2003 ram 1500 4.7 smoking blue smoke progressively worse as eng warms up

[dashaint]

I bought an 03 ram 1500 4.7 4x4 with no engine, but i had everything for it except the short block. I bought a block, it had smooth bores no rust and the guy said he put new rings in it.

I put it together with new head gaskets and new head bolts. torqued the heads to spec. * the heads i had were from a different engine, appeared fine * put it in the truck and started it up .. sounded good, but gradually started smoking.. and i mean it was churning out the smoke. bluish smoke.

I did some research on causes.. and figured it could be the valve stem seals.. so i pulled the heads and changed those. put it back together, torqued everything and same deal.. smoking LMF.

I'm thinking maybe the cheap amazon head gaskets i bought are not right? or maybe a cracked head or block... i cleaned up each head and the block surface and saw no cracks... but still i wonder.

Next i plan to take the plugs out and do compression test on all cyls and maybe get a borescope camera i can peer into the cylinders with .. maybe see something?

Hoping someone here can offer some advice on if something different i should be trying?

 

[Ken226]

smooth bores no rust and the guy said he put new rings in it.

New rings should be installed in a freshly honed bore. What do you mean by "smooth" bore? Was it honed before the new rings were installed? with a visible freshly honed crosshatch finish? If a person claimed to have put new rings in but the bore is glazed smooth, i'd be very skeptical of the "new rings" claim and especially skeptical of the quality of that persons work.




Also, was this person someone that you trust? Because if new valve guide seals didn't fix the problem, rings are the next most likely culprit. The compression test should tell you more.

 

[04fxdwgi]

"I'm thinking maybe the cheap amazon head gaskets i bought are not right? or maybe a cracked head or block... i cleaned up each head and the block surface and saw no cracks... but still i wonder."


I am almost at a loss for words on this one. I would NEVER use cheap knock off Chicom parts for critical replacement parts, like head gaskets, oil pumps, rings, timing chains, water pumps, injectors, etc... Seat covers, floor mats or fake 50 BMG cartridge radio antenna, not a problem....

The Blue smoke is definitely oil.

 

[dashaint]

yeah bores were smooth... no cross hatching. i'll have compression numbers tomorrow.... err today by noon i hope. and no I dont know the guy, it was a random dude on market place.

 

[EdGs]

I bought an 03 ram 1500 4.7 4x4 with no engine, but .........I put it together with new head gaskets and new head bolts. torqued the heads to spec. * the heads i had were from a different engine, appeared fine * put it in the truck and started it up .. sounded good, but gradually started smoking.. and i mean it was churning out the smoke. bluish smoke............
.........Hoping someone here can offer some advice on if something different i should be trying?

"I'm thinking maybe the cheap amazon head gaskets i bought are not right? or maybe a cracked head or block... i cleaned up each head and the block surface and saw no cracks... but still i wonder."
I am almost at a loss for words on this one. I would NEVER use cheap knock off Chicom parts for critical replacement parts, like head gaskets, oil pumps, rings, timing chains, water pumps, injectors, etc... Seat covers, floor mats or fake 50 BMG cartridge radio antenna, not a problem....

The Blue smoke is definitely oil.

The heads APPEARED fine?

Did you check them for flatness? If they're clean, they all appear fine. You may even have a crack(s).

You can buy whole engine parts kits on the internet, CHEAP. <$500 for everything.

100% Chinesium, guaranteed, and you'll be sorry.

Buyer beware!!!

For example, I can get a complete set of engine parts for my 5.7 hemi for $500. Lifters, cam, gaskets, timing set, oil pump, bearings, etc..... The whole thing.

I bought most of those parts OE from reputable sources with modest discounts, and it still cost me about $4400 plus about $300 shipping and extra supplies (my bad, had several orders, and found additional stuff needing changed out, plus cleaners, etc).

Sucked bigtime, but I know there are genuine factory parts in my engine.

Please, keep us updated what you find out.

I would not be able to fix things on my truck I have done without the help of members on this site.

 

[Wild one]

yeah bores were smooth... no cross hatching. i'll have compression numbers tomorrow.... err today by noon i hope. and no I dont know the guy, it was a random dude on market place.

