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my 81 2.2 has developed a pretty serious oil leak thats looks to be coming from the front seal. Best estimates are $400 for parts and labor to fix it.

The engine has no balls, gets poor mileage, like 25 mpg (probably due to the super low-geared 4x4 drivetrain), and has a LOT of black smoke on anything over half pedal.

My question is, what is the source of the black smoke? is it really worn rings, or is this typical of a fresh 2.2?

The reason I am asking is, instead of throwing $400 at it, I would rather put the money toward a used or rebuilt engine that might run a little better.

Any place I would start looking for a 2.2 to replace it?

screw the 2.2 and go with the 350.0

the smoke your seeing is the soot from the burnt sulfur int he diesel fuel, and with 25 MPG that's horrible, must have 350k+ on the motor eh?

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-Old ride-82 Luv diesel 5spd with some upgrades
-Past rides-82 Sierra, 78 Coupe De'Ville, 91 2dr Blazer, 86 RX7, 86 Porsche 944T (rear-ended and totaled)
-Curr. rides- 1970 Ford LTD 4dr, 390 4Bbl, 2nd owner! With a few Extras 00' Civic beater...

Black smoke is the result of too much fuel for the amount of air available. This can be a result of several factors, either individual or combined. Dirty or plugged air filter/air intake passageways will cause black smoke from restricted airflow.
Worn fuel injectors that open at lower-than-designed pressure can cause Black smoke by allowing too much fuel into the engine for the air available.
A worn fuel pump can also cause this problem.
So can someone fooling with the pump adjustment on the back of the fuel pump. Turning this set screw just ½ turn can cause excesive smoking. I have never owned a diesel vehicle yet that SOMEONE didn't fool with this screw!

These engines were only rated for 58-62hp so balls are small anyway.
Fuel mileage won't be comparable to a VW diesel.

However, these engines are notorious for their longevity and reliability, if this means anything to you. My engine came from a truck showing 484,000 kms on the clock, and still going strong.
My opinion is, if you like the truck, spend the $ and fix it.

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Bona Fide diesel fanatic.
1994 Chev S10 Ext Cab Isuzu Diesel 5spd
Kubota B6100 HST diesel

I agree with Zack on all points.

But, your mileage on a pickup should definitely be over 30 mpg. And you should not have significant smoke except a little at full throttle. Possible causes are:

---Plugged intake air somewhere.

---I don't think an '81 would have EGR; but if it does, your symptoms are real close to a stuck open EGR valve. Take a look.

---The injection advance may be inoperative. This can be caused by a plugged fuel filter as the advance operates off of pump housing pressure.
This could be a bad pump too but they are pretty reliable. Take a look at the fuel filter.

Paul

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'84 Isuzu diesel P'up

I forgot to add that the truck has 156K miles on it, and that it really only smokes a lot when you floor it (or over half pedal for that matter). I figured it was unburned fuel as described here.

I read elsewhere on this forum that the 4x4's dont get 30 mpg due to the super low gearing, anybody with a 4x4 diesel topping 30 mpg?

so any additional advice is appreciated. where is the FIRST place to look to correct this problem? I imagine insuring the integrity of the air filter would be key to make sure it wasnt starved of air. Could this engine handle propane injection to increase combustion efficiency? The idea would be mor epower with less smoke.

also plan to use biodiesel in it, which will reduce smoke substantially. But I'd like to make sure that the mechanical side is as good as it can be as well.

I would put my money on bad fuel injectors. Rule out the simply ones though first, like air intake plugged etc. I had an old 93 Ford diesel a few years ago, it had about 450,000 kms (i don't know what that is in miles) and would smoke just like yours does and had little power and poor gas mileage. I swapped the injectors (pain in the ass) and that fixed it. Cleared up all the engine problems. And it even started better. That 7.3L was a great engine and the truck was good too, never should have sold it..... oh well......

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-1981 Chevy LUV, 283SBC, T350 Trans, White In Colour, Long Box, Never Ending Project!
-2001 F-350 Superduty XLT 7.3L Diesel Auto, Ext. Cab, Long Box, White In Colour
-1998 F-150 XL 4.2L V6 5spd , Reg. Cab, Flareside SB, Red In Colour

is there a good source for these injectors? how do I assess if they are bad? is there a tolerance spec?