2.8 Low oil pressure and whistling under boost

[HiMuZuLux]

Ok ,for whatever reason I went and bought an old 2.8TD 5-door Bighorn Irmscher to add to the other 4 vehicles I own

Its got 360,000km on it and still running! Whats more the air con still works! Bonus!

Under boost with a load, there is a shrill whistling sound that could be metal on metal but sounds more like an air leak or something... anyone come across that?

Also it seems to have very low oil pressure... sits just above 1 on normal driving, and at idle (say, at the lights), drops off the gauge. Anyone have a fancy oil pressure measury thingamajig to test it with? I'm hoping its just a sender problem, or maybe the gauge... It never even makes 2, not even when cold.

Overall its really tidy. All the emmission stuff is bypased, the butterfly in the intercooler is gone (oil leaks from the shaft where it was tho - is this a major problem? and could the air over the shaft be causing the whistle?) and it has a catch can... and MAN did it smoke when I got it home... it was overfilled just before I bought it... the house dissapeared behind a smoke screen... brilliant fun ;D

Steve

[geeves]

Considering 360000km theres not too much wrong with it. The squeal could be a bad turbo but I had a similar thing when the plate that replaced the egr valves on the inlet manifold leaked. If it wont make the noise when stationary this would be first suspect.
oil presure could be bearings pump etc but I would suspect that the price you paid wouldnt justify opening anything to have a look. Try replacing the oil and filter then see how it goes. Those motors dont cost too much if it blows or it could be anouther v6 conversion project.
Oil leaking from the intercooler haft is blowby oil On an old engine I wouldnt worry about it except it makes a mess on the garage floor. They neary all lose some oil here.If the shaft is loose it could be the squealing air leak

[James W]

360,000 Km is impressive, I wonder if it was clocked at all?

But it all sounds pretty typical for a tired engine, and I think at 360,000 we will all asume it is tired.

One way to test for air leaks on the inlet path is to spary some ether/engine start on all the joints etc. If the engine pinks or revs up it's sucking in the ether. Be wary you can obviously do some harm if it gets a good whif of ether. Do this at idle.

[HiMuZuLux]

Thanks for the info guys, and James - thanks for the offer of help I will definitely take you up on that since you've overhauled one and have that experience.

I spoke with Diesel Services Ltd here in Christchurch and they gave it a quick test drive and reckoned its most likely the exhaust gasket whistling under boost. No problem he said, just a simple $500 fix! Ouch...

Is the exhaust gasket really that hard to replace? He did say it was probably a snapped or stripped stud at the root of the problem, and that they would machine the manifold flat before refitting but it all seems a little pricey... I'm thinking a new gasket, new stud, a quick, light (and careful) draw-file cleanup of the manifold face and half a tube of exhaust gasket cement should solve the problem... or am I missing something?

Steve.

[geeves]

Youve seen done that side of the engine. Everything takes 5 times as long as it should. It might be that simple but sight unseen who knows. If its not too bad it might be easier to live with it

[James W]

Well yeah, the exhaust manifold is a real pain in the arse to get out in the vehicle. If you have air con the compressor is in the way, the turbo is in the way and the alternator doesn't help. It's one of those no fun jobs, takes a couple of hours and I can understand the $500 value, yes it's just a gasket but the bulk will be labour. Certainly you can do it yourself for less but you have the hassle factor, but it isn't technicaly difficult.

I note "most likely" the exhaust gasket, I myself wouln'd spend $500 on a guess

[mulover]

Check to see how thick the plates are that the poeple have blocked the egr's off with, they need to be at least 3mm thick with sealant. The wee pressure relief valve under the intercooler may be blocked off if it has a catch can, so the plate on this could be leaking and you can't really see it under the intercooler, its on the engine inlet manifold just behind the pipe.

[darkhunter]

don't use ether or engine start,it's flammable use crc or simular its smells and smokes when hot but is alot safer
being the exhaust side it will bubble showing leakout
spray some around egr valves etc if engine changes note at idle when done for short time you have found leakage
oh and for those doing there own oil changes
how many of you take off your turbo oil feed tube and clean it out as its often over looked by some mechanics and should be done along every couple or so oil changes for good turbo life

[HiMuZuLux]

I've had a very interesting development... The whistling all but dissapeared the other day... not slowly, just one minute it was there, next minute you could barely discern it from the turbo noise. What I noticed immediately after this happened is that on startup the engine produces great clouds of smoke now, every time. Almost like the system is full of oil, so if its an air leak its now blocked off by oil (yes, with these k's its a bit hard to tell from where it comes, but there is oil leaking from several places by the looks of it).

Does that shed any light for anyone? I'm thinking I can live with that, and if its burning a little oil on startup I just need to remember to park so my exhaust faces the neighbours house, not mine

Steve

[geeves]

Sounds like you might have an intercooler to sell fairly soon. Is there much rust in the body?

[mulover]

Thats a nice idea, i'm sur the neighbours will love it!!! sounds like you may have some rings that are getting stuffed, i have alot of oil circulating around my air system too, and the mechanic said that a ring may be geting shot but only worry about it if it starts blowing heaps of smoke!!
I'm sure you'll get heaps of buyers for parts when it does finally blow!!!

[HiMuZuLux]

Yeah, when it finally dies I will have Aisin manual hubs, a snorkle, a turbo, an intercooler, heated seats and a pile of other stuff for sale I've decided in light of it now not blowing huge dolops of smoke any more but also not making the whistling sound much either that I'll drive it till it drops then decide if its worth SASing and Lexus-ing it or if I'll drop the 3.1TD from my MU into it and repower that with something brutally fuel innefficient

Besides, I have a new idea to keep my brain occupied, which I will start a new thread for. I understand having read Isuzu4x.com that you can pinch the t/c parts from an auto to make a dual t/c... watch this space I'm on a mission to learn more...

Oh, and thanks to all who replied to this, much appreciated - you can all have first dibs on the parts when it dies

Steve

[geeves]

Could be an interesting project.