Engine vibrates like crazy

[waynep]

Hello All:

Started and ran fine for 60 miles or so. Went out at lunch and truck started and ran really rough, engine vibrating like crazy and low power vibrating ride. Had just filled it up. Station I use often.

Feels like a cylender or two are not fireing!

I have recently replaced injectors on one side but not yet gotten to the other turbo side. But it seemed to run OK after half replacement.

I drove it till it warmed up and no change. Lowish RPMs on idle and engine seemd to make more noise, but hard to tell with all the vibrations.

Any ideas. Bad injectror? Could a bad glow plug do this. Bad or lots of water in fuel?

Maybe some white smoke out of tail but not sure?

Appreciate any ideas.

1997 2500 3/4 T Subway with 190 K or so. PMD on a heat sink.

Regards,

Wayne

[DennisG01]

How long has it been since the fuel filter was replaced? Maybe you want to at least check the condition of it - even if it was replaced recently.

[Robyn]

Sounds like a bad injector.

With the engine idling, crack open the injector lines one at a time and see if you have a dead one/s

Robyn

[waynep]

Hello All:

When idleing, the engine vibrates like crazy. After it warms up a bit, it vibrates just as much at idle but if I get up to 60 to 70 MPH on the highway it smothes out quite a bit. Power a bit less especially on hills.

Boost pressure seems OK. Hope this info helps a bit. Are the glow plugs any use after it starts or is compression enough to ignite? I get the feeling also it is a bad injectror but asking just in case.

Thank you all.
Wayne

[More Power]

Is the front crank pulley wobbling more than normal?

Jim

[a5150nut]

Is the front crank pulley wobbling more than normal?

Jim

If you crawl under the front and look up at the front pully on the crank, see if there are any shiny spots on the cross pieces on the pully. Then check the rubber. They make one hell of a racket when they come loose!

[Kennedy]

Were the injectors from a known, reputable source?

I've had situations where a brand new engine was initially condemned but later found to be Ebay junk injectors.

[Robyn]

How did the thing run before the injectors were changed ????

Missy

[waynep]

Hello All:

OK, went out today and started it up no problem. After glow plug light went off it vibrated like crazy for about 10 seconds and then ran smooth for about 10 seconds, over and over again.
Glow plugs were not cycling as battery voltage seemed to stay the same.
After about 10 minutes it was driveable and the vibration did not seem as bad.

Any thoughts. And yes, I put questionable source injectors on the easy side and the turbo side still has original after 180 k or so.

I drained a bit of diesel fuel from the front drain but his did not seem to make any difference. Fuel came out OK.

Thanks Wayne

[DmaxMaverick]

......I put questionable source injectors on the easy side and the turbo side still has original after 180 k or so......

Fix this, and go from there. Known good injectors in all 8. Don't expect much, if any, improvement until you do.

[waynep]

Hello All:

Last night discovered the problem, the keyway on the crank pully failed and the pully and harmonic balancer were not turning at the same RPM as the crank.
Anyone know of an on vehicle crank keyway repair kit or repair suggestions?

Regards,

Wayne

[sctrailrider]

Do you mean the slot in the crank is gone??? or is the key missing??? If crank, I only know of one fix and you aren't going to like it...

[AKMark]

They key could've broke and the remaining piece is still in there. Bet you could get it out and replace the key and balancer and be okay.

[waynep]

Hello All:

Keyway is half gone. I tried to repair it when I saw that it was wearing out, about 8 months ago. Used Locktite 660, liquid metal and a new key, but I think it did not set properly in the cold. I may also have not torqued the bolt enough and that did not help.

Crank rotates and engine runs, badly, but belt barely moves. Crank is spinning. Stopped driving as soon as I figured it out, but maybe too late.

I have heard of some type of repair kit available but cannot find it.

I also believe crank is cast iron which precludes welding etc?? Can the pully be welded on as a last resort before pulling crank?

Any and all ideas appreciated.

Regards,
Wayne

[Snowbound98]

I experienced the same problem. First my crank pulley went out and I went and got a new one and when I asked for it he said " oh you mean the rattler?" I was like, what you mean, and he said did you hear it rattling? And ya I did. But then about 2 months later I was driving along the hiway and when I got off the damn thing shook so bad I thought I broke a crank. After about an hour or so of trying to use a puller to get the balancer off I found it. Looked like the keyway turned sideways on the crank. Took a chunk out of the crank and I knew I was screwed. Found a guy who said he could weld it while in the vehicle but there was no way I was gonna have him weld on my crank while attached to the bearings. Did a little research and found out welding them don't last too long. Time for a new crank bud. Sucks but there is no easy fix. And then while your down and the engine is apart your gonna find cracked heads but hopefully your block is still good. If you want to freshen it up since its out plan on spending 500 for a quality re-ring kit with gaskets. Plus oil pump, timing chain, crank and bearings. About 400 for a scat crank. Around 700 for replacement heads. Then your gonna want to at least have the block checked out, cleaned, new cam bearings and freeze plugs. Hopefully you don't have too much of a ridge in the cylinders or it'll be time to bore it. That machine work is somewhere around 700 ( by me it is) and then time for new pistons to match your bore. And if you don't have the tools or know how to do the work it'll get costly in labor charges. Might be a little more pricey but look for a quality reman engine. It'll be a lot faster and in some cases (depending on your engine) cheaper. Just my 2cents

[More Power]

The damper bolt must be torqued to 200 ft/lbs during re-assembly.

[waynep]

Really appreciate all the input. Replace the motor, my thoughts exactly.
BUT, I repaired the keyway and put in a new balancer, used a ton of JB weld, and Locktite on the
pully bolt. Torqued as much as possible with the engine turning. BTW, any way to prevent the engine from turning while torqing?
So now it runs really smooth, and I will take it easy on it and retorq whenever possible. If it fails again, then either new rebuilt, or I drive it into the river. (never would but really tempting).
Hope it holds, and if I can prevent the engine from turning, I can keep it tight.
Thanks a lot all,
Wayne

[Robyn]

There is one little possibility that you can think about here.


Remove the ballancer assembly, locate and weld the washer to the ballancer in its normal location.

Reinstall the ballancer onto the crank, tighten the bolt to seat the assembly.

Now remove the crank bolt and drill a 5/16 hole that is offset between the edge of the crank snout and the center bolt.

Drill this hole so it penetrates the crank snout about 1/2" Now drive in a 5/16 roll pin.

If you need to, you can grind the pin flush with the washer face.

Reinstall the center bolt with blue loctite and tighten well.

The added shear strength of the roll pin will likely be equal to what the key had, at least it will add strength to the assembly.

OBTW

I normally just hit the crank bolt a few good burps with the 1/2" impact wrench.
Never had any issues with this.


Missy