Time for a Snorkel??

Does your Mitsubishi L300 make a strange noise? Need wheel alignment specs?
Post Reply
User avatar
lrp374
Posts: 1023
Joined: Sun Nov 23, 2008 9:56 pm
Vehicle: 91 Super Exceed
Location: Kamloops

Time for a Snorkel??

Post by lrp374 »

Returning from 2.5 great days fishing @ Friendly lake I chose an unfortunate path through 1 of the many puddles in the part of the road closest to the lake. I was just about to come out the other side when my van quit dead! A quick review of gauges showed the voltage barely 12, and the transmission high temp on. I tried to start it but to no avail, initially. I was able to get out the passenger door and connect up the winch to a dead-fall tree. What a great time to have a winch in a forest!!. Once I put the transmission in neutral the winch pulled it out with no problem. Once out of the puddle all my gauges went back to normal. I tried to start the engine again and after a long time and lots of white smoke it came to life. Not the nice 4 cylinder sound I'm used to more like 2 to 3 cylinders. I let it run while I brought the winch cable in and the smoke went from the white @ startup to a light blue and smelled like unburnt fuel. As I'm @ least 20 km to the nearest highway I figured I might as well drive it out if possible. After running about 10 to 15 minutes it smoothed out and ran more or less like normal all the way home ( about 130 km ).
I went out to check it last night and it starts fine but still has blue smoke and is missing. I checked the oil and rad overflow levels and all seems fine. Today it starts fine c/w blue smoke and after about 5 minutes the missing and smoke stop.
Several years ago I removed the air cleaner in favor of a cold air intake located in front of the radiator. The bottom to of the filter is about the height of the middle of the rad or about the top of the wheel. I think this puddle may have been deep enough to suck water in and that's what stopped the engine.

Now for my question after all this info.


Could my missing @ startup be due to contamination or fouled injectors as it seems okay after it's warmed up or am I just being optimistic and should be prepared for a larger bill!!
Attachments
Puddle from Hell!
Puddle from Hell!
100_8221a.JPG (625.88 KiB) Viewed 6145 times
Air Intake Location
Air Intake Location
100_5583a.JPG (569.17 KiB) Viewed 6145 times
User avatar
Growlerbearnz
Posts: 2041
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 1:58 pm
Member's Photo Album: http://www.delica.ca/Photos/
Vehicle: Delica P25W
Location: New Zealand

Time for a Snorkel??

Post by Growlerbearnz »

Diesels do *not* like ingesting water. Because of the high compression, there's no room for water in the cylinder head when the piston is at the top of its stroke. Get water in there and it can break pistons and rings, bend conrods, damage the head gasket, or crack the head. (Which is why the stock intake is up high and has the "missing pipe" in the air filter compartment- to let any water fall out before the engine eats it.)

Water getting into the engine shouldn't have contaminated the fuel, I'd expect the injectors to be ok. I'd be doing a compression test to see if one cylinder is lower than the others, which would suggest a bent conrod, or piston/ring damage. Watch for extra blow-by, more oil than usual in the inlet manifold, and keep checking the radiator and oil levels.
Nothing says "poor workmanship" more than wrinkles in the duct tape.
User avatar
lrp374
Posts: 1023
Joined: Sun Nov 23, 2008 9:56 pm
Vehicle: 91 Super Exceed
Location: Kamloops

Time for a Snorkel??

Post by lrp374 »

Thanks for the comments Growler. I'm still hoping for a minimal cost solution but I guess time will tell. In the meantime I've done a few easy tests and done a Seafoam treatment. I was planning on this next oil change anyway so had a few cans on hand. I ran the engine on straight Seafoam for about 15 minutes until it used almost 1 can. I also put 1 can in the tank which was about 1/3 full. The engine began to run very smoothly after about 5 minutes of Seafoam and any vibration was gone. However, if I leave it sit for more than ½ an hour the missing and blue smoke is back but disappears after about 5 minutes of high idle or a couple of blocks of driving. I should also mention that the turbo appears fine as boost is similar to before the puddle.

I also did a few measurements. The bottom of the filter is about 24” and the tide line on the back of the van was 29” so it is likely that some water may have entered the intake but I believe that as it would have to draw the water around the bend @ the bottom and up the pipe that it cut off air supply before water reached the turbo. However, if that was the case why the missing and smoke. I plan to do a leak down test and compression test in the near future. I'll post the results.
User avatar
Lapprentis
Posts: 357
Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2013 6:02 pm
Member's Photo Album: http://www.delica.ca/Photos/
Vehicle: Delica L300 StarWagon 1990
Location: Quebec

Time for a Snorkel??

Post by Lapprentis »

You may also have to consider to have a Snorkel for yourself too... :shock: God knows how deep you can go... :o

https://www.facebook.com/portalnetofici ... 966533222/

Lapprentis :M
TieMyShoe
Posts: 265
Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2013 11:14 am
Member's Photo Album: http://www.delica.ca/Photos/
Vehicle: L300
Location: Abbotsford

Time for a Snorkel??

