Off topic about a Semi tractor turbo and blown motor

[sandman2234]

My work truck is a daycab Internation with a Cummins Red motor in it. They run them around the clock mostly six days a week, and the daytime driver got out of it the other day, and I got it, after checking it over and headed down the street. Got a half mile down the street and heard a pop. Sounded like a hose clamp on the turbo went, allowing the hose to come loose (or a hose blown). Turbo sound changed at that time also. I pulled over and inspected the clamps/hoses to no avail. Guy from next door (Big truck and trailer parts supplier) had been standing out front when it "popped" and came over to tell me he thought the turbo just went, and pointed out the smoking stack. I called dispatch, who told me to bring it back and change trucks. So I drove it 15 mph back to the yard, but when I turned into the driveway, it acted funny, like it wanted to not slow down. I pushed the nuetral button (automatic tranny with a clutch) sending it into nuetral gear as I rolled into the yard. The engine slowly started to build rpm's and I reached over and hit the key, but with no results. Tried the key off/on a couple of times before realizing that wasn't helping. Hit the "D" to get it back into gear hoping to stall it via braking, but it wouldn't go back into gear due to the rpm's (has to be at idle for it to go into gear). Smoke filled the air like I have never seen, and it went skyhigh in rpm's before going "bang" and shutting off.
I have heard horror stories of diesel with machanical pumps going into run away mode, but never late model (2005) with a computer controled brainbox.
My thoughts (or wild guess) was that maybe the turbo blew a seal which allowed the pressurized oil from the engine (that cools the turbo) to be mixed with the diesel fuel in the combustion chamber of the engine, until it got going enough that it started running off the oil as a fuel which prevented it from shutting down, and literally gave it unlimited fuel to send the rpms skyward dispite the computer having max guidelines set in it. I haven't heard what the shop has decided as of yet and since the shop they use can't change a battery holddown bolt correctly, I doubt I will ever know the real picture.
Anyone have any ideas of what could have happened?
One scary day, no doubt when your unable to control something as powerful as one of these trucks. Things could have been a lot worse than just blowing a motor!
David from jax

 

[The Haymaker]

Gotta love those 13 letter sheet spreaders. My guess would be spent turbo was dumping oil to the intake and the engine was dieseling on that alone. Fuel should have shut down when you turned the key off.

Different failure, same effect. I had a throttle return spring fail on an old clunker the local Ryder used to give us. Nothing like being in traffic, coming to a light, and having her stick wide open.

 

[Willl]

maybe the turbo blew a seal which allowed the pressurized oil from the engine (that cools the turbo) to be mixed with the diesel fuel in the combustion chamber of the engine, until it got going enough that it started running off the oil as a fuel which prevented it from shutting down, and literally gave it unlimited fuel to send the rpms skyward dispite the computer having max guidelines set in it.

Would almost put money on that is what happened.
Wonder what stopped it from going to full destruction, like as in large metal pieces breaking.
Or maybe it did ?, was it a large "bang" ?

One way to kill it when that happens is to snuff the air intake, cover it with something.
Or grab a dry chemical extinguisher and empty it in to the air intake, which clogs up the air filter.

 

[sandman2234]

Loud enough bang when it shut down that the people from the front office heard it above the screaming exhaust. Probably something came loose inside. I felt that bang shake the truck, but that could have been the engine's stopping that did it.
David from jax

Wish I had of thought of the fire extinguisher as there is always one in a truck. Maybe that is why they require drivers to keep a fire extinguisher, to stop runaways, as they sure aren't big enough to put out a truck fire. Probably wouldn't of had time once it started running away, as at full rpm it didn't last long. Thanks for the tip though!!
David

 

[Ryan03]

Yep, sounds like in ran away due to it sucking engine oil through the intake. IH's have internal baffles in the intercooler to help avoid this, but once the intercooler gets filled up with oil, the baffles don't do much. Bad call on dispatches part, glad nobody was injured.

 

[sandman2234]

Bad call on my part, as my dispatcher is on vacation and the lady trying to do his job wouldn't have a clue about it, and although I thought about it after the fact, had no clue that something like that could or would have happened. I really hate that my lack of knowledge about a truck related incident could have cost the company that much money. Being in trucking for as long as I have, would have (should have!) given me a clue as to shut that thing down when the turbo went and it started smoking! Unfortunately I have not been exposed to run away motors in the past, to even consider the causes and reasons. The old saying "too soon old, too late smart" sure applies to this one.
David from jax

 

[sandman2234]

Gotta love those 13 letter sheet spreaders. My guess would be spent turbo was dumping oil to the intake and the engine was dieseling on that alone. Fuel should have shut down when you turned the key off.

Different failure, same effect. I had a throttle return spring fail on an old clunker the local Ryder used to give us. Nothing like being in traffic, coming to a light, and having her stick wide open.

That would be scary also, but throttle sticking is still limited by the max engine governed rpm, isn't it? This one went way beyond that before coming to a banging stop. Yours rated right up there with coming up to a stop light behind a line of traffic, dropping gears as I approached, and then stepping on the clutch at the last gear as I stepped on the brakes, right behind the car in front, only to realize that the clutch linkage was broken and it weren't going to stop "normally". Amazing how long it takes a brain to translate that the clutch isn't disengaging when your just a few feet behind the car in front of you and expecting it to stop! After I regained my composure, I restarted the truck in gear and CAREFULLY drove it the last sixty miles to the shop where it took them five minutes to change the linkage. (open road once I got thru that small town that only had one light)
Driving trucks can have it's scary moments!
David from jax

 

[Skyco]

One way to kill it when that happens is to snuff the air intake, cover it with something.
Or grab a dry chemical extinguisher and empty it in to the air intake, which clogs up the air filter.

I've heard of a CO2 extinguisher to quench one, no oxy, oil won't burn.
I'd bet that a screaming diesel may just suck a suddenly clogged air filter in
A filter already clogged doesn't let the engine get to speed enough to suck the filter in, but all that reciprocating mass at high speed just might...

 

[Willl]

I don't know, but I witnessed it first hand that it did work on one of these Kalmar reach stackers.

 

[sandman2234]

I can see where it would work, on paper anyway. Hope to never experience first hand knowledge again.
David from jax