billowing smoke low oil level and misfiring.

phunter

Well-known member
2007 lr3 4.4 with billows of smoke from tail pipes on way to work this am. once at work, I see oil level below minimum level but not dry. Normal coolant. no leaks or strange smells under hood. The ride to work was without any misfires or stumbling. I give it some oil and limp home staying under 30 mph. on the ten mile drive home I get continued intermittent billows of smoke, check engine light and and message with reduced engine performance. The oil light never came on.
If I replace the pcv valve will this fix me back to a good place? Should I prepare myself for engine damage? Any commentgs are appreciated. The truth no matter how bad it might be.
 

Francois1

Well-known member
Any oil in the intake manifold? Replacing the PCV is a good place to start, as a defective vent valve can let excess oil get in your intake, causing the smoke and misfiring . I'd run the check engine codes as well and expect multiple misfire codes on several cylinders. You will likely need to get the residual oil cleaned from the intake and put new spark plugs in before the smoke clears and it runs smooth again.
 

phunter

Well-known member
Thanks for your reply. I am hoping someone will say been there and your engine is good. At any rate, the codes were misfire codes running rich codes snd oxygen sensor codes.
I have never changed oxygens sensors and up to 140 on odometer
My thought is to order new valve and hose and plugs
Sure hope this get is fixed
 

Napalm00

Technical Excellence Contributor
That's a lot of codes to be thrown. This sounds electrical to me . I'd reseat the ECU , teat or resolve the pcv because it's cheap and do a compression test on all cyl.
 

phunter

Well-known member
Thanks for the advice. So is my engine going to be okay? I can handle it. May the veterans tell me or is it better to not tell a poor fella what’s what
 

rocky

NAS-ROW Addict
If you go with the pcv potential cause, take the time to also make sure all the hoses in the system are open rather than blocked and full of oily sludge. Brake cleaner is usually good enough to clean these up.
 

Napalm00

Technical Excellence Contributor
Thanks for the advice. So is my engine going to be okay? I can handle it. May the veterans tell me or is it better to not tell a poor fella what’s what
I have no idea man there's so many things that could cause billowing smoke and low oil. Like a million things.
 

phunter

Well-known member
Trying to stay positive and not think this is gonna turn out really bad.
Hafta order the valve and see what happens.
It was running so good. Just got back from a five hour trip with good mileage and power over New Years. Climbed the hills just fine.
 

jymmiejamz

Founding Member
Callsign: KN4JHI
I’d bet my life on it being the PCV valve. I’d recommend pulling the throttle body and wiping the oil out of the intake, it has likely pooled in the intake.
 

phunter

Well-known member
I replaced the PCV valve and hoses since I bought them. I did not encounter and dripping oil. I wiped out inside the butterfly flap as much as I could with no wet oil seen. Next I replaced all the black sooty spark plugs with new ones. Next I cleaned the mass airflow sensor with that spray from auto store.
next I drained the oil and changed the filter.
while under there with the pan off I noticed this seepage which I think is from the passenger side half axle
1642975641447.jpeg

Next I cleared the codes and started the truck with no more billowy smoke. I drove it for a few minutes with no return to misfire or return of a check engine light.
Next I retrieved one code which was p0175.
So Happy to get back to a good place.

any thoughts on the pic or the one code?
Thanks for any advice
 

jymmiejamz

Founding Member
Callsign: KN4JHI
As for the axle seal, cut the top off of the breather. It is clipped to the ac condenser line on the drivers side near the radiator
 

phunter

Well-known member
Thanks for the replies. I will cut the breather tube. Spend more time underneath it with engine running looking for any leaks besides axle seal.

When is the axle seal
Leak bad enough to replace the seal ? Any harm with driving it some and seeing if code resolves itself ?
 
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