Post by TieMyShoe »

Stock location will actually allow you to go through pretty deep water... If the revs were up and depending how much water was ingested when it stalled out there's a good chance something is bent or cracked unfortunately. Your relocated filter is what did you in, I recommend moving it back. This water crossing dropped to the head lights further in. My van is lifted 2"
Attachments
Water Crossing.jpg
Water Crossing.jpg (459.06 KiB) Viewed 6062 times
User avatar
lrp374
Posts: 1023
Joined: Sun Nov 23, 2008 9:56 pm
Vehicle: 91 Super Exceed
Location: Kamloops

Time for a Snorkel??

Post by lrp374 »

Well I've finally had the compression test and I'm not sure it tells me allot. Cylinder #1 is 300 and the other 3 are 380.
I've checked each of the glow plugs with a battery and they all glow nice, I've monitored the glow plug voltage and it is 12V to start and reduced to 6V after about 6 seconds. I still don't burn oil and have not lost any antifreeze. The engine still starts fine but has smoke and sounds like it's missing. If I put it in gear it seems to run better and after driving a few minutes it seems pretty normal. I've driven about 2500 km since the 'incident' and other than the starting smoke and missing all seems basically like it was before. What can I do to stop the smoke?? Any other simple tests I can do?
User avatar
Growlerbearnz
Posts: 2041
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 1:58 pm
Member's Photo Album: http://www.delica.ca/Photos/
Vehicle: Delica P25W
Location: New Zealand

Time for a Snorkel??

Post by Growlerbearnz »

Those compression readings are compelling: It sounds like the conrod on cylinder 1 is bent :-(.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrolock

Compression on a brand new engine should be 440psi, on a worn engine the lower limit before needing a rebuild is 320psi. If the readings vary across cylinders there should be no more than a 45psi difference between any two cylinders.

The smoke and missing on startup will be from that cylinder not producing enough compression heat to burn properly. Once the engine's warmed up it goes away because the engine's heat is adding to the compression heat, taking it above the required temperature for a proper burn.

I would pull the head and measure the heights of all the pistons at top dead centre- cylinder #1 will be lower than the rest if the conrod is bent. If that's so I would replace that conrod, possibly the piston, and all the crankshaft bearings.

A bent conrod might work fine for a while, but there's a chance it'll break and destroy the rest of the engine. Rather than replacing one conrod you'd be replacing the entire engine. The lower output of cylinder 1 will also be stressing the crankshaft, which isn't a good thing long term. The bearings will have taken a hammering too, so continuing to run on the damaged bearings might damage the crankshaft further. :-(
Nothing says "poor workmanship" more than wrinkles in the duct tape.
User avatar
lrp374
Posts: 1023
Joined: Sun Nov 23, 2008 9:56 pm
Vehicle: 91 Super Exceed
Location: Kamloops

Time for a Snorkel??

Post by lrp374 »

Thanks for the frank assessment Growler. Everything you said makes perfect sense even if it's not what I wanted to hear. At least I can have a plan of action and cash flow knowing in the end it will fix the problem. Maybe I'll procrastinate until I see your Hyundai install. Alti2d (Mark) stopped by about a month ago with a new Hyundai engine in his van and he was really impressed with how shiny it was. Did that factor into your decision?
User avatar
Growlerbearnz
Posts: 2041
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 1:58 pm
Member's Photo Album: http://www.delica.ca/Photos/
Vehicle: Delica P25W
Location: New Zealand

Time for a Snorkel??

Post by Growlerbearnz »

I hate to admit it, but the shininess of a new engine was a significant factor. The old engine leaks something awful despite fitting new seals, and the idea of being able to work on it without getting greasy (and being able to park on concrete without shame) is very appealing.

My Hyundai engine is alleged to arrive later this month. It was supposed to arrive last month though, so we'll see.
Nothing says "poor workmanship" more than wrinkles in the duct tape.
User avatar
lrp374
Posts: 1023
Joined: Sun Nov 23, 2008 9:56 pm
Vehicle: 91 Super Exceed
Location: Kamloops

Time for a Snorkel??

Post by lrp374 »

With the very dry summer we've had I thought I'd take this opportunity to check out a short cut to one of the local lakes. I used to use the route but have been told it's in pretty bad shape. Attached are a few pictures to show a few problem areas. The first picture shows a dry bog hole that I even had fun getting in and out of because of the sharp edges about a foot deep. Good test for the LOKKA. The second shows one that would likely be 3 feet deep plus mud if it ever filled up - a snorkel for sure. The other 2 are the purpose of the trip - the lake and the fish!!
Attachments
Dry Bod hole #1
Dry Bod hole #1
100_8315a.JPG (643.9 KiB) Viewed 5745 times
Dry Bog hole #2
Dry Bog hole #2
100_8321a.JPG (572.39 KiB) Viewed 5745 times
Boat launch
Boat launch
100_8323a.JPG (516.45 KiB) Viewed 5745 times
A nice Hosli trout
A nice Hosli trout
100_8324aJPG.jpg (522.66 KiB) Viewed 5745 times
Post Reply

Return to “L300 Technical”