their own or is it something that you need special equipment for? I've got an extensive set of tools that I've spent years acquiring but have done all of my wrenching on gas fueled stuff...bikes and cars. I'm not a tech by any stretch, but have done top ends on bikes, tuning work, water pumps, brakes, exhaust, etc on most anything. Would I be biting off more than i could chew to attempt my own R&R on the injectors?

 

[paint94979]

Tony (semperfidoordie) is located in San Diego and has EFI Live i'll PM him and have him come into this thread good luck on fixing the problem.

 

[02bigstrokin]

Probably a bit unrelated, but if in fact it ends up being injectors, I know that the LB7 injectors are buried under the valve covers and it's said to be a big job getting to them. Do folks on the forum here do their own or is it something that you need special equipment for? I've got an extensive set of tools that I've spent years acquiring but have done all of my wrenching on gas fueled stuff...bikes and cars. I'm not a tech by any stretch, but have done top ends on bikes, tuning work, water pumps, brakes, exhaust, etc on most anything. Would I be biting off more than i could chew to attempt my own R&R on the injectors?

its pretty involved but i believe there is a diy write up on here or on dieselplace. it will save you hundreds if you do it yourself.

 

[Akdiesel]

Hey bud,
Names Tony and I'm in San Diego. I can help ya out as I have EFILive. Let me know when would work and I'll swing by. PM me your number and we can figure out a time.

 

[dmax2002]

I just got done doing all my injectors. Had them tested i only had 2 that were reading bad. once i got into it they all had rust where the fuel come in. so i just bought all 8 of them. I had mine in and out in about 8hrs. you can get a special took to remove the injectors. it slides into a hole and u use a wrench to rock it out.. however the lb7 use the one that has the bigger diamiter on it so if you barrow it from a dealer make sure its the right one as i found out.. you can only buy them from GM.. I wasnt able to get the right one but if u wiggle the injector side to side take a small pry bar under the top side of the injector and rest it on the valve and push it will pop right up, sometimes u have to use to to slide in between them. they pop out with out a problem. you have to take the valve cover off and the rocker box to get them out and be careful with the fuel likes to the there $$$ if you bend them up. also it takes A LOT off allen bolts.. i replaced mine just cause i hate allens. good luck if you chose to do it yourself. but from exsperiance i would just replace all the injectors and not just one on that bank.. since your already there and if you pay someone it pays off to have it done.

 

[paint94979]

Hey bud,
Names Tony and I'm in San Diego. I can help ya out as I have EFILive. Let me know when would work and I'll swing by. PM me your number and we can figure out a time.

Thanks tony

 

[smoked]

its pretty involved but i believe there is a diy write up on here or on dieselplace. it will save you hundreds if you do it yourself.

Great, thanks. I was trying to find it and will keep searching. I was just worried because I've not worked with diesels before and a bit concerned over the high pressure fuel systems and messing something up.

 

[smoked]

I just got done doing all my injectors. Had them tested i only had 2 that were reading bad. once i got into it they all had rust where the fuel come in. so i just bought all 8 of them. I had mine in and out in about 8hrs. you can get a special took to remove the injectors. it slides into a hole and u use a wrench to rock it out.. however the lb7 use the one that has the bigger diamiter on it so if you barrow it from a dealer make sure its the right one as i found out.. you can only buy them from GM.. I wasnt able to get the right one but if u wiggle the injector side to side take a small pry bar under the top side of the injector and rest it on the valve and push it will pop right up, sometimes u have to use to to slide in between them. they pop out with out a problem. you have to take the valve cover off and the rocker box to get them out and be careful with the fuel likes to the there $$$ if you bend them up. also it takes A LOT off allen bolts.. i replaced mine just cause i hate allens. good luck if you chose to do it yourself. but from exsperiance i would just replace all the injectors and not just one on that bank.. since your already there and if you pay someone it pays off to have it done.

Thanks for your feedback and the info. I feel a little better about this already. Just seems that when the dealer or a shop is wanting anywhere from $3200 to $5500 it seems like there must be something huge in it. I'm getting the feeling that it's a lot of digging and a bit of an endurance test more than extreme technical and that it's how they make their $.

 

[Hole Shot]

Its not to bad drain all the water out of the motor first just incase you have a sleeve come out with the injector. Do one side at a time complete start to finish. A 5mm allen head for the valve covers and return lines, 8mm allen head for the hold down bolts and the rest of the bolts are from an 8mm to 14 mm.

 

[TheBac]

If you have decent DIY mechanic skills and tools then you can do them yourself. AlldataDIY was invaluable to me when I went thru my rebuild. Its just a lot of removing parts/assemblies to get down to the motor itself that is time consuming. A good torque wrench and the proper crowfoot wrenches to torque the lines/fittings are an absolute MUST. Make sure you clean all parts thoroughly before installation, too.

It looks daunting, and is pretty well involved, but you can do it.

 

[smoked]

Thanks Tom - I've actually got a friend with an 02 Duramax that I'd failed to check with. Found out today that he's replaced a set himself and is okay to help me out if I get in a jam. I just need to verify the issue and once diagnosed I'll be on my way to "recovery". I've got all the tools you mentioned. I've only been nervous about the high pressure fuel thing, but it sounds like if you're following procedure and thorough/patient that you can get through it. This site is HUGE....the community of support is a bit overwhelming! Thanks SO much to all who've stepped up to help here!

 

[TheBac]

Dang good DIY with pics:

http://www.dieselbombers.com/lb7-bo...g-duramax-lb7-injectors-01-04-tips-hints.html