06 Express Van Smoke Pl Help

[phill0072]

Hello everyone I am new here just gotta love the d-max well heres the problem at 3k I noticed the engine has a tapping sound that increses with rpm up until about 1500 then quiets down its not the famous tick I have that to dealers have told me to change to a different type of oil it was factory fill so i went to amsoil 15-40 syn still there of course at 49k sounds like a lifter noise in a gas motor

Problem 2 If I idle for atleast 3hrs when the outside temp is below 40 degrees
when i start rolling i get heavey white/blue smoke for about a mile then goes away until the next long idle period, van also has a very heavy raw diesel smell out the pipe I took it to gm at 28k took them 7 days to replace #8 injector and the filters never seen any other dmax do this problem occured again just 50 miles after the service

problem3 When I idle when it is hot outside again for 3 plus hours a/c on, temp above 75 degrees i get a perfect jet black circle on the ground just under the exhust turndown and when i take off i get jet black smoke for 1 to 2 miles smokes like a freight train then goes away until i have to get hard on to pass someone like on a two lane road still very heavy raw diesel smell.

I have been to 4 dealerships they all tell me it is because i idle the van so much never seen a dmax van or pick-up smoke after idle this bad, in my line of work "expediter" i have to idle for comfort there is no way around it I also drive 10k miles a month and it does not look like I am lossing any oil I check it twice a week or more I know atleast a dozen 06 expess owners with dmax's that idle just like i do and they don't have these problems the problems all started about 3k please help also if anyone knows a good dealership in oh,in,il,mi,ky,tn,va,nc,sc,ga,md. i will take it there will drive anywhere in these states to get it fixed please help I know its a long post but I had to get it of my chest:confused:

[carco]

I do know that about all diesels after prolonged idleing, and 3 hours is definetly prolonged, will "wet stack" or send raw fuel into the oil past the rings and out the exhaust due to low combustion cylinder temps and incomplete fuel burning. I have seen as you describe and even fuel leaking down outside of head past the exhaust manifold to head joint. Try idleing up the engine to 1000-1100 rpm the problem will probably go away, engine life will be improved as well as improved HVAC operation. Oil life should also be improved, if you pull a sample, EOA, no doubt it will come back high on fuel dilution. bob..............

[JoeyD]

I don't idle like that but I do idle when it's cold out and it will smoke until I get on it. It's not bad it's just smoke like a diesel does I think.
Milage is great, uses no oil and I think it's normal.
If it high idles it does not smoke at all. High idle the van while you sitting and see if that helps. An exhaust brake would also help load the motor some while high idleing.

[phill0072]

thanks for the input I did not think to add this part of it earlier believe it or not it does not somke at idle in cold weather after the long idle period i have to drive it about a mile before it to start its blue/white smoke then after about another mile its gone now for when its hot outside it does not smoke at idle either but after the extended idle period alls u got to do is hit the pedel to about 1300 in park and she starts blowin coal for about 35-45 seconds, and the heavy raw diesel smell is always there whether i just started the truck or stopped to fuel or stopped at a light hot or cold I also see gray smoke pass me if wind is blowing in the right direction when i stop at a traffic light or come off the interstate to the top a ramp

by the way took it to a dealer in indy on friday and they said my injector flow rates are good at around 1 to 1.6 but did comment on the harsh exhust smell and took it for a whopping 2 mile test drive and said what i thought they woud, can not duplicate customer concern and charged 95.00 for 1 hour labor

i know alot of people are against idling for extended periods but everyone in my line of work has to do it, I can't sleep in there when its 10 degrees or 100 degrees gotta get my rest and the a/c or heat is the only way to do it when u live on the road and spend 23 hours a day 7 days a week in your home/money maker/love maaa----chine!!!!:D :D :D

[DieselMonk]

What concers me more is the ticking you were discribing... what did the dealer say about that? I would try to find out where that ticking comes from, on which cylinder and start from there on.

[hapaschold]

i notice just alittle extra white smoke after warm up in the am.

3 hours of idling ? how do u avoid the no idle law police ? up along the ny thruway, police ticket parked trucks real fast ! !

