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Engine blow by - Khalid4747 - 08-11-2019

Hello everyone,

I have a 2013 Volvo VNL 670 with a Cummins ISX 15L CM2250. I recently was diagnosed with a leaky EGR cooler that was burning about a gallon of coolant a week and the turbo was blowing oil from both the cold and hot side. We've replaced the EGR cooler, cleaned out the DPF filter, and had the turbo rebuilt. The turbo now seems to be blowing some smoke (not oil) but the coolant problem has gone away. Now I have a different problem where there is extensive engine blow by and weird sludge in nearly every part of the engine.

When I took off the engine crankcase filer, it was covered in this sludge that looked like a combination of water and oil.




This was sitting at the bottom of the crankcase filter.

When I removed the oil cap, it looked like my truck had a mini steam engine. The inside walls of the tube had that weird sludge and when I went to smell the blow by, it smelled like a window cleaner if that helps. I also looked at the coolant and the coolant pressure seems to be normal.



What could cause all the sludgy oil? Also what can I do to help my engine's blow by?

Thanks for your help!

If the images don't work
Img1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ynz1ap7s1eDYdTb2SzoCy0RQIsWwZNGc/view?usp=sharing
Img2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r-IyyfJ1OxkSzSuZOPM9knfW8XhB3nhF/view?usp=sharing
Img3: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A8FgzimDYzbM-yFL4MeUIIp88b6RJ2xY/view?usp=sharing


RE: Engine blow by - Lonestar10 - 08-11-2019

that is water in the oil. you might still see yet more water disapearing as you might have a liner that has broke loose and is leaking water into the oil. diagnose procedure is remove oil pan pressurize coolant system let sit over night after night lay under the truck looking up towards the cylinder bores and have someone bar the engine over and watch to see if water comes out of one of the bores or you hear a gurgling sound like water and air bubbling. if its not there than the check air compressor or anywhereelse water comes near the oil system.


RE: Engine blow by - Khalid4747 - 08-11-2019

So you're saying the water that's in the oil could be coming from the coolant reservoir and be leaking into the oil pan? How can you tell if there is a problem with the head gasket or cylinder liner?

Also a side note, there are no check engine lights and oil pressure is fine.


RE: Engine blow by - Lonestar10 - 08-11-2019

i just explained the process to check liners


RE: Engine blow by - Waterloo - 08-11-2019

(08-11-2019 )Khalid4747 Wrote:  So you're saying the water that's in the oil could be coming from the coolant reservoir and be leaking into the oil pan? How can you tell if there is a problem with the head gasket or cylinder liner?

Also a side note, there are no check engine lights and oil pressure is fine.

The liner is the tube the piston goes up and down in. The liners, there are 6 of them, sit on a tiny ledge inside of the block. If the motor is run at a low rpm under stressful conditions, like lugging up a mountain, the internal forces inside the motor will dislodge the liner(s). When the liner dislodges, the water from the cooling side of the block will work its way into the motor oil as that seal is broken.

Also, when the liner dislodges itself from the block, the top of the liner, which protrudes out of the top of the block, will score the bottom of the head. When the head is scored, it will need to be replaced, along with the head gasket. A complete in frame is what is called for at this point. The motor will need to be torn down, and those ledges that the liners sit on will need to be machined. There is a special tool to do just that. Sadly, most shops do not do this crucial step, and just drop the new liners back in. You now have a 100,000 mile motor, as it will soon fail again and another in frame will be required. Been there and done that.

To test... Drain and remove the oil pan. Pressurize the coolant system to around 25 psi, let sit overnight if possible. The following day, someone will need to be under the motor with a good flashlight, while a second person bars the motor over at the air compressor. You are looking for water on the piston liners. It will show up as droplets, clear droplets. Normally it is the #5 and or #6 liner that fails. But you need to inspect all of them. If you are in a quiet area while barring the motor, if there is a coolant protrusion issue, you may hear the coolant bubbling up top while under the motor, If you hear that, a liner more than likely has been dislodged, or fretted. Continue barring motor until you see coolant in liner(s).

If you see coolant, it is in frame time. If this is the case, call Mr Hagg and make an appointment. He will rebuild the motor to better than OEM.

Good luck.


RE: Engine blow by - Brock - 08-11-2019

I had a certified Cummins turbo I bought that was faulty, one of my very first posts on this forum was called "Hest light on......." I couldn't figure out what was wrong with my emissions and had lots of blow by, I eventually determined my motor was about to pile up and need a rebuild so I demanded it to buy some time .

It turned out one of the seals was installed incorrectly when they rebuilt the turbo and it was boosting into the crankcase!!!!


RE: Engine blow by - Waterloo - 08-11-2019

Two Cummins reman turbos here, both were junk, puked oil everywhere. Picked up a reman YTS Turbo in Griffin GA, no issues, been well over a year, hell two years, CAC is still dry as a bone. Knock on wood. Much better quality and worked as it should right out of the box. Cannot say the same for Cummins at twice+ the price.


RE: Engine blow by - smorgan87 - 08-11-2019

Reman turbo on my 871 had to replace in 100 miles due to vg internals falling apart and seizing. Had a reman turbo on a reman 2350 crate motor same problem didnt even get home from the dealer. Cummins reman parts are garbage. Be better off asking a chimp to repair ur truck.


RE: Engine blow by - tree98 - 08-11-2019

(08-11-2019 )smorgan87 Wrote:  Reman turbo on my 871 had to replace in 100 miles due to vg internals falling apart and seizing. Had a reman turbo on a reman 2350 crate motor same problem didnt even get home from the dealer. Cummins reman parts are garbage. Be better off asking a chimp to repair ur truck.

Trunk monkeys ha ha ha. Remember that video ?