Detroit Series 60 Problem
#1
Senior Board Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Iowa
Posts: 505
Detroit Series 60 Problem
My 06 Detroit Series 60 started doing something really strange this week.
First day it started acting up: When I start it up in the morning after it has been sitting all night it starts up fine and idles at 800rpm. When it starts to warm up the rpm drops to 600rpm like normal and then it starts puffing black smoke, then it starts chugging and the black smoke is just pouring out of it, then it dies. When I try to start it back up it sounds like it has no compression. I let it sit for 15-20 minutes and it starts and runs fine. Second day: Same thing happened on startup. Third day: Same thing happened on startup and I got a check engine light. I flashed it and it came up a code 81. I looked up the code 81 and it didn't look to be too serious so went ahead and ran my 600 mile dedicated run and it ran very badly and got less than 5mpg. Fourth Day: I called Detroit to make a appointment and told them what it was doing and they told me they had never heard of anything like that but bring it in and they would hook it up the computer and see what it says. First appointment they had was this coming Monday so I took that appointment. Fifth Day: (Yesterday Friday) I started it up and it did the same thing and died and I waited 15 minutes and started it back up and it bucked and shook and sounded like it was running on 1 or 2 cylinders and finally died. When I tried to start it back up it wouldn't start. I waited about a hour and went back and turned the key and it started right up and the check engine light went out and it ran smooth as ever. I ran my 600 mile dedicated run and it ran smooth the whole time and got over 7mpg. Anyone ever heard or had a Detroit do anything like this??
#6
Always check oil level daily before start up and when fueling.
Attention all owner operators !! You MUST make a habit of checking the oil level EVERYDAY. I'd speculate Scott had a bad habit of checking the oil once a week (or less) and not notice the oil leak puddle beneath the engine or oil pan. OTR drivers develop this bad habit because they begin their newbie career with a fairly new truck of 50K miles or less on the odometer. As the diesel engine racks up miles, oil seals and gaskets turn brittle, then oil leaks begin to show up, yet you treat the truck like it has 50K miles or less. Eventually, the oil pan has 50% or less oil and you don't notice the drop in oil pressure because these MF manufacturers don't put an analog oil pressure gauge. When the "low Oil" pressure light comes on, it means you've already suffered some piston ring damage or you have 3 seconds to pull over out or harms way and immediately shut off the engine.
When you initially start up the cold engine, the oil is thick, which creates a compression seal to make up for the damaged oil rings. As the engine warms up, the compression oil rings are not doing its job, which is to create a 20:1 compression ratio to generate heat and ignite the diesel fuel from the fuel injectors. The unburned diesel is coming up as black smoke or white smoke. The bluish tint mixed with the smoke is the oil which the oil ring is allowing to pass through to the exhaust manifold. Your Detroit 60 engine will need a piston job, which is removing the pistons to replace the compression rings and oil ring. Besides making a habit of checking the oil level DAILY, carry a spare gallon jug of API-rating "C" engine oil. It might say both "S" and "C" -- but if it only says "S" this will lead to premature wear of the piston rings. Best oil value is Wally's Universal oil [ATTACH=CONFIG]1310[/ATTACH] or Full Synthetic oil; [ATTACH=CONFIG]1311[/ATTACH] the former is if you're on a tight budget, the latter is if you can afford to pay the extra $$. Either one is ok for diesel engines. Advice you have a magnifying glass to look at picts I posted.
#7
Attention all owner operators !! You MUST make a habit of checking the oil level EVERYDAY. I'd speculate Scott had a bad habit of checking the oil once a week (or less) and not notice the oil leak puddle beneath the engine or oil pan. OTR drivers develop this bad habit because they begin their newbie career with a fairly new truck of 50K miles or less on the odometer. As the diesel engine racks up miles, oil seals and gaskets turn brittle, then oil leaks begin to show up, yet you treat the truck like it has 50K miles or less. Eventually, the oil pan has 50% or less oil and you don't notice the drop in oil pressure because these MF manufacturers don't put an analog oil pressure gauge. When the "low Oil" pressure light comes on, it means you've already suffered some piston ring damage or you have 3 seconds to pull over out or harms way and immediately shut off the engine.
When you initially start up the cold engine, the oil is thick, which creates a compression seal to make up for the damaged oil rings. As the engine warms up, the compression oil rings are not doing its job, which is to create a 20:1 compression ratio to generate heat and ignite the diesel fuel from the fuel injectors. The unburned diesel is coming up as black smoke or white smoke. The bluish tint mixed with the smoke is the oil which the oil ring is allowing to pass through to the exhaust manifold. Your Detroit 60 engine will need a piston job, which is removing the pistons to replace the compression rings and oil ring. Besides making a habit of checking the oil level DAILY, carry a spare gallon jug of API-rating "C" engine oil. It might say both "S" and "C" -- but if it only says "S" this will lead to premature wear of the piston rings. Best oil value is Wally's Universal oil [ATTACH=CONFIG]1310[/ATTACH] or Full Synthetic oil; [ATTACH=CONFIG]1311[/ATTACH] the former is if you're on a tight budget, the latter is if you can afford to pay the extra $$. Either one is ok for diesel engines. Advice you have a magnifying glass to look at picts I posted.
#9
Here's the URL websites. If the picts didn't upload correctly, you'll need cot copy and paste to your URL address bar on the top of ;your screen
http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/68...42_500X500.jpg [ATTACH=CONFIG]1316[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1317[/ATTACH] http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/07...11_500X500.jpg
#10
Board Regular
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 270
Attention all owner operators !! You MUST make a habit of checking the oil level EVERYDAY. I'd speculate Scott had a bad habit of checking the oil once a week (or less) and not notice the oil leak puddle beneath the engine or oil pan. OTR drivers develop this bad habit because they begin their newbie career with a fairly new truck of 50K miles or less on the odometer. As the diesel engine racks up miles, oil seals and gaskets turn brittle, then oil leaks begin to show up, yet you treat the truck like it has 50K miles or less. Eventually, the oil pan has 50% or less oil and you don't notice the drop in oil pressure because these MF manufacturers don't put an analog oil pressure gauge. When the "low Oil" pressure light comes on, it means you've already suffered some piston ring damage or you have 3 seconds to pull over out or harms way and immediately shut off the engine.
When you initially start up the cold engine, the oil is thick, which creates a compression seal to make up for the damaged oil rings. As the engine warms up, the compression oil rings are not doing its job, which is to create a 20:1 compression ratio to generate heat and ignite the diesel fuel from the fuel injectors. The unburned diesel is coming up as black smoke or white smoke. The bluish tint mixed with the smoke is the oil which the oil ring is allowing to pass through to the exhaust manifold. Your Detroit 60 engine will need a piston job, which is removing the pistons to replace the compression rings and oil ring. Besides making a habit of checking the oil level DAILY, carry a spare gallon jug of API-rating "C" engine oil. It might say both "S" and "C" -- but if it only says "S" this will lead to premature wear of the piston rings. Best oil value is Wally's Universal oil [ATTACH=CONFIG]1310[/ATTACH] or Full Synthetic oil; [ATTACH=CONFIG]1311[/ATTACH] the former is if you're on a tight budget, the latter is if you can afford to pay the extra $$. Either one is ok for diesel engines. Advice you have a magnifying glass to look at picts I posted. Black is fuel issues, Blue is oil White is water / cold temps. |
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