[phill0072]

the tapping sound that i described earlier 1 dealer said change to a different oil 2 or them said its the engine breaking in come back at around 60k and the last one said all d-maxs do it nothing to worry about I told all 4 dealers that I never have seen any other d-maxs do this and they told me to take it elsewhere if i did not like there answer. I started a file with customer service at 3k and I call every time I bring it in and the dealers won't work on it I have been to 7 dealers since nov-06 I have had 2 independent shops tell me it is a lifter but they would have to rip into the engine to find which one it is and it would take atleast a week and a half or more and be very expensive I had these independent shops call 3 of the above dealers and explain what they have found but u know dealers they don't want to here anything from a outside source

by the way having oil pulled and sampled today I am at 50k will see whats going on in there I bought a few prepay kits from amsoil and I will post the results when they come in anyone know how long it takes to get results from the lab that amsoil uses in ohio????

ps. about the ny thru-way nazi's i get of a exit park behind a gas station or in a wal-mart,k-mart, target parking lot or just at a random commercial business site close to the interstate if i get bothered by the fuzz i just tell them i am waiting to load in the morning, locals cops don't usually bother u about idling they just want to see why u are there and what u are doing :p

[DieselMonk]

I think you are in desperate need of a good dealership. You could take your van manual and call GM themselves and ask them to have a look at it as your dealer isn't doing anything at all. Maybe they can do something for you. A call to them helped me once before. Give it a try. Good luck!

[phill0072]

well its going in the shop again started it this morning and i smoked the yard out, p.o the hell out of the neighbors I got that lovely white smoke and that wonderfull raw diesel smell heavier than usual van had been sitting all night not idling at all, was about 32 degrees out cold engine start and warming up at about 1000 rpms "computer warm up cycle" i did pull oil yesterday and had it sent off to be tested, called stealer they told me to drop it off tonight so there tech can watch it thru its warm up cycle and see whats going on here, this is the 8th different dealship I have taken it to. Service manager says they have best diesel tech in va. I guess we will see if they do. I let them know about my wasted 95.00 on friday at another dealer in indiana and they said if they can not find anything wrong they will not charge me anything hopefully they find whats wrong with this thing and fix it:mad: :mad: :mad:

[phill0072]

well wednesday took it to dealer they reflashed the pcm again 3rd time now said van was running good went to pick up van noticed that exhuast was still very raw at idle but had to take it anyways went up to pa. to load and drove straight thru to atlanta, ga. 800 miles stopped to get unload and now i got black smoke at idle and a hell or a injector knock took, it to a dealer this morning in jonesboro,ga and they said they would need it for atleast a week week and a half i cant afford that much down time down here with the hotel bills and everything else that it cost to live in one for that amount of time but the tech was great and confirmed that it is loading at idle and that it does have a bad injector knock and probley a lifter tap, injector knock so loud it is covering up the lifter tap they called customer service for me and i am going to get a engineer from my area to look at. it will take about 2 weeks before he can look at it so maybe he will fix, it anyone here have any experience with a gm engineer??? what can I expect if anything???:mad: :mad:

[DieselMonk]

Yes, it takes a while for the GM engineer to come around. I had one look at my car before (burning oil like bugger in a Cadillac STS). He decided to get a new engine in it. I am sure they'll get it figured out.

[phill0072]

well it is thursday 4-19 and its in the shop again knock still there smoke still there 54,000 miles now Got ahold of gm rep for my area said van needs to be in the shop atleast 3 weeks for him to come out and look at it:mad: :mad: I asked him how anyone can be without a work truck for 3 weeks, I can't rent one and use it with my job so I have to sit at the house and make no money, this is great customer service I am getting from gm, but I expected that. noticed the tapping and raw diesel smell is alot worse when the temp is above 70 degrees and the humidity is high like above 90 or so, will black smoke anytime u press the pedal just a little to get around someone I don't drive it it hard at all but if i were to pass u, u would think I was standing on the pedal, black smoke rolling out like a freight train taking off so I guess I will see what they tell me this time I tried to get them to call the dealer in GA. to speek to the tech because he has observed it loading at idle and tapping like hell. when I dropped it off this morning it was tapping pretty good and running rich had just drove 500 miles out of SC tried to get tech to look at it while it was doing it took him 3 hrs to get to me i was idling the whole time and he said it sounded normal but would look at it anyways if there is any techs on here east of the mississippi river that is willing to help i will take it to your shop. send me a e-mail and I will get back to u thanks phill0072@netzero.com :( :(

[DieselMonk]

Did you call GM direct yet and compained?

[hapaschold]

if your not getting action, try another dealer, if that doesnt work. www.lemonlaw.com , michael sacks...

breach of warranty.

[phill0072]

well they decided after 6 days in the shop that it needed a pcm and a ecm luckly I only paid the 100 deductable on it, hopefully this will take care of it. I have already put 2430 miles on it and no smoke and the exhust does not smell like it use to, and my milage is up 2 mpg at highway speed I will keep ya posted thanks for all of the feedback it took 9 dealers on the east coast & midwest before I found one that said there was a problem and they would fix it p.s. I was not aware there was a pcm and a ecm I would of figured one or the other shows what I know:D :D :D