What is an acceptable amount of blow by?

Discussion in 'Trucks [ Eighteen Wheelers ]' started by Josiah Harder, Dec 21, 2025 at 4:39 PM.

  1. Josiah Harder

    Josiah Harder Light Load Member

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    What measurements for crank case pressure are considered "in spec" for a newly rebuilt X15 by Cummins when measured in inches of water with a manometer? Does the tolerance vary for a new and old engine? I was getting high crank case pressure codes when my truck would do a regen but when pulling a load at full throttle no codes came up. Engine was recently rebuilt 30k kms ago. One shop told me my crank case pressure readings were nearing the upper limit of tolerance when under load but now the shop who did my rebuild is telling me that they opened a case with Cummins and everything is "within spec" for a newly rebuilt engine after they replaced my non serviceable crank case filter.
     
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  3. Big Road Skateboard

    Big Road Skateboard Road Train Member

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  4. Lane=addict

    Lane=addict Light Load Member

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    I think 7 inches means excessive or engine is toast.
     
  5. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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    <12 inH₂O for low-mileage engines.

    If you have the serial number of the engine, put it into QuickServe, and it will give you details.
     
  6. Josiah Harder

    Josiah Harder Light Load Member

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    I do have an account with QuickServe but wasnt able to find this information on there. Do you know where I need to look? Is this <12inH2O a maximum value regardless of load or whether the truck is doing a regen or not?
     
  7. Josiah Harder

    Josiah Harder Light Load Member

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    Yeah it has a "non serviceable" crank case filter. Apparently it still needs to be changed though
     
  8. Deezl Smoke

    Deezl Smoke Medium Load Member

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    Since you understand inches of water, you must be reasonably mechanically inclined.
    I would find out if a trainee or intern was involved in the process. I get it, they have to learn sometime and all that. But if you hang around mechanics much, especially those that work at large shops, you'll hear stories.....
    " the shop who did my rebuild is telling me that they opened a case with Cummins and everything is "within spec" for a newly rebuilt engine after they replaced my non serviceable crank case filter"
    That quote part can be interpreted a few ways. Did you return with the concern after the rebuild and THEN they replaced the filter?
     
  9. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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    Blow-by readings are taken under full-rated load.

    Put the serial number in and see the service bulletins for that engine.
     
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  10. Josiah Harder

    Josiah Harder Light Load Member

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    Im actually not mechanically inclined at all haha Ive done some research now on my specific issue though so I understand a little bit. So I had high crank case pressure codes on my way home from a trip which gave me a stop engine warning when the truck would regen. I was still 3000 kms from home so I went to Kenworth in the middle of nowhere Northern Ontario. They told me they measured my crank case pressure at idle and under load while driving and then they isolated both air compressor and Turbo to make sure those werent causing the issue. They determined I needed to tear the engine down so I went straight home to the shop who originally did my rebuild. On my way home I get another issue where the truck is telling me a regen is required despite JUST cleaning my DPF 3000kms prior and this DPF is only 1 year old. So something is wrong because ive never seen "regen required" even when my DPF was old. I let the truck do a regen for 2 hours before giving up and then I stopped at a Peterbilt in Quebec and they also forced a regen with the computer for 2 hours but it wouldnt complete. So I might have several issues going on. Now that im home again the shop here that did my rebuild replaced my crank case filter and is telling me that they are not getting any stop engine warnings anymore and that as per Cummins the crank case pressure readings are all within spec. Ive ordered a new turbo now to address the constant regen since they told me I wasnt getting enough closure rate on the Vanes to generate enough heat for the regen to complete. Maybe the regen issue really was a turbo fault but I am concerned I have an issue with a piston ring and they are trying to avoid tearing the engine down again. I asked them to hook my trailer up and record the crank case pressure values they read when the truck is under load so I can compare it to what Kenworth in Ontario told me. I will actually attach a photo of the notes the tech at Kenworth wrote on my invoice there. Im surprised they didnt change the crank case filter first thing there before doing anymore testing.
     

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  11. Heavyd

    Heavyd Road Train Member

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    This is a bit of a long shot, but if you are logging 555, for many X15 engines there was a calibration update to widen the tolerances before that code got triggered.
     
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