If the cylinders weren't deglazed before he stuck new rings in it,the new rings will take forever to break in,if they ever do break in,and it'll use oil like MF'er

 

[dashaint]

Compression test

160 cyl 1
160 cyl 3
165 cyl 5
135 cyl 7

160 cyl 2
170 cyl 4
190 cyl 6
170 cyl 8

 

[dashaint]

So if the pressure was under 120 that would be bad.. after this I’m not thinking it’s the head gasket but oil pumps up through there so I don’t know how to determine where the oil is coming from. I’ll have a botescope camera tomorrow.. Maybe that will reveal something. Right now, I feel like it could be the heads or still could be rings. Or is Union there somehow.. How to tell which it is is the problem

 

[Randy Grant]

Looks like #7 is the winner, but all but #6 are lower than I would like, but without the rings being seated,,,,,,,,
Might even check to see if the bore diameters are close to the same.

 

[Wild one]

So if the pressure was under 120 that would be bad.. after this I’m not thinking it’s the head gasket but oil pumps up through there so I don’t know how to determine where the oil is coming from. I’ll have a botescope camera tomorrow.. Maybe that will reveal something. Right now, I feel like it could be the heads or still could be rings. Or is Union there somehow.. How to tell which it is is the problem

Squirt some oil in the cylinders and see what they read after,but as stated #7 is a dud,if it comes up with some oil,the rings aren't sealing

 

[04fxdwgi]

Looks like #7 is the winner, but all but #6 are lower than I would like, but without the rings being seated,,,,,,,,
Might even check to see if the bore diameters are close to the same.

If he didn't hone / deglaze the cyl's and used Amazon parts, I would be amazed if the rings were gapped and timed properly. That motor needs a complete rebuild by a decent mechanic/ shop, or replaced.

 

[crackerjack1957]

Sounds like glazed cylinder walls & ring end gap out of orientation or gap to wide.

 

[Burla]

Hard to believe 130 psi is the cause, I'd take off exhaust manifold on 7 and put eye balls on it. If it is all shiney and all others are dry, there ya go, a lot easier then going from top.

 

[dashaint]

So the machine shop is gonna cost $1100 to rebuild it, which is a good price, but I can’t do that right now and honestly, this truck is not worth putting that kind of money into it , so what I’m thinking that I can do is .. since I’m tapped out already for all the stuff I’ve had to buy to get the rest of the truck in decent shape … is to put it on hold for a month get all the tools I need to do the job myself.

Tentative plan is to hone the cylinders, measure and get the correct size rings and grind ea ring to specific size needed for that cylinder and put it all back together.

That may or may not be the recommended thing to do, but unless somebody else is gonna throw money my way for this project besides me then that’s probably what I’m gonna do.. but I don’t know everything and will need to seek guidance from kind fellow mechanics who already know and that don’t mind helping out. I thank all yall And the dodge thanks you

 

[dashaint]

Hard to believe 130 psi is the cause, I'd take off exhaust manifold on 7 and put eye balls on it. If it is all shiney and all others are dry, there ya go, a lot easier then going from top.

I will do that next but when you say there you go… if it’s all oily then that cylinder is leaking somewhere, but what would it mean to you? All you’ll be able to see is the exhaust valve right? That won’t tell you if it’s leaking from the gasket or from the cylinder wall. Does it?

 

[Burla]

Just an easy way to diagnose cylinder 7 somewhere because that psi hints at it but isn't a smoking gun, though probably is. Just a suggestion, if you would like to take a different direction like Philip Marlowe said, that's ok with me.

 

[Burla]

Personally, if I did all of that and my engine was smoking blue, I'd want to look at all of the cylinders exhaust respective of the psi numbers. I cant see it, but you say it gets much worse as you go.

 

[Burla]

130 psi doesn't say anything, do a leak down test probably best thing at this point. Doesn't mean there aren't issues anyhow, because compression psi doesn't mean other cylinders are burning oil either. Maybe they aren't, but if you see the exhaust holes you will know for sure. again, friendly suggestion .

 

[Burla]

You have a catch can on that engine? Crank case pressure could be another cause of blue that could end up in all cylinders. Even if compression was perfect on cylinders.

 

[Randy Grant]

I guess you could always leave the headers off , fire it up, and look for smoke. Should be easy to see which one/ones are the smoking gun.