A lot of black smoke after TB and thermostat

05REDCRD · **Posted:** Mon Jun 17, 2013 11:50 am

Got my kit from IDParts. Excellent!!! Put the water pump and belt in with a new thermostat. I have a CR PowerBox, and when it started up it was quieter than it has ever been for me. Was happy as I thought it was due to PO's not doing a full service( level one TB vs my level three). Ran it for a while letting it come up to temp and watching for leaks etc. On the way back home I got myself into a situation and had to jump on the go peddle and I got black smoke like a hot rod Cummins. So my questions are:

Q1: Other than a ruined CAC hose what else could I have messed up? :shock:

Q2: Does this engine de-fuel that much if it is not up to full operating temp? It was a rare day I saw full temp but it was normally a tick or two to the left of full. I was NEVER able to get more than a slight puff of haze at low boost.

Thanks for looking and any help is appreciated.
Fletch

papaindigo · **Posted:** Mon Jun 17, 2013 12:33 pm

I'm not sure I follow all of your post and I certainly have no clue what the CR PowerBox is doing to your fueling as it appears to be a "cheater" not a full reprogramming of the ECU like a GDE tune. That said:
1. under normal operating conditions the coolant temp gauge should sit about 1/2 a needle width left of dead vertical. If your temp gauge normally 1-2 tick marks left of vertical you need a new tstat (Note - warm summer temps and AC use can mask the issue by putting enough of a heat load on the system to reach normal operating temp in spite of a tstat issue)
2. low boost combined with black smoke can be a split CAC hose, usually on the bottom side; a bad boost pressure solenoid; or sticky variable vanes. Fixes are Samco hoses; check solenoid by bypassing it replace if needed; checking movement of variable vane actuator rod (do Italian tuneup if sticky).
3. adequate boost combined with black smoke under acceleration is normal due to overfueling. The amount of smoke will vary between vehicles and may be aggravated by the PowerBox. Best I can say is my current 05 smoked under any acceleration prior to the GDE tune and I cannot make it smoke post tune.

05REDCRD · **Posted:** Mon Jun 17, 2013 12:42 pm

Sorry for the confusion. @ Papa: the performance hasn't changed. It feels like it has the same boost ( no gauge - YET). Purrs like a kitten. Only things that changed are quieter ( could be bearing noise I was hearing) and a LOT more smoke at half or more throttle that i never had before.

The CR power box is a cheater, it plugs into the rail pressure sensor.

I was just really freaking out about the amount of smoke it was putting out. It still drives wonderful. And thanks for the quick reply.

papaindigo · **Posted:** Mon Jun 17, 2013 12:46 pm

Try running without the cheater would be my immediate suggestion and in case you did not read between the lines of my reply get a GDE tune for a host of reasons including less smoke.

05REDCRD · **Posted:** Mon Jun 17, 2013 1:06 pm

The Boss says I can't get the GDE yet. Still working on it. Will try losing the cheater and see what happens.

papaindigo · **Posted:** Mon Jun 17, 2013 1:29 pm

Tell the boss the GDE tune will save ca. 10% on fuel consumption, if you don't love the extra power too much, and by reducing to essentially zero the amount of soot in your oil prevent rather expensive rocker/lifter damage.

In any case lose that cheater. May not help with the smoke but I've seen nothing good about how they do whatever they do at the expense of engine life.

BlackLibertyCRD · **Posted:** Mon Jun 17, 2013 11:26 pm

I have over 100K on my cheater box and no problems and cost much less than a tune. It's at 118K right now and going strong.

A lot of black smoke after TB and thermostat

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