Engine Blow-By in Trooper Engine or Something Else?

Blow-by is probably one of the most common engine problems that you will face when maintaining a car. You will be able to identify a blow-by when you see a significant amount of smoke coming out from your dipstick when you open it while the engine is running.

This is usually caused by a leaked head gasket or a cracked engine head where water or fuel is mixing with oil. In either case, this is something that has to be fixed very soon.



What I'm sharing to you today is just a personal experience and this is still a work-in-progress troubleshooting. I am currently in communication with a 4JX1 expert who is helping me understand better how our engine works.

Ok, so my dipstick is smoking. I just changed my oil and I just finished fixing the leak from my transmission, and then I got that. On top of it, my RPM is fluctuating at times even without me stepping on the accelerator.

So I was advised to run the engine for two weeks and observe if smoke will still be there and if the oil level increases.

So after running 200kms in two weeks time, I rechecked the oil level. I found out that my engine oil is increasing without me adding extra oil in it. So this is a clear indication that there is a mixture of diesel in my engine. There must be a leak.

I tried to consult some people again, and they said that this usually happens if the O rings of the injector or the injector sleeves or the copper gaskets of the injectors are already worn out and needed to be replaced. It's not necessarily the head gasket or a cracked engine. It was a relief.... sigh...

The expert mechanic I am consulting said that the blow-by was actually diesel that's evaporating from the engine.

Since I don't have a tech2 here in my area, I was asked to send the oil rail and the injectors to Manila for injector rehab and ORPS (Oil Rail Pressure Sensor) installation and reset, so as the ECM of my trooper. This is still something to look forward to. Hoping that once this is done, there will be a lot of improvement when it comes to performance of my Trooper.

For now, I can't travel that far to avoid further problems. I will only be driving this within my city then when I have enough funds, I will disassemble the Oil Rail and Injectors and then send it to Manila for rehab.

So here's the thing. It doesn't mean you have a blow by you already have a cracked engine. It is better to check and observe your oil level, what kind of smoke that is coming out from your exhaust pipe and your dipstick, and how much smoke that is coming out.

I do hope this short sharing of experience will give you some light on what and how to fix your Isuzu Trooper. If you are living in the Philippines, we do have some expert mechanics. Connect with me and I will be able to connect you to them.

Are you an Isuzu Trooper enthusiast? Share your thoughts...