The only time I was in the Rockies was in a 1973 dodge van. It had no trouble with four adults, two kid2, luggage, and a bone stock 318 with a two barrel.

Evidently this post is turning into a mountain climbing contest.

I posted as to why I didn't post a question about an oil leaking turbo as someone suggested. The seal may be leaking oil. The crack isn't.

Talked with someone today that is very slick on Cummins engines. He thinks the problem has nothing to do with the turbo. But more to do with the freeze plug that fell out twice, once while towing. He wants me to remove the #1 injector and look at the cylinder wall with my bore scope to look for scoring. Under no boost conditions the rings are not being forced against the cylinder walls as they would be under load and boost. So a scored cylinder wall may be more likely to let oil by.

Unfortunately Cummins thinks you have to burn 1 quart every 200 miles to have a problem. Their freeze plug dropping engine failed and all I got was a new plug and a safety plate. I will find out in the future about the cylinder wall. If there is a problem there I will just have to deal with it.

Thanks for the help.

PS Sandstone is the longest steepest grade on the interstate highway system east of the Mississippi according to several trucking magazines I get in the mail.

 

wouldnt have thought that loosing a freeze plug would cause scoring. i would like to know what you find

 

as a former dodge employee, your freeze plug coming out was adressed when those engines first came out in that year, not a recall but a rapid response, the test for them to come out came as follows, put cooling system pressure tester on and pump system to 10 psi, let engine idle for 30 seconds, then hold throttle to the floor for 3 min. straight! inspect engine for signs of ccolant loss from freeze plugs, if one came out call chrysler and get an over sized plug retest, if the plug came out again replace engine........you may want to have the dealer pull the v.i.p history on this one and see if it is one of those engines

 

doubt very seriously that dodge installed a "new long block engine". your truck is an 05? when my 06 blew up with 18k on the odometer I was told I would be getting a "new engine" and when I dropped by the dealerships service department to take a peek at their progress I noticed the engine had a sticker that said "remanufactured " on it. I fought with dodge for a month making calls all over the country to try and get a "brand new engine" installed. instead I got a "remanufactured engine"which also uses oil to the tune of about 1 1/12 qts every 1000 miles. I found out that at the time my truck blew up(middle of 07) cummins had stopped building the 5.9 so dodge had no new motors to draw from. on my valve cover it clearly states that its a cummins remanufactured engine. unless they used your old valve cover I would be willing to bet yours says the same thing.

 

well if cylinder walls are scored that puts an interesting new spin on the long idle = possible wash down = possible scored cylinder walls discussion...

 

do you have a boost fooler installed? There is no way to make 38 psi with the stock electronic waste gate and stock fueling...the gate opens and the boost fluctuates from 28-32

 

Is that why my boost gauge needle sometimes looks like it's attached to a tiny vibrator?

 

I was told the engine was new. Would a dealer lie to me????? LOL

It might be a reman as you mention the valve cover. I have no sticker or any sign of anything stating a reman engine. But, something I did notice and take exception to. The valve cover bolts are not originals but something that looks like it came from the hardware store. My original valve cover was perfect. I thought that maybe someone kicked it around the floor for a few days as it was really scared up.

I SEE SAID THE BLIND MAN.

Maybe I need to look around a little as I might have been told a new engine when it is actually was a reman. This Sucks.

Leon

 

After reading all of this, and having 2 different turbocharged vehicles in the past that did exactly what you are describing... I gotta say it is a seal in the turbo that after you are just idling with lower oil pressure and cooling off is allowing oil to sneak past the seal and get into the exhaust turbine house and burning the oil in there.

This happened to me on a gas vehicle (a 1998 Mitsu. Eclipse Turbo) and also to my Dad's 2003.

We thought that he maybe had done some cylinder damage due to excessive idling. Had the local cummins shop do a scope on it, and it looked perfect in every cylinder. They then moved on to injectors, but was determined they were fine as well. Finally they decided to take a look at the turbo. It looked good, but when pulled apart it was quite obvious that it had been burning some oil in the exhaust housing. The shaft seal was leaking. New turbo, no problems.

It was the same with my eclipse (I know it was gas, but very similar in problem). Sitting in lovely seattle traffic, after around 5-10 minutes of not moving, it would start smoking out the tailpipe. Once again, leaking shaft seal and it was getting into the exhaust housing.

Might be worth yanking your downpipe off and getting some fingers into the exhaust turbine and see if it is oily at all. It will likely be pretty coked up so might need to take the turbo off to see it.

My .02

 

Usually re mans are marked on the block re mans.Also you'll usually find heat sensitive qtr size plugs glued to the exterior of the block.They fall off at certain heat levels to indicate a overheated motor.Also some re man companys install a tag with bore oversize and crank specs.Not sure about a Cummins reman if done by Cummins but all re mans from cheap to high dollar usually have them.Sounds like a bad seal to get all that oil smoke after idle.Either turbo or bad valve guides or valve guide seals.I don't buy Cummins remans being HAND built.Old engines are usually stock piled until a number of cores are on hand and they are done on a assembly line process similar to new.First I'd fine out if its a NEW engine or a REMAN and then track down WHO does the reman.Cummins or is it subbed out to another company.I'd pull the Turbo and inspect and if no issue then the head,have guides and seals checked and inspect cyl.walls etc.My experience on finding oil usage issues is that its not the easiest to do.I'd WANT another motor same as you of its not the turbo.Back side of the intake valves eather inspecting after removing or with a bora scope will tell you if its being drawn past the valve guides/